Like a lot of Northeastern students, exercise became an important part of my daily routine when I first moved to Boston. With the unpredictability of college life, I find comfort in the stability of exercise – not to mention, it's a great habit for combatting the freshman fifteen. Moving to Poland, I knew I would be facing very different stresses and, without access to Marino and Squashbusters, running is the only way I would be able to exercise. To motivate me to implement running into my Polish routine, I registered for the Baltimore Half-Marathon, giving me 3.5 months to train for the race in my hometown. Unfortunately, no matter how often I regretted this decision, the registration fee is non-refundable, so there was no getting out of training.
The culture of running in the U.S. is one of universal popularity. As one of the most popular form of exercise, running routes can be found in even the smallest towns in the Midwest. Many countries have some sort of running culture, although local customs may alter seemingly obvious aspects to running. In Greece, for example, it is considered rude to wave at fellow runners as you pass one another and in Oświęcim, very few go running on Sundays. Understanding a country’s running “scene” is a way to see how imbedded these little customs are in the culture of the country, so it's just a matter of researching that and creating the safest routes possible prior to embarking.
Running, especially in the beginning of my co-op, allowed me to explore Oświęcim in a way I would not get by simply walking around town. Through routes that varied in length, I learned about the culture of living in a former Nazi town, and the normality this history possesses. Oświęcim is about 11 square miles, so my longer runs brought me outside of the city into the neighboring towns. Rural areas surround Oświęcim, so it was rather normal for me to run past corn fields or through forested parks during my route. It will be odd to return to Boston and not greet the free-roaming cows and chickens in the “wild” during my run.
A couple of weeks ago, I ran around the Soła river which runs through the city center, and, assuming I was aware of my location, I took a turn thought to be a shortcut. I should say that I have a great talent of getting lost really easily, so easily that I am inclined to put it in the “special skills” section of my resume. Anyway, I ended up on the other side of the Soła which was a pleasant detour until I began to see barbed wire in my peripheral vision: I stumbled upon Brzeszcze, a province of Oświęcim, and the location of Auschwitz II-Birkenau. I immediately stopped and sat down to attempt to process. When I get lost on my runs in Boston (which happens more often than I would like to admit), I find myself at the aquarium. In Oświęcim, I find myself near a former Nazi extermination and concentration camp.
With only 6 more days left, I want to circle back to one of the first themes I encountered during my time in Poland: normality. To me, being from the United States, living near sites of mass trauma is abnormal. I do not know what it is like to be confronted by my country’s difficult heritage on a daily basis when I walk outside my door. I am disappointed in my ability to judge those living in Oświęcim so easily. Why would these people choose to live next door to the largest site of Nazi extermination? By the same logic, why did I choose to live in Catonsville, Maryland? I didn't, my parents bought a house and raised my siblings and I there, so should I be judged if I also choose to live in my hometown? I am not phased by the sights of Catonsville, just as those in Oświęcim have normalized sights of barbed wires and chimneys.
Oświęcim is much more than a murder site. Although this is, for obvious reasons, a significant part of its history, I can understand the want to emphasize other facets. Oświęcim didn't choose to become Auschwitz, the Nazis made that decision.
Half-marathon training in Poland has become normal to me. This normality involves cows, old Polish men biking 2 miles per hour with a chicken in his basket, the constant smell of fresh bread, and barbed wire. I am not ashamed of this sense of normality, although I am critical and analytical. I already know this 3-month co-op has been one of the most life-changing experiences I will ever have, seen most prominently by the fact that even something so simple as running, in Oświęcim, became a dramatic, blog-post-worthy lesson.
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Ravensbrück
Last weekend, I returned to Berlin with the intention of conducting interviews for the Brudnick Center on Conflict and Violence at Northeastern. This lens brought me to Fürstenberg, where I met Sabine, a local member of the community and archivist in the collections department at the former Nazi concentration camp, Ravensbrück. A concentration camp is essentially a labor camp for the criminals. We, of course, know that this definition was only loosely adopted during the Third Reich, as most inmates’ only crime was being born in a certain country or into a certain religion. Germany itself only had concentration camps and labor camps. Extermination camps, such as Auschwitz and Treblinka, had the primary goal of, you guessed it, mass extermination. Treblinka, located northeast of Warsaw, is responsible for the death of approximately 900,000 people, and it only interned approximately 20,000 prisoners. That is to say that almost one million were sent straight to the gas chambers, making this the agenda of this extermination center.
