A Glimpse of History

January 12, 2014

A Glimpse of History

History is all around me every day. It's not always pretty but it's there as a constant reminder of man's choices and God's sovereignty. I see it in the tall cement block apartment buildings that are void of any beauty. I see it weekly as I pass Memento Park on the road to church. I see it in the memorial to the 1956 Revolution outside my grocery store. I see it in the faces of the older generation I pass on my way to school in the morning.

During Christmas break, I learned more about the history of Hungarians and Eastern Europe from 1939-1945. I had a four day blitz of museums both in Hungary and in Poland. Each served to remind me that without God, I am hopeless, given over to sinful desires of this world and of my flesh. Desires of greed, envy, selfishness, pride, and gluttony.

First museum: Auschwitz Concentration Camp- One of the most notable death camps run by the Nazi's during WWII. It was surreal and sobering to be walking in a place where many people died. It hit me particularly hard that 430,000 Hungarian Jews were brought to Auschwitz in a 5th month period in 1944. A good majority of them were put in the gas chambers. The Hungarian Jewish population that were brought to the camp was the highest among the all the other countries.

Photo of Hungarian Jews

A map of the camps and our tour guide

Poison used in the gas chambers

The massive quantities of personal belongings that were recovered helped to give perspective to the numbers.

Suitcases of prisoners that were taken when they arrived

Second Museum: Historical Museum of Krakow- Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory
The museum is a chronology of the city of Krakow from the Nazi occupation in 1939 through the Soviet "liberation" in 1945. The parts about the Krakow ghetto were particularly moving. There was a part telling of Schindler's role in saving many of the Jewish workers from his factory however this was not the main focus.