Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away
striped material, and marked with a shape and color to indicate their category. One of the most notorious concentration camps opened in 1940 and held nearly 1.3 million people throughout the five years that it remained open. Out of all the concentration camps that were created in Europe, this was the most infamous of them all; Auschwitz.
Story and Photos by Krystie Morrison kemorrison@lc.edu TW: Some subjects in this article may be found disturbing by some. Please continue with caution. Silence cloaked the room in the Bank of America Gallery at Union Station in Kansas City, MO. As you ride the escalator down to the gallery, you’re greeted by a massive world map with just one word on it: Auschwitz.
As the people were taken in through the gates of Auschwitz, they were met by a giant gate with the words, “Arbeit Macht Frei,” which roughly translates to “work makes you free.” Not only were prisoners forced to work to death, but some were taken from the masses to have inhumane experiments performed on them by Dr. Josef Mengele, also known as the “Angel of Death.”
Prisoners would arrive by cattle cars to the concentration camp with most filled past capacity. One survivor recalls In the early 1940s, Europe was a very dangerous place that the soldiers would count to 150 and then close the to be if you were Jewish, Romani, or anyone else the doors behind them. They were only offered two buckets German regime considered to be “undesirable.” Under for the entire journey; one for water and one to use as a the direction of Adolf Hitler, SS soldiers were required to bathroom and there was no stopping on the way to the take these innocent people from their homes, Top Left: At the beginning of camp. Many passengers did not make it to tour, guests are greeted see where the railway ended. stripped of their rights, and made to wear the by a giant map that pinpoints badges on all of their clothes to be identified two locations; Kansas City, and where Auschwitz is as the less desirable crowd. No one could MO, located in Europe. even imagine what the future held in store for Top Right: As you travel them. In the early 30s, antisemeitic propaganda became a part of daily life in Germany and no one questioned it. By the mid-1930s, the routine in the concentration camps was set in stone. All prisoners, including women and children, would be shaved bald, dressed in uniforms made of a coarse grey and blue Page 18
further into the exhibit, you are greeted by giant concrete posts that were used for fencing at the Auschwitz camp. Bottom Right: One of the first original artifacts that you come face to face with is a wheel set from one of the cattle cars that carried deportees to camps. Photos by Krystie Morrison
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