A morning at the Camp

The Beginning
see all photos »

(I know this is after the fact, but I am writing from my journal since we did not have internet access.)

Today the alarm went off at 6:15. It was very early and I was very tired. Jenn says that she has allergies, but I am worried about her. We had a good breakfast. The hotel is similar to a La Quinta but with EU rates. :-)

What a beautiful place to die so horrifically

After breakfast, we had an hour to get ready for the day. I managed to braid mine and Kelsey's hair and to ensure those who take medication did not forget. People were nervous today about what we would see. On the bus, I braided Katie's, Arafel's and Connie's. hair as well. The drive was a bit eventful. There were very skinny roads with lots of twists and turns through the Vosges Mountains. I am very glad that our bus driver is from Europe - I don't think American drivers are trained for these roads. The mountains were gorgeous.

"Death awaits you" - an advertisement
see all photos »

Then the camp. How to explain? What a beautiful place to die so horrifically.

We went to the front gate and they gave me a handout in English - like I was a tour guide. Jason asked if he could walk by himself. He has been to a camp with me before, so I said yes. Then Greg asked. I know his undertsanding of history but I was unsure how he would respond - so he took Alicia S. with him. We started at the first building. I did a lot of explaining because most things were in French. (I like context clues.) Jennifer never knew that more than Jews were killed in the Holocaust. The room with the medical information was very harsh.  "They stuffed them in bins.." Amanda said. We came out of the first building and I gave a brief lay out of the camp. From there, everyone was to make their own way down to the bottom where I would meet them.

A white stone in commemoration of the camps
see all photos »

Yes - the camp was in the Vosges Mountains. I walked around up top a bit to make sure everyone made the start. Jenn opted to stay up top because she was not sure she could make the climb back up with her lungs and her ankles. The camp was set up like the vineyards in the wine country or like the Aztec temples - stair stepped or terraced. Each "step" held two buildings.  The two up top were for cooking and prisoners. The middle ones were completely for prisoners. The two on the bottom were for punishment, medical expirements, body storage and body cremation. The actual gas chambers were about 1 mile away.  The ashes were dumped into a pit between the bottom two buildings. At the pit, now stands a memorial.  They used the hair from the bodies in a near-by factory to make felt and some of the ashes were used to fertilize the grounds.

Looking up
see all photos »

At the level below the cookhouse was the roll call area. This is also where hangings took place.

I hooked up with Amanda at the first level of "bunkers".  There only stands a single white block commemorating each camp connected to Natzwiller. The building decayed and were removed. Amanda did quite well and was very stoic. When we made it to the crematorium, we did not want the worst place to be the last seen, she held on tightly. The surgery room was difficult as was the room where they held urns for the ashes. If the prisoner was a German political prisoner - not Jewish - the German family could purchase their ashes once the body was cremated. They never knew if they had the right ashes. Next we saw the "bunker" for the prisoners in trouble or in line for execution.

The memorial at the top - surrounded by the graves of the resistence
see all photos »

Finally we made it to the center. There wa a giant hole and a large cross. This was the "cess pit" as the Germans named it. Amanda said a Hebrew prayer as we held each other.

I answered the groups questions at that time. Everyone was subdued. We made our way back up individually - each reflecting on what they had seen. I wondered how much blood the ground had seen in the few years that the camp existed. I hoped it kept it safe.

Back at the beginning, we watched two three minute films. Both were documentaries based on letters written at the time of the camp. The first was "Do not forget" and remember to "tell the tale without hate". The second was for the French Resistance that was quite strong in the area. They were known as "Nach und Nebel" - night and fog. It asked "What have you done for your land and your people?" It made us think.

One of 8 guard towers and barbed wire
see all photos »

Down below was a museum. The center piece was the Kartofelkeller - potato celler. This is a giant stone, ten room structure built directly under the SS guards' dorms. No one knows why it was built.

Then back to the bus - very somberly. I answered a few questions and we were off to Straussbourg.

I was very proud of our kids. The experience affected everyone. At the end Jason and Greg sought out Amanda to make sure she was OK. They have good hearts.

Frau