Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Back to the "Grind"
Tuesday, I actually had both classes! in the morning, we went to the Imperial War Museum. The focus was on the Holocaust exhibit. Again, this was a very difficult thing to see, but as someone't mother said, "If they could live it, I can look at it." Because I had just spent so much time in Berlin looking at this same issue, I determined to look from a different vantage point. For one thing, I read all I could about those people who were involved in the killings. I just have a hard time imagining how a person can get to the point of committing such atrocities on another human being. This was of particular interest since Doug had mentioned a dissertation he was reading wherein the researcher had found that many refused to take part in that and that there were really no consequences. They were still required to serve, but not in any capacity where they were required to directly, personally kill innocent men, women, and children
The other thing that I did was listen to many of the accounts of the survivors. I don't know who they managed to go on with life. I made note of a couple of quotes which really spoke to me. I am sure that I didn't get them word perfect, but I hope I can convey the point. One man said, "Once tortured, you remain tortured who is never at ease with humankind." Another man commented that he hadn't talked about it for 20 years until his daughter finally asked. He realized that if he couldn't tell his children, then how would they be able to tell their children and he "hoped that their future wouldn't become out past." A man said that when he was asked how he survived, all he can say is, "I don't know." He said that one day he was in a cab with a driver who was also a camp survivor. He asked the driver what his response was to that question. He, too, would just reply, "I don't know." The one that touched me most was a woman who described it as a stone thrown in a lake. At first the ripples are big, but as you move away from it, the ripples get smaller and smaller. She said that when you can no longer see the ripples, the stone was still at the bottom.
The other thing that I looked at were these small fishing boats. Here in the midst of amazing warcraft were a couple of small boats. It was amazing to me that in response to a sounding of the need for boats to rescue over 300,000 people in the Dunkirk evacuation that fishermen came forth with small fishing boats. It is a wonder that they didn't feel that they had nothing to offer in the face of such need. Instead of looking at how small their boats were, they were able to see the opportunity to rescue at least a few people.
When we got back to class that afternoon, we talked about what all we had seen. were talking about how almost disgusting it was to see people posing in front of the exhibit of shoes of the victims of the holocaust. One of my classmates, a wonderful, sensitive young man, was hesitant to confront these people primarily due to his age. It was an interesting conversation about taking a stand for what is right without regard for what others might think, particularly when we are in a place where we know nobody. Of course, wisdom is required, but we have a role to play. We couldn't help but to contrast what a difference between the attitude of the fishermen who seemed confident that they could make a difference and the attitude of the people in the midst of the holocaust.
The rest of class time included student presentations on nutrition and exercise. I am so impressed with the amount of learning and prep time we are all able to put in despite all of the wonderful distractions.
Of course, my main distraction is the theatre. I originally had dinner plans for Tuesday night, but they got changed. So that freed me up to hit the theatre. I have only a few nights left when I am in town without plans so I have a made our must see list. When I headed out, I had no idea where I was heading and then I found a show on my list. I was able to buy a ticket at the door for Pygmalion, which is essentially their version of My Fair Lady, without "the rain in Spain falling mainly on the plain!" It made for a wonderful evening!
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