Cadence Smith

By Cadence Smith

Student in Mrs. Howell’ s Holocaust Literature Elective, South Stanly High School in Norwood, NC

Four steps off of the elevator. Three slides for me to realize. Two eyes of mine. One glance toward the rest of the room. A trickle of wet liquid fell from my eyes. Tears.

In her Holocaust literature class, Mrs. Howell made sure to take us easy in and easy out, ensuring us that difficult images, videos, and words were to come in the future. However, I didn’ t expect to feel or see what I did when stepping off of the elevator into the permanent exhibit at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. I didn’ t expect to have to take a second to walk away or wait for the tears to come to a stop. I stood there for a long time before walking away, studying each image as the slides fell into constant rotation. The room was silent, as if there were nobody inside, but it quickly felt loud when my sniffles filled the air and the eyes began to stare.

Continuing down the hallway of that first floor, I read the descriptions

of everything that I saw. The top floor depicted what was occurring before the war— all things we took meaningful time to study and reflect on in class. As I continued walking, the tears were finally gone, and curiosity engulfed my body. I wanted to see what was next. Mrs. Howell had prepared us to be aware of the museum’ s symbolism, and as we walked around, we noticed many things had intentional meaning. Arriving on the next floor, I knew

what this meant. The horrors of the war were all around us. Walking through the train car, I stopped for a moment. Turning to my friend, we just stared at each other. Nothing but silence; the sounds of broken hearts surrounded us.

It was so difficult to take in all of this information, but I often thought of being in the shoes of those persecuted during this time. We can only imagine the struggle, but the pictures, testimonies, and artifacts make it real. Toward the end, I saw survivor testimony was playing. All of the seating was full, and people surrounded that area. I sat and watched for a moment. Although this wasn ' t the first time hearing survivor testimony, I listened and made connections between the journeys through the Holocaust that I had heard before. Being there, I knew it was important to take time to hear those accounts. These people are the living proof, and they all have a story to tell— a story for which we can bear witness.

Reflecting upon the museum, I realize the most heartbreaking thing I saw during my time there were the liberation videos

toward the end of the museum. I walked up, trying to break through the big crowd surrounding the screens. For many people at the museum, this was their first experience seeing the graphic images and videos the screens portrayed. Some were asking questions and didn’ t understand what was going on. But I stood there watching every second of those videos. Although no tears fell, I watched. I probably stood there a long time because I could no longer see my group when I looked up. These videos really put things into perspective, and while they were heartbreaking to watch, I understood the importance of survivor testimony.

At the end of the museum, where we reached the Hall of Remembrance, we lit the candles to remember those who lost their lives during this terrible time in history. I felt it was important to remember those who not only lost their lives, but risked their lives as well. It is important to recognize not only the Jewish victims, but also people of color, homosexuals, Jehovah’ s Witnesses, Poles, political opponents, Roma / Gypsies, prisoners of war, and disabled persons. The

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum remembers those who were upstanders during the Holocaust, those who survived the Holocaust, and those who lost their lives.

Touring the museum was a lot harder than I thought it would be. For those who have little knowledge of the Holocaust, it may be very difficult for them. I’ m beyond thankful I have the education and privilege of being able to take my Holocaust Literature class at South Stanly High School and being able to visit the museum to further my understanding of this devastating period in time. I think it is important for people, especially younger generations, to have knowledge on this subject and know when to stand up for what is right— that way, it will never happen again. We must always remember. Never forget. Never again.