Fire destroys thousands of shoes at concentration camp

[Relic]

I have seen this display and it was something that touched me immeasurably - it's just a simple pile of shoes. A LOT of shoes.

Women's shoes, men's shoes, children and infant shoes, expensive dress shoes and work shoes. All collected from victims who would not exactly need them anymore. This almost has me in tears....

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article...ctims/19589367

Aug. 11) -- At least 80,000 people, including about 60,000 Jews, died at the Majdanek Nazi concentration camp in Poland. And now up to 10,000 pairs of shoes, which served as a memorial to the victims who wore them, have perished.

A wooden barrack housing the shoes and other artifacts was nearly destroyed by a fire that broke out just before midnight on Monday.

"The damage to these irreplaceable items is a loss to a site that has such historical value to Europe, Poland and the Jewish people," the director of the Yad Vashem museum in Israel, Avner Shalev, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
A room full of discarded shoes from victims of the Majdanek Concentration Camp in Poland.
Tim Graham, Getty Images
Discarded shoes served as a memorial to the victims of the Majdanek concentration camp in Poland. A fire late Monday nearly destroyed a wooden barrack housing the shoes and other artifacts.

An initial investigation indicates that an electrical short circuit might have caused the fire, according to media reports.

Although 10,000 pairs of shoes were on display at the site, just outside the city of Lublin, about half were saved after firefighters arrived quickly and prevented further damage, the Israeli daily Haaretz said.

The museum told the AP, however, that it was too soon to say how many shoes had been lost.

Damage to the camp was estimated at about $330,000, according to the State Museum, which looks after the site, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The camp, which was run by the Nazi SS, operated from October 1941 to July 1944, when it was taken over by the advancing Soviet Red Army.

It was set up by the SS leader Odilo Globocnik, who was also in charge of operations at two other death camps near Lublin, Sobibor and Treblinka.

Globocnik, like his leader Adolf Hitler, committed suicide after the fall of the Third Reich.

[kesslari]

Thanks for posting this. It's important that we remember the atrocity that educated and civilized people can commit - how easily we can set aside our humanity.

[Rocker949]

Originally Posted by kesslari

Thanks for posting this. It's important that we remember the atrocity that educated and civilized people can commit - how easily we can set aside our humanity.

+1

[McHaven]

Thank you for posting this. I have never seen any of the camps in person, but I have seen photos of the shoe exhibit. It provides a very real and tangible connection to those that perished during the Third Reich's brutal "Final Solution".

I understand the tears part. Currently, in my Nazi Germany history course, we're studying the Einsatzgruppen and other methods of extermination, used by the Nazis. I nearly have to excuse myself every time we see footage of the camps, the corpses, etc. My grandfather escaped Czechoslovakia as a young child with his mother just a few days after the annexation of the Sudetenland. My grandfather was Jewish. I'm thankful everyday that he and his mother escaped. Sadly, other family members were left behind and we still do not know what their fates were. Although I was not raised Jewish (Grandfather lost faith after the war, married a Catholic girl, and my father was raised Catholic, my mother was protestant. We didn't do anything traditionally Jewish), I feel an immense connection whenever I see the footage. It haunts me to know that my distant family could have perished at the hands of Nazis.

[Relic]

Originally Posted by McHaven

Thank you for posting this. I have never seen any of the camps in person, but I have seen photos of the shoe exhibit. It provides a very real and tangible connection to those that perished during the Third Reich's brutal "Final Solution".

I understand the tears part. Currently, in my Nazi Germany history course, we're studying the Einsatzgruppen and other methods of extermination, used by the Nazis. I nearly have to excuse myself every time we see footage of the camps, the corpses, etc. My grandfather escaped Czechoslovakia as a young child with his mother just a few days after the annexation of the Sudetenland. My grandfather was Jewish. I'm thankful everyday that he and his mother escaped. Sadly, other family members were left behind and we still do not know what their fates were. Although I was not raised Jewish (Grandfather lost faith after the war, married a Catholic girl, and my father was raised Catholic, my mother was protestant. We didn't do anything traditionally Jewish), I feel an immense connection whenever I see the footage. It haunts me to know that my distant family could have perished at the hands of Nazis.

I hear ya.

I had actually lived not far from Majdanek at one time, and studied this stuff religiously out of my own interest, even speaking to folks who lived through that era.
I just can't put into words some of the stuff that I'd seen and heard.. there ARE no words, none. I rail about this stuff in any thread relating to WW2...concentration camps, the Warsaw Uprisings...
I mean, HOW can you describe in words that would do it justice, talking to an old lady who wells up in tears while telling how the nazis beat her little brother to death for stealing bread? She was a little Polish girl who watched soldiers beat her little brothers brains out because he stole food, and there she is sitting in front of me an old woman, half a century later bawling her head off as though this happened yesterday... I just cant even convey the depth of how I feel about this stuff..

[vbasscustom]

Relic, i believe that you should write a book. Not enough people know about this sort of history in depth as i am sure you do. When those people that you have talked to are gone, only the limited few that have actually spoken to them will know they're stories. Im sure you are a very busy man and dont have time to commit to sitting down an writing for days, but even if you just pick away at getting your knowledge down on paper, im sure many would bennefit from knowing these stories and the history.

