New Prison Museum: Silence Until the Walls Speak?

In the New Prison Museum, we learned the history that fell deep within its walls. The original idea of the prison was set up in a way to help prisons be able to reform into society. However, to do this the prisoner needed to be able to reflect on their mistakes so, they were all separated into solitary confinement. The walls were built thick to make it hard for them to communicate, and they were put into separate cells so they could not see one another. Even the exercise rooms were segmented into small sections so they could not see one another.

Take a moment to imagine what it was like. To be thrown into the tiny cell, where the walls are so close it is like being shoulder to shoulder with them. The walls would bring no comfort, as you feel the cold air racking through your body. The pitch-black room encompassing your vision. Any comfort has been washed away with silence. Speaking would only bring more misery, as those who did were punished even more. Sure you could go exercise, go to church, or even work in the workshops, but even there you were alone, separated by thick cold walls, and not able to speak nor hear another voice. Left with nothing but the spiraling madness that took over the mind.

    

Now this wasn't how it stayed. One day, as World War 2 swept the world, the Nazis came to claim the prison. The prison held men, women, and children, and many of them would not be spared the pain that would rain upon them. With the transfer, came new issues. Solitude was replaced with cellmates, around ten people crowded into the tiny cells. With barely enough food or water for anyone and no trust to be found between them. They didn't know who could be a friend or a spy. There was no space, no trust, no privacy, and with that came very little hope. Not even a bed to supply any comfort from the persistent torturous environment. The only comfort came from those who took pity and solace to the souls that resided there. From helping them fake illnesses or helping them escape. However, they could only help so many. Some were sent to do grueling work in concentration camps and tortured or sent even further below. Even those of a very young age were not spared, as their lives were cut short.

Being pushed down, silenced, and completely alone. They hoped to see their families once more. They knew they would never see the faces of the ones they held dear again. Their children, spouses, or parents would never hear another sound, hear them laugh or sing, or see them happy. They would never even get the chance to say goodbye. Their stories would be wiped from history, as any records of them were destroyed and forgotten about. It was as if the people trapped in this prison were nothing, being silenced and erased from existence itself. The only remains are the writings on the walls, the letters, and the few stories of those who have survived and escaped the hell they were put in. Many of those who resided in the prison became nothing but a mere ghost of the past, becoming as silent as the halls.

Even if the Nazis intended to erase the memory of those that resided in the prison, the new prison museum today will forever stand to tell their story. Their stories and last words are forever cemented into the prison, telling their stories to any willing to hear them. They will not be forgotten. Even though the prison is silent, even if the prisoners can not share their stories, the history behind the walls and guides will speak on their behalf. The prison could never truly be silent. They say silence speaks volumes. They say only the walls know the whole story and the true horror of what went down in the frigid building. So, if the walls could speak, what would they say?

~ Layla Polacheck