The holocaust is a time in human history which
simultaneously repulses and intrigues people from all walks of life, especially
young Jews due to its intrinsic role in the formation of their personal and
family heritage and history. I feel as though in some way my Jewish education,
both formal and informal, has led up to the next week or so in which I will
visit the sites of some of the worst atrocities ever committed and consolidated
hours and hours of learning about the Second World War and the genocide which
it encompasses. Due to its importance on an emotional level to both myself and
the entire group, I have decided to make a concerted effort to blog my thoughts
and feelings each and every day of this journey through Prague and Poland.
Today was the first day of the journey as we departed
Kibbutz Galon and arrived at Jerusalem’s holocaust museum, Yad Vashem. This was
my first visit to the massive compound, which we were informed stretches over 2
square miles, which placed me in the
minority with many other Aviv participants having visited this incredible museum
previously. A few things struck me about this place which I had already heard
so much about; firstly, the sheer size of the complex which I personally felt
was a symbol for the humongous importance of the remembrance of these events to
both the Jewish population as well as all of mankind.
We were introduced to our Scottish/Welsh tour guide Jonathan
who acted as our walking holocaust encyclopaedia, possessing a hugely
impressive memory which allowed him to simply recite huge chunks of German
writing on command. Jonathan, who had already been a tour guide at yad vashem
for 6 years, guided us through the valley of the communities which included the
name of each and every European community which was destroyed during the Second
World War, the number of names was astounding. We were given the opportunity to
find the name of a community which held special importance to ourselves or our
families.
Next we headed to the hall of questions in which we were
given the opportunity to examine some of the deep questions surrounding the
actions of the Nazis, such as “where was god during the holocaust?” and “how
did people become mass-murderers” accompanied by expert or controversial
opinions on the subject. This bred great discussion and led to deeper thought.
Our next major stop was the new Yad Vashem museum which
chronicled holocaust history between 1939 and 1945 and allowed us to learn the history
behind the events accompanied by testimonies, letters and other important
artefacts. Jonathan manoeuvred and guided us through the museum until we
reached the final room, which contained the names of roughly 4.5 million Jews
who perished in the holocaust accompanied by the pictures of many. It was
simply harrowing to see the unbelievable amount of people who lost their lives
depicted in such an understandably large quantity. We were briefed about the following
week and then headed to our accommodation at Bayit Vagan opposite Yad Vashem,
we are to return to the museum in the morning.
Today posed several questions to myself, from both
historical and emotional perspectives. Firstly, where does religion fit into
our commemoration of such important historical events? Can we really include
g-d in any discussions surrounding the cause and transpiration of the
holocaust? Surely, there must be a separation between religion and academics
but at the same time, a rabbi said something in one of the exhibits which
really got to me; how come we take the good and don’t say therefore g-d exists?
But rather, we see the bad in the world and take it as evidence that g-d does
not exist? Food for thought.
Jake
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