Ravensbrück, although it did not have the primary goal of extermination, provided its prisoners with some of the worst living and working conditions imaginable. Ravensbrück was first established in 1939 as a men’s and women’s camp and soon turned into the largest all-female concentration camp in Nazi Germany. Until the time of its liberation by the Soviet army in 1945, 132,000 women had been registered as inmates. Most women, especially in the mass liquidations of larger camps in Poland, such as Auschwitz, passed through Ravensbrück before being sent to work in other concentration camps as the Nazis grew frantic over the approaching Allied troops. Notable prisoners include French princess, Anne de Bauffremont-Courtenay, author, Corrie ten Boom, Polish Countess, Karolina Lankoraska and 131,997 other women from 40 different countries.
Why, with such horrendous conditions, massive numbers of prisoners and notable inmates, has Ravensbrück been frequently overlooked by the Holocaust tourist community? Different theories exist, but I cannot help but taking a feminist approach: female Holocaust survivor stories do not tend to be as “popular” as their male counterparts, and so, a place devoted to educating it's visitors on the female prisoner experience, would also be overlooked for predominately male concentration camps, such as Sachsenhausen. The result, unfortunately, is a lack of funding that has disallowed the Ravensbrück Memorial from reaching its potential as a museum.
Ravensbrück Memorial created an exhibition focused on the life of women in Ravensbrück and during the Holocaust, in general. The exhibitions place an emphasis on artifacts and audio and visual testimonies to personalize the trauma endured, educating visitors on the unique suffering of women during the Holocaust, some of which are still unknown by the majority of the population. I will be the first to admit that I did not know about Ravensbrück prior to my visit last summer during a Dialogue of Civilizations. I knew of Sachsenhausen and Auschwitz and Treblinka and Bergen-Belsen and all those big names, but I failed to learn about the largest women's concentration camp during World War II. The exhibition successfully presents information about female prisoners in various concentration camps and creates a dialogue that would otherwise not exist.
Certain pieces of information thoroughly impacted my view of Holocaust education, because what I was reading on the walls of the Museum, are things that should be obvious lessons in any curriculum on the Holocaust. For instance, rarely are brothels spoken about in the discussion of concentration camp organizational structures. By order of Henrich Himmler, in some camps, including Auschwitz I and Dachau, female prisoners were assigned to a prostitution Kommando. In fact, the brothel in Auschwitz I was in Block 24, the location of the current Museum Archives Department and, subsequently, my office. Male survivors testify that they could earn “passes” or “tokens” to be redeemed at the camp’s brothel. The testimony of these survivors suggest that these women received special treatment, including better food and living conditions. One survivor went as far to say he did not feel pity for these women because of this special treatment.
Women faced additional difficulties of sanitation, especially during their time of the month. Women, just like men, we're giving one shirt, jacket, one pair of pants and one pair of undergarments. Women did not receive extra undergarments during menstruation, and faced punishment for dirtying their only uniform. Malnutrition and starvation, however, resulted in the termination of a woman’s menstruation cycle, sometimes permanently. This brought up some controversial debates after the War, as women sought compensation for their sufferings, including becoming infertile as a result of forced sterilization or starvation.
Ravensbrück was also unique in the prevalence of female SS guards. Female SS officers patrolled many other concentration camps, but Ravensbrück had a disproportionally high population of women in uniform. The Memorial devoted an entire house for an exhibition on the brutality and eventual trials of female SS officials in Ravensbrück and beyond. The SS conjure images of beefy German alpha males, but even blonde Aryan 20-somethings carried a pistol and are responsible for the murder of hundreds of innocent lives. There aren't statistics on male versus female SS brutality rates, although survivors speak of the crimes committed and beatings conducted of each gender, depicting equal levels of horror.
