TRAVEL TALES
The Mirror of History
An article by : YU , WING HA IRIS
What do you think about this place? Isn’t
it awesome? Don’t you want to go inside? This
is Auschwitz, one of the biggest concentration
camps in Poland. It is estimated that at least 1.1
million people died in this concentration camp.
The concentration camp has now become a
museum to demonstrate the history of World
War II and the suffering of its victims.
Although I have read a lot of information
on the internet, stepping inside the camp was
another feeling. The slogan “Arbeit Macht Frei”
was written at the entrance, which means
“work sets you free”. We all know that it was
not true, but some of the inmates truly believed
it, and later on, they found themselves in
desperate straits. This slogan gave the inmates
hope and dashed. Inside the museum, there
were a lot of photos and items such as clothes,
shoes, showing the life of the inmates. All the
rooms and the exhibitions made me grieve and
shudder.
However, the most stunning part of the
visit was walking inside the gas chambers and
seeing a mountain of Zyklon B cans (the gas
that kills inmates) in the room. Walking around
the camp, I could imagine the life of the
inmates, but in fact, their life must have been
full of desperation and definitely much harder
than what I had imagined.
After the visit, I think that we should
treasure the peaceful world that we currently
have and try to keep it safe and in peace. Some
people may think that the World War was just
something that happened in the past and it
would not happen again. But I think that if we
do not learn from history, history may repeat
itself.
IT Magazine / Occtober Issue
27