The day of liberation
I photographed this memorial at Dachau concentration camp, Germany, August 2005
“So now, muster your strength, and don’t lose heart. We shall all see the day of liberation. Have faith in life. Above all else, have faith. Drive out despair, and you will keep death away from yourselves…The same smoke floats over all our heads. Help one another. It is the only way to survive.” — Elie Wiesel
On this day in 1945, the Dachau concentration camp was officially liberated. The eyewitness accounts of troops and survivors testify to the atrocities that were only beginning to be known to the world. Yet even out of these pits of despair came examples of faith, courage and hope that continue to inspire us.
When we visited Dachau in August 2005, it was a haunting reminder that there have always been those who “bear with unbearable sorrow” and somehow survive. May we remember those who suffer, and open our eyes to ways we can help. And may this brief remembrance enable us to see more clearly the many blessings of our lives today.
This post was originally published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: compassion, courage, faith, help, Holocaust, hope, humanity, justice, liberation, memorial, remembrance, survival, World War II
Defeat Despair 
That makes this the 75th anniversary. Thank you for sharing this. I had never read Lt. Cowling’s account. We need to never stop being shocked and horrified.
Yes, I try to visit the Holocaust Museum in DC at least every couple of years or so. One thing that always strikes me when I tour the beginning exhibits, is how many of the same type attitudes and behaviors that gave rise to anti-semitism in Germany are alive and well today, focused on several different groups in various places worldwide, but all frightening and ultimately destructive. Our tendency is to want to NOT think of such sobering things, but I do believe that those who forget history are condemned to re-live it, as the old saying goes.