All,
Following on from today’s lesson, for prep I would like you to do the following.
- Explore the three BBC web pages below.
This account of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz II-Birkenau (here).
The audio slideshow from the Auschwitz Museum explaining the problems of preserving the ageing and crumbling 191-hectare site, with limited funds (here).
Two experts on Auschwitz arguing for and against the idea that the former Nazi death camp should be allowed to crumble away (here)
- Then post which view you agree with more (and why) below. One paragraph please.
Please note, for your post to appear, I will need to approve it – so don’t worry it is does not show up straight away.
You can of course discuss this with people at home.
Mr Kydd.
I believe that although there are many valid arguments for allowing plants and weeds to undermine the constant reminder of death and suffering that is Auschwitz, the will of the survivors of Auschwitz outways the want of those not involved. As Wladyslaw Bartoszewski (a former inmate of Auschwitz) saisd: “If we let the memorial cease to exist, we will take a great burden on our conscience – we will trample upon the testament of the victims”. It would be an insult to let nature destroy the place where millions of people suffered and died, especially while there are still survivors.
Ultimately, I believe that the fate of Auschwitz should be left in the hands of the survivors who remain today.
I believe that Auschwitz should be managed by the survivors and that it shall be their choice whether it shall be left to crumble and die or to live. I strongly believe that it is an insult to anyone that is alive today that survived the horror to make money off of an area that was made to murder innocent people like themselves; the survivors. I also agree that if it stands, it shall be used to show what awful things happened during 1940 to 1945 and for the survivors to go back and visit.
The remains of Auschwitz should remain until the last survivor has passed away, then the area should be left to be reclaimed by nature. While it is an emotional experience, the full horror of the concentration camps cannot be felt by those who did not suffer there; Auschwitz is just a shell of an evil past that can be remembered in more vivid ways. I do believe the area should be a memorial, allow the buildings to crumble and the tress to grow, creating a peaceful place to remember the dead. There should be a small area showing people the history and perhaps a memorial wall with the names of every person who died. I do think that the displays of shoes and hair are powerful reminders of how many people suffered and died at the hands of the Nazi’s but these can be preserved within a museum environment or moved around the world to spread the message much wider.
There is an important message to take from Auschwitz, especially at a time when the world is fractured; “let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity”. We should never forget but not because of decaying shells and hiding past horrors but because the past and knowledge are shared with each generation. The important lesson is that evil and bigotry should never again be allowed to exist in our society.
I believe that though Auschwitz is a site where millions were killed at the hand of the Nazis it should be kept as a reminder never to let this horror happen again. People say that the survival of Auschwitz is up to the survivors of the camp and this is good until there is no one left to have a say in this. If you let Auschwitz crumble into the ground what is to stop the people who say that the Holocaust did not happen. Auschwitz is there as a reminder to stop this mass genocide of any culture or race ever again. But on the other hand people should not go there just as a tourist who want to see Auschwitz to tick it off their bucket list. This is a place of mass killing and where blood was spilt by the gallon and people need to respect that.It should be a non-profit organisation that’s only purpose is to see that Auschwitz should always be remembered by all and nothing else.
I think that we should not preserve Auschwitz because it is a reminder of the terrible things that happened there. We can remember the people who were killed and also remember the history without needing to keep alive what the Nazi’s stood for. The area could have something else built on it to remind us of the people killed there. For example a memorial.
I believe that Auschwitz should stand as it would until the last survivor passes away. I think that making money off of an area such as this is wrong in every way as it is then a tourist attraction that shows a place of one of the biggest genocides in history. I believe that a memorial should be built in the centre of the grounds do that when the site is reclaimed be nature all that stands is a memorial to those that suffered. I have a very strong opinion against the fact that there are hotels and companies making money out of this site. For example the first thing that comes up on a google search if you type in Au is Auschwitz tours. That is wrong on every level.
This quote was written about Auschwitz concentration camp; “our language lacks words to express this offence, the demolition of a man.” (Primo Levi). I think that this quote gives a clear idea of this suffering in a way that everyone can understand and can think about in a clear way.
I feel that Auschwitz should be kept. I believe this because if we forget, it may happen again; it is our history. As the famous quote says we can forgive but not forget, this is so true on many levels. We can forgive the Nazi’s for this happening but we can’t forget all those Jews who unfortunately lost there lives in a very horrific, dramatic way.
However, it can be remembered for Jews as a traumatic experience.
In conclusion, I think it should be preserved.