I could write much more on the female experience during the Holocaust, especially at Ravensbrück, but time and space do not permit. If you are at all interested in the fate of women during the Holocaust, please do not hesitate to contact me. I find almost too much enjoyment in talking, learning and educating anyone and everyone about the Holocaust. Sabine expressed how the lack of interest, especially seen in the number of volunteer applicants, prohibits the Ravensbrück Memorial from reaching its goals of educating as many visitors as possible. She was very interested in the co-op program at Northeastern, and I hope to establish a connection for future students interested in assisting in any of the departments at Ravensbrück. This process, however, requires interested students to come forward, so if an international co-op at an incredible non-profit educational center is a future plan of yours, please reach out.
I find that it is the duty of our generation to uncover experiences that have been hidden for 70+ years and ensure that every Holocaust story has the opportunity to be shared.
 |
| Map of extermination, concentration and brothel camps in the Nazi occupied area |
Map showing the amount of prisoners from each country registered at Ravensbrück
Why, with such horrendous conditions, massive numbers of prisoners and notable inmates, has Ravensbrück been frequently overlooked by the Holocaust tourist community? Different theories exist, but I cannot help but taking a feminist approach: female Holocaust survivor stories do not tend to be as “popular” as their male counterparts, and so, a place devoted to educating it's visitors on the female prisoner experience, would also be overlooked for predominately male concentration camps, such as Sachsenhausen. The result, unfortunately, is a lack of funding that has disallowed the Ravensbrück Memorial from reaching its potential as a museum.
Ravensbrück Memorial created an exhibition focused on the life of women in Ravensbrück and during the Holocaust, in general. The exhibitions place an emphasis on artifacts and audio and visual testimonies to personalize the trauma endured, educating visitors on the unique suffering of women during the Holocaust, some of which are still unknown by the majority of the population. I will be the first to admit that I did not know about Ravensbrück prior to my visit last summer during a Dialogue of Civilizations. I knew of Sachsenhausen and Auschwitz and Treblinka and Bergen-Belsen and all those big names, but I failed to learn about the largest women's concentration camp during World War II. The exhibition successfully presents information about female prisoners in various concentration camps and creates a dialogue that would otherwise not exist.
Certain pieces of information thoroughly impacted my view of Holocaust education, because what I was reading on the walls of the Museum, are things that should be obvious lessons in any curriculum on the Holocaust. For instance, rarely are brothels spoken about in the discussion of concentration camp organizational structures. By order of Henrich Himmler, in some camps, including Auschwitz I and Dachau, female prisoners were assigned to a prostitution Kommando. In fact, the brothel in Auschwitz I was in Block 24, the location of the current Museum Archives Department and, subsequently, my office. Male survivors testify that they could earn “passes” or “tokens” to be redeemed at the camp’s brothel. The testimony of these survivors suggest that these women received special treatment, including better food and living conditions. One survivor went as far to say he did not feel pity for these women because of this special treatment.
Bonus voucher to be redeemed at the camp brothel
In my ignorance, I also neglected to give thought to the trauma exposed to women’s reproductive systems. Women who were raped by SS or by male inmates in the camp brothels, had their pregnancies immediately terminated. Brothel workers returned to work the day after an abortion surgery. In some cases, an abortion was not necessary, as SS officers selected to rape Jewish girls who would be sent to the gas chambers the following morning. Sterilization also occurred in mass numbers, especially at Auschwitz. This mainly took the form of electrocution followed by a series of blood tests and the eventual removal of reproductive organs. Women selected for these tests and surgeries would have to return to their work details following surgery.Women faced additional difficulties of sanitation, especially during their time of the month. Women, just like men, we're giving one shirt, jacket, one pair of pants and one pair of undergarments. Women did not receive extra undergarments during menstruation, and faced punishment for dirtying their only uniform. Malnutrition and starvation, however, resulted in the termination of a woman’s menstruation cycle, sometimes permanently. This brought up some controversial debates after the War, as women sought compensation for their sufferings, including becoming infertile as a result of forced sterilization or starvation.
Ravensbrück was also unique in the prevalence of female SS guards. Female SS officers patrolled many other concentration camps, but Ravensbrück had a disproportionally high population of women in uniform. The Memorial devoted an entire house for an exhibition on the brutality and eventual trials of female SS officials in Ravensbrück and beyond. The SS conjure images of beefy German alpha males, but even blonde Aryan 20-somethings carried a pistol and are responsible for the murder of hundreds of innocent lives. There aren't statistics on male versus female SS brutality rates, although survivors speak of the crimes committed and beatings conducted of each gender, depicting equal levels of horror.
