Imprisonment in Europe was the focus of my research for the class, so I knew walking in that some of the stories would be hard. Learning that it was used as a Nazi war prison added a whole new dimension to that. Starting off by seeing the row of faces on the walls of the prisoners who were sentenced to death was heart breaking. When we eventually went down stairs after we were told to remember their faces was even more. You were able to see the conditions they were kept in and even the individual cell were they were imprisoned. What struck me most were the flowers people would leave behind at each of the names. A lot of these people were young, they were our age. We read some letters of the prisoners and experienced some of their last words, where their thoughts were of their families and of a future of peace. It was eye opening to say the least because you get told about history but when you actually get to see aspects of it for yourself is when it really connects. This was especially true when our tour guide talked about meeting people who were actually in the prison in the past. You think that all of these events were so long ago but they weren’t. It is important to learn from history so things don’t repeat again.
- Morgan
I thought it was very interesting for them to include the pictures and stories of some of the prisoners. I found that it gave the museum a very personal feeling, and I thought it was very sad that so many of the prisoners were so close to our age. Knowing this, I found it easier to put myself in the shoes of the prisoners, because of the similar ages, and to be able to understand what they went through, and the families they likely left behind when they were executed. It was also nice to see how many of them are being remembered today, with the flowers and memorialization of their letters as well.
ReplyDeleteI found the the tur extremely impactful. When we got down to the basement level and the tour guide had some of read those letters. The letters reminding us about their families and their grieve. Then instantly going to see the cells they were held in with their last words and a flower. It brought on a lot of emotions, especially as you imagine that some of these people were around our age, making it easier to imagine ourselves in that position. The torment and grief they went through, it felt heartbreaking.
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