[McHaven]

Originally Posted by vbasscustom

Relic, i believe that you should write a book. Not enough people know about this sort of history in depth as i am sure you do. When those people that you have talked to are gone, only the limited few that have actually spoken to them will know they're stories. Im sure you are a very busy man and dont have time to commit to sitting down an writing for days, but even if you just pick away at getting your knowledge down on paper, im sure many would bennefit from knowing these stories and the history.

That is something I dread. Soon, Holocaust survivors, victims of the Nazis, and WWII veterans will soon be gone. There are many, many texts on these people, and many oral histories, but I don't think enough has been to embrace the public and share them.

I'm afraid once they're all gone, Holocaust denial will become a bigger movement. THAT is something I cannot stand.

[Relic]

Originally Posted by vbasscustom

Relic, i believe that you should write a book. Not enough people know about this sort of history in depth as i am sure you do. When those people that you have talked to are gone, only the limited few that have actually spoken to them will know they're stories. Im sure you are a very busy man and dont have time to commit to sitting down an writing for days, but even if you just pick away at getting your knowledge down on paper, im sure many would bennefit from knowing these stories and the history.

Thanks, I really do appreciate that. But here's the thing - there are already sooo many books dealing with this stuff. Especially by the Poles and Russians - they're not too quick to forget this stuff even to a fault. Even now many folks in Europe think of them as "the eternal victims".. because they cant seem to ever move fully on.
If someone with far more skill than I could just translate even a few and send them to colleges and libraries here it would really change the way people see WW2 history as well as the Holocaust in general.

[McHaven]

Originally Posted by Relic

Thanks, I really do appreciate that. But here's the thing - there are already sooo many books dealing with this stuff. Especially by the Poles and Russians - they're not too quick to forget this stuff even to a fault. Even now many folks in Europe think of them as "the eternal victims".. because they cant seem to ever move fully on..

I always loved that American spy movies had Russian enemies. Russian spy movies had German enemies. Russians were not quick to forget the amazing loss of men to German armies.

[MIJ-VI]

How this relatively obscure chapter in WW II's atrocities ended...

"Werwolf (German for "werewolf", sometimes spelled "Wehrwolf") was the name given to a last-ditch Nazi plan, developed during the closing months of the Second World War, to create a German commando force which would operate behind enemy lines as the Allies advanced through Germany itself. Werwolf remained entirely ineffectual as a combat force, however, and in practical terms, its value as propaganda far outweighed its actual achievements. It did cause the Allies to overestimate the threat of a Nazi insurgency, leading to greater hardship and deaths for the German population, which in turn aided the survival of Nazi ideals into the post-war period...."

Allied reprisals

"According to Biddiscombe "the threat of Nazi partisan warfare had a generally unhealthy effect on broad issues of policy among the occupying powers. As well, it prompted the development of Draconian reprisal measures that resulted in the destruction of much German property and the deaths of thousands of civilians and soldiers".[24]

In the Soviet occupation zone, thousands of youths were arrested as "Werwolfs".[25][26] Evidently, arrests were arbitrary and in part based on denunciations.[25] The arrested boys were either "shot at dawn" or interned in NKVD special camps.[25] On 22 June 1945, Deputy Commissar of the NKVD Ivan Serov reported to the head of the NKVD Lavrentiy Beria the arrest of "more than 600" alleged Werwolf members,[27] mostly aged 15 to 17 years.[28] The report, though referring to incidents where Soviet units came under fire from the woods,[27] asserts that most of the arrested had not been involved in any action against the Soviets, which Serov explained with interrogation results allegedly showing that the boys had been "waiting" for the right moment and in the meantime focussed on attracting new members.[28] In October 1945, Beria reported to Joseph Stalin the "liquidation" of 359 alleged Werwolf groups.[25] Of those, 92 groups with 1.192 members were "liquidated" in Saxony alone.[25] On 5 August 1946, Soviet minister for internal affairs Sergei Nikiforovich Kruglov reported that in the Soviet occupation zone, 332 "terrorist diversion groups and underground organizations" had been disclosed and "liquidated".[25] A total of about 10,000 minors was interned in NKVD special camps, half of whom did not return.[26] Parents as well as the East German administration and political parties, installed by the Soviets, were denied any information on the whereabouts of the arrested youths..."

...and how it started:

YouTube - Documentary: The Adolf Hitler Schools (Part 1 of 6)

YouTube - Documentary: The Adolf Hitler Schools (Part 2 of 6)

YouTube - Documentary: The Adolf Hitler Schools (Part 3 of 6)

YouTube - Documentary: The Adolf Hitler Schools (Part 4 of 6)

YouTube - Documentary: The Adolf Hitler Schools (Part 5 of 6)

YouTube - Documentary: The Adolf Hitler Schools (Part 6 of 6)

[Mike M.]

Originally Posted by Relic

I hear ya.