I could write much more on the female experience during the Holocaust, especially at Ravensbrück, but time and space do not permit. If you are at all interested in the fate of women during the Holocaust, please do not hesitate to contact me. I find almost too much enjoyment in talking, learning and educating anyone and everyone about the Holocaust. Sabine expressed how the lack of interest, especially seen in the number of volunteer applicants, prohibits the Ravensbrück Memorial from reaching its goals of educating as many visitors as possible. She was very interested in the co-op program at Northeastern, and I hope to establish a connection for future students interested in assisting in any of the departments at Ravensbrück. This process, however, requires interested students to come forward, so if an international co-op at an incredible non-profit educational center is a future plan of yours, please reach out.
I find that it is the duty of our generation to uncover experiences that have been hidden for 70+ years and ensure that every Holocaust story has the opportunity to be shared.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Große Saal
Berlin Round 2: that’s right, this past weekend, I made another trip to one of my favorite cities. My research through Northeastern directed me to the German capital for a weekend of investigation, celebration and orchestration.
I first travelled to Fürstenberg, a town just outside of Berlin, to meet a family friend, Sabine. My aunt, Sabine and another Berliner, Magdalena, joined the Medical Mission Sisters, became friends and have kept in touch. This connection not only gave me multiple places to sleep, but also gave me the opportunity to meet some truly incredible women.
Sabine works at Ravensbrück, a former Nazi concentration camp, so we had a lot to talk about. Ravensbrück was the only all-female concentration camp run by the Nazis and, therefore, has a relatively unique history. I plan on dedicating an entire post to this unfortunately “unpopular” Holocaust tourist destination because it is, to me, one of the most under-appreciated sites for Holocaust education.
Sabine also helped start an aid organization in Fürstenberg dedicated to assist in the assimilation of refugees. Germany, as you probably know, has had a controversial relationship with the groups of refugees, mostly from Syria, that have entered its borders in astounding numbers since the Arab Spring. I got the opportunity to visit the housing facilities Sabine and her organization have fought to get for the now 70+ refugees living in Fürstenberg. Saturday was also a special time in the town because it was the first day of school celebration. In Germany, it is tradition for children entering kindergarten to be welcomed to their school in a ceremony and the reception of Schultüte, a cone-shaped object filled with sweets. The ceremony is usually held on the weekend to ensure family members from out of town can travel to the school and see their 6 year-old attempt to carry a 3.5’ cone. On my first day of Kindergarten, my parents took my picture by the bus and I probably got a hug. I’m not bitter.
There were four children from refugee families that will be beginning Kindegarten this year in Fürstenberg. Three other children will be starting at the elementary school and, because it is their first year at a German school, they got to participate in the ceremony as well. I was moved by the way the school welcomed these children with complete acceptance, something not always expected by a small, monoculture town.
After the ceremony, we joined the families in a trip to the local ice cream parlor. The families speak various levels of German depending on how long they have been in Germany. Sabine and some others are volunteering their time to teach German classes at night to adults that would like to learn and the children are taking extra German classes provided by the school. Most of the children didn't speak English and, because I don't speak German, I could only interact with them through play which they were pretty receptive too once we were all on a sugar rush from the ice cream. Coming off the sugar high, I found myself sitting at a table while a 3 year-old Syrian girl taught me how to count in German. I taught her how to count in English and she caught on right away, while I forgot the German numbers almost immediately. I have been in college as long as she has been alive, and she outsmarted me without even knowing the English language!
On Sunday, I journeyed back into Berlin (only an hour train ride) and met Magdalena, a therapist at a rehabilitation center. I ate so much plum cake, learned a lot about the German Holocaust education curriculum and got all my dreams psychoanalyzed: it was a well-needed, different experience. That evening, we decided to go to the Philharmonie and see the John Wilson Orchestra. I have never been to the orchestra and I didn't really know what to expect. I thought it would be all classical music and, because that is my genre of choice for studying, I was worried I would automatically take out a notebook and feel like I had to take notes. To my delight, the orchestra is conducted by a young, British man who created a set list of songs from famous movies. I had some interviews that day, so I was dressed in “co-op chic” and attending the orchestra: this is adulthood, people.