I feel that Auschwitz should be kept open and maintained. Purely because it needs to serve as a reminder of the atrocities that happened there over the course of World War II. Destroying Auschwitz would basically be like disregarding the two million that dies there. I believe that it can be maintained even though the buildings are decaying. It can also be used for educational purposes as withtin the next 100 years the holocaust won’t be easily forgotten. I also feel that entry to the site should be free and photography should be banned to be respectful. I hope that Auschwitz will stand until it can no longer stand.
I believe that it should not be preserved and it should be left to breakdown. Even though I say I think it should not be preserved I also think it should be up to the survivors of auschwitz as they were the people that had to experience this horrible act. They should have a strong say in wether it should stay, which could remind them what pain and horror that were forced to live in, or we should leave it, which could mean people would forget it ever happened. In my opinion I don’t think this act will ever be forgotten because of how significant it was and how many people this killed.
Also I strongly disagree with people being able to get tours and building hotels as this is not right. People should not be allowed to make money out of something very senstive and serious. If the descision is made to preserve it I would hope it would only ever be used for educational purposes – not to make a profit. I would hope that it is left and not preserved because people will have the constant reminders of what happened there but there should still be many memorials and times to remember what happened there and everyone should be educated why this should never happen again.
I think that the Auschwitz should be preserved as it is a reminder of what we have done and hopefully it will show and tell people that something like this should never be repeated again. Preserving Auschwitz will hopefully help us remember the people lost and their legacies. It can also help teach people and the next generations on what had happened here and represent the atrocities that took place during the second world war. I believe it should be free of entry as I believe people need to see the terrible things that happened hear and the horrors. As well as that if you let it crumble down then what is there to say that it happened other than pictures and what is there to stop people building on the land.
In my opinion, I think that they should keep Auschwitz up and open to the public to remember the bad things that happened and how many lives were lost. I think that the public should be able to visit it but shall not be able to take photographs and must not be loud when they are there to show respect to the people that passed away. I believe that it should not become a tourist attraction but should be known as a memorial for what happened. If weeds take over and things crumble to the ground then I think it should be closed off to the public as it is no longer a safe place visit but they should not demolish, remove or add to it. It should be natural – whatever happens, happens. We do not have the right to mess with it as that is disrespectful since such horrid hings happened there. It should stand for as long as it can and when it decides to fall it should be left natural and untouched.
In my opinion, they should preserve Auschwitz and make it free to enter so people can see the terrible things that happened there even if it only gives them a faint idea. I understand that nobody will ever be able to completely understand what happened or how it felt to be in Auschwitz but at least if it is preserved people will not forget the terrible things that went on there. I also think that Auschwitz is pretty much the only physical evidence we have that the holocaust ever happend because all the other evidence is mostly pictures, this is because Hitler never admitted to creating the holocaust. The most important reason I want them to preserve Auschwitz is so that future generations can learn about the tragedy and see where most of it took place other than only seeing pictures and learning about it in a classroom and maybe help prevent further atrocities like this.
The amazing thing about history is it ability to show so much in such ordinary things. From the Parthenon to the ruins of Auschwitz-Birkenau, such simple things such as architecture and clothes can contain an immense story, and an immense amount of pain.
However, the pain in Auschwitz isn’t only contained to the location; this pain is shared by the survivors of this abhorrent event, those that suffered through this pain, and witnessed these horrors. As such, to me the only, truly incontestable say on the matter is held by them: the holocaust survivors.
After this, though, the decision becomes more confused. Since there would now be no one that, in my opinion, can have an incontrovertible opinion, so I shall leave mine.
I feel that Auschwitz-Birkenau should not be demolished. This location, although is perhaps a horrid reminder of the holocaust, should serve as a record and a beacon. The concentration camp is immense, and any who’ve visited there have said that the experience was harrowing; revealing just what had happened there.
Despite the resources required to upkeep the site, which is a valid concern, this location should serve as a reminder of what happens when such hatred is acted on and allowed to be acted on by those in power. As such the continued preservation of the camp may allow those who weren’t involved in the horrors of the holocaust to catch, at least, a glimpse of what it was like to experience such systematic discrimination and terror.
I think that Auschwitz should be left to decompose but before it does I think the public should not be allowed inside as I personally think it is disrespectful to walk on the ground that the people in world war 2 did. I think you should be allowed to walk around the outside and they could build a museum outside and when it is gone I don’t think anyone should be allowed to build on that land apart from building memorial sites. I think building hotels around it to use for tourist attractions there is very wrong and they should be stopped. I think Auschwitz should be left alone, it has had enough people go through there and die it should just be left to rest.