I had actually lived not far from Majdanek at one time, and studied this stuff religiously out of my own interest, even speaking to folks who lived through that era.
I just can't put into words some of the stuff that I'd seen and heard.. there ARE no words, none. I rail about this stuff in any thread relating to WW2...concentration camps, the Warsaw Uprisings...
I mean, HOW can you describe in words that would do it justice, talking to an old lady who wells up in tears while telling how the nazis beat her little brother to death for stealing bread? She was a little Polish girl who watched soldiers beat her little brothers brains out because he stole food, and there she is sitting in front of me an old woman, half a century later bawling her head off as though this happened yesterday... I just cant even convey the depth of how I feel about this stuff..

I hear you loud and clear. Still find it hard to grasp that this was going on a mere eight years before I was born. That scares me to death. We must never, ever forget that this happened.

[machine gewehr]

Those shoes look sad beyond words...

I watched/read countless documentries,many movies etc. but there's one book that changed my life.There were times I dropped the book from my hands as I started crying,my body shaking from the horror.Having a good sense of emphaty is not such a good thing.

[Relic]

Originally Posted by machine gewehr

Those shoes look sad beyond words...

I watched/read countless documentries,many movies etc. but there's one book that changed my life.There were times I dropped the book from my hands as I started crying,my body shaking from the horror.Having a good sense of emphaty is not such a good thing.

I hear you MG. There were times when I was there that I actually burst out in tears. The crazy thing is that I wasn't the only one either. I dont think that too many people can go to such places and not be deeply affected.

[Joe Gress]

Probably one of the most life changing and saddening events of my life have been visiting old death camps and battle sites throughout europe.

[macaroni tony]

Just an awful, awful reminder of how disgustingly evil we humans are capable of. This story is heartbreaking.

Relic, as always, I really appreciate your insight and knowledge on the matter.

[Rocker949]

I just happened to catch this movie on cable yesterday about the Danish resistance. Although it has nothing to do with the Holocaust, I feel it does present an accurate picture of the Nazis. This is not something to pop popcorn, drink a Coke and enjoy yourself with, although the acting is great and the movie itself is a cliffhanger. Very grim, though, especially at the end. I need to watch things like this from time to time to jolt myself back into the reality of World War II. I agree with all who say we should never forget. The name of the movie in English is "Flame and Citron" and it's a fictionalized account of a true event.

http://www.ifcfilms.com/videos/flame-citron-trailer

[Philbiker]

Originally Posted by McHaven

Thank you for posting this. I have never seen any of the camps in person, but I have seen photos of the shoe exhibit. It provides a very real and tangible connection to those that perished during the Third Reich's brutal "Final Solution".

I understand the tears part. Currently, in my Nazi Germany history course, we're studying the Einsatzgruppen and other methods of extermination, used by the Nazis. I nearly have to excuse myself every time we see footage of the camps, the corpses, etc. My grandfather escaped Czechoslovakia as a young child with his mother just a few days after the annexation of the Sudetenland. My grandfather was Jewish. I'm thankful everyday that he and his mother escaped. Sadly, other family members were left behind and we still do not know what their fates were. Although I was not raised Jewish (Grandfather lost faith after the war, married a Catholic girl, and my father was raised Catholic, my mother was protestant. We didn't do anything traditionally Jewish), I feel an immense connection whenever I see the footage. It haunts me to know that my distant family could have perished at the hands of Nazis.

Is your grandfather alive? If so, get a tape recorder and get his story on tape, then transcribe it for your family.

My wife's grandmother lived in Poland during the war. Her family was rounded up by Stalin's thugs and they spent two years in a forced labor camp in Siberia. After they were freed they, along with many other Polish refugees, made their way to Pahlevi, Iran, and eventually Palestine and England. Having her story, in her own words, transcribed, is a treasure for the whole family for generations.

[Philbiker]

Originally Posted by machine gewehr

Those shoes look sad beyond words...

I watched/read countless documentries,many movies etc. but there's one book that changed my life.There were times I dropped the book from my hands as I started crying,my body shaking from the horror.Having a good sense of emphaty is not such a good thing.

Ever read "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil" by Hannah Arendt? Highly recommended, and very difficult.

[McHaven]

Originally Posted by Philbiker

Is your grandfather alive? If so, get a tape recorder and get his story on tape, then transcribe it for your family.

My wife's grandmother lived in Poland during the war. Her family was rounded up by Stalin's thugs and they spent two years in a forced labor camp in Siberia. After they were freed they, along with many other Polish refugees, made their way to Pahlevi, Iran, and eventually Palestine and England. Having her story, in her own words, transcribed, is a treasure for the whole family for generations.

He died a few months ago. It was not until right before his death that I learned of his early history. He was not a man that exposed much of himself, and even my Grandmother didn't know until they were already married. He was also only about 2-3 when they left Czechoslovakia, so he does not remember much. As far as I know, he never even spoke Czech.

[nutdog]

I visited Washington DC a while back. Saw the Smithsonian, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Capitol, White House, Arlington National Cemetery. It was all awe inspiring but nothing moved me like the pile of shoes in the Holocaust Museum. And it wasn't that long ago. We think we're civilized but that kind of thing is still going on. See Sudan, Congo, ethnic cleansings, honor killings...We live in a fallen world.