After a reluctant goodbye and a couple more slices of plum cake, I made the 12 hour journey back to Oswiecim. I had a connection at a station called “Praha,” which I assumed was in Germany or Poland, but once the conductor came around asking for our passes to go across the Czech Republic border, I realized my layover was actually in Prague. In 72 hours, I took 8 modes of transportation across 5 cities in 3 countries: what did you do last weekend?
I first travelled to Fürstenberg, a town just outside of Berlin, to meet a family friend, Sabine. My aunt, Sabine and another Berliner, Magdalena, joined the Medical Mission Sisters, became friends and have kept in touch. This connection not only gave me multiple places to sleep, but also gave me the opportunity to meet some truly incredible women.
Sabine works at Ravensbrück, a former Nazi concentration camp, so we had a lot to talk about. Ravensbrück was the only all-female concentration camp run by the Nazis and, therefore, has a relatively unique history. I plan on dedicating an entire post to this unfortunately “unpopular” Holocaust tourist destination because it is, to me, one of the most under-appreciated sites for Holocaust education.
Sabine and I after having coffee with some people from her church community
Sabine also helped start an aid organization in Fürstenberg dedicated to assist in the assimilation of refugees. Germany, as you probably know, has had a controversial relationship with the groups of refugees, mostly from Syria, that have entered its borders in astounding numbers since the Arab Spring. I got the opportunity to visit the housing facilities Sabine and her organization have fought to get for the now 70+ refugees living in Fürstenberg. Saturday was also a special time in the town because it was the first day of school celebration. In Germany, it is tradition for children entering kindergarten to be welcomed to their school in a ceremony and the reception of Schultüte, a cone-shaped object filled with sweets. The ceremony is usually held on the weekend to ensure family members from out of town can travel to the school and see their 6 year-old attempt to carry a 3.5’ cone. On my first day of Kindergarten, my parents took my picture by the bus and I probably got a hug. I’m not bitter.
There were four children from refugee families that will be beginning Kindegarten this year in Fürstenberg. Three other children will be starting at the elementary school and, because it is their first year at a German school, they got to participate in the ceremony as well. I was moved by the way the school welcomed these children with complete acceptance, something not always expected by a small, monoculture town.
After the ceremony, we joined the families in a trip to the local ice cream parlor. The families speak various levels of German depending on how long they have been in Germany. Sabine and some others are volunteering their time to teach German classes at night to adults that would like to learn and the children are taking extra German classes provided by the school. Most of the children didn't speak English and, because I don't speak German, I could only interact with them through play which they were pretty receptive too once we were all on a sugar rush from the ice cream. Coming off the sugar high, I found myself sitting at a table while a 3 year-old Syrian girl taught me how to count in German. I taught her how to count in English and she caught on right away, while I forgot the German numbers almost immediately. I have been in college as long as she has been alive, and she outsmarted me without even knowing the English language!
On Sunday, I journeyed back into Berlin (only an hour train ride) and met Magdalena, a therapist at a rehabilitation center. I ate so much plum cake, learned a lot about the German Holocaust education curriculum and got all my dreams psychoanalyzed: it was a well-needed, different experience. That evening, we decided to go to the Philharmonie and see the John Wilson Orchestra. I have never been to the orchestra and I didn't really know what to expect. I thought it would be all classical music and, because that is my genre of choice for studying, I was worried I would automatically take out a notebook and feel like I had to take notes. To my delight, the orchestra is conducted by a young, British man who created a set list of songs from famous movies. I had some interviews that day, so I was dressed in “co-op chic” and attending the orchestra: this is adulthood, people.
The orchestra warming up before the first act
After a reluctant goodbye and a couple more slices of plum cake, I made the 12 hour journey back to Oswiecim. I had a connection at a station called “Praha,” which I assumed was in Germany or Poland, but once the conductor came around asking for our passes to go across the Czech Republic border, I realized my layover was actually in Prague. In 72 hours, I took 8 modes of transportation across 5 cities in 3 countries: what did you do last weekend?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)