I visited two Holocaust museums, one in Washington D.C. and the other in Israel in Jerusalem, so when I was fortunate enough to visit the Auschwitz camp in Poland I already had read enough and studied enough so that I could manage to go through the actual World War II camp that was featured in the news yesterday and not break down.
So acting very stoically, I started through the exhibit in the actual place where thousands of prisoners met their demise in gas chambers. At the museum was a pile of human hair cut off the still-living prisoners since the Germans thought it could be used for some device to see targets better from their bombers.
That’s when I saw it. A still perfectly braided braid of hair with a ribbon bow keeping the braid intact obviously cut off near the child’s head. Yes, it happened. I realized that that child whose mother had also braided her hair and had placed a bit of ribbon at the end, just as my own mother had done day after day, probably died soon afterward.
That child ended up in a gas chamber whereas I was allowed to grow up. As an elderly adult, tears came and flowed for that little girl who was never able to experience a life like I had.
Prisoners today are still not being cared for properly, and unless our country continues to belong and participate in international organizations, such tragedies will continue to occur.
Let’s be mindful of past faults and not let them continue as we proceed to make America great again.
Mary Richie
Forest Park