Enduring Lessons - from the Union Station Kansas City exhibit, “Auschwitz: Not Long Ago…Not Far Away”

Rhonda and I visited the exhibition at Union Station Kansas City, “Auschwitz: Not Long Ago….Not Far Away” on September 9, 2021. 

   I am still processing what I saw and read and heard on the commentary. 

   Some of the lessons I learned from the exhibit are starting to come to the surface.  

  *Eventual catastrophe can happen gradually, slowly, step by step, and you can’t see the progression towards the tragic conclusion until it is past.  At that point, the only thing you can do is keep your eyes and ears open to new events that happen in similar succession. 

*Beware of multitudes of people being taken in by a demagogue who claims to be a victim but, is, in reality, an aspiring perpetrator who wants to make hatreds harbored inside come to life.   If these people say they hate, they despise, they consider certain people not to be human or worthy of life, BELIEVE THEM.  STOP THEM.    If they try to undermine laws that accord people with respect, UNDERMINE THEM!  One photo of a large Nazi rally at which Hitler spewed forth his bigotry has had way too many echoes in recent years around the world, and in this country.   WATCH.  LOOK.  SPEAK OUT.  

*Jewish life in Europe was vibrant before the Nazis came to power, and Jews found ways to sustain their community life and learning even after the process of taking citizenship away from Jews began.  Jews in Auschwitz found ways to continue to sustain and observe their faith in their most dire of circumstances, because it gave them a sense of God’s enduring presence, a connection to their worldwide community, and, perhaps, some inner peace at a time of outward turmoil and, often, certain death.

*Seeing the detailed allied photos of Auschwitz-Birkenau taken from the air, which offered a possibility of destroying the railroad lines into the camp, was chilling.   What was happening there was KNOWN.  Something could have been done secretly.   It would have saved lives and frustrated the Nazis.  The Jews in the camps who resisted, on the other hand, showed courage that we should recognize.  

*The photos showing the Nazi officers and volunteers at the camp joining together some miles away to “live it up” a bit, posing in group shots and singing, illustrated how they had become totally desensitized to the fact that their tasks related to real human beings.  Of course, they didn’t believe that for a minute. 

*The lack of detailed reporting in the media after the liberation of the camp in late January, 1945 was inexcusable.  

*The charts showing the symbols that were put on the striped uniforms of different people who were targeted by the Nazis illustrated the Nazi fear of diversity and pluralism. 

*The survivors who shared their stories in the exhibit’s recordings were/are sources of inspiration and bravery.  They have now bequeathed their experiences to us to tell and retell.    This exhibit has come at an important time as we continue to battle against antisemitism and other hatreds in this world.