On Saturday, November 7, Up With People Cast B 2009 went to Auschwitz, a concentration camp used during World War II. It was an emotional experience for the cast and one that we were thankful to experience together. Here are some of the responses from members of our cast about the experience:
Auschwitz, for me, was almost unreal and incomprehensible. I felt heavy and sad and angry and bothered at the same time. I didnt know how to express these feelings at the time because there were so many people around me. Later that night I woke up from a dream and let some tears out about everything. I’m glad I was able to see a concentration camp. I’ve always been drawn to this part of history. It was tragic but it is a part of who we are today and we have grown so much from it. To me it was once of the darkest time in history but from that darkness, we created a very strong light. -Adrian Kummerow, USA
I honestly was a little nervous before I went to Auschwitz. I had no idea what to expect. And of course, I was a little concerned about the fact that all this cruelness was done by Germans. So for me as a German, it was a weird feeling to go there. I know I am not guilty because I haven’t done anything wrong. The mood was somber. No one was talking. After half of our tour, I had had enough and just wanted to leave. The most memorable moment for me was when I went into the gas chambers and I had to think about the thousands of people that had died in this very room. It was sad and interesting at the same time, but I don’t want to go back there. -Bernward Reinecke, Germany
On November 7, Cast B was able to experience a part of our world history. We visited Auschwitz, a concentration and extermination camp in Poland. As I type this, I don’t quite know how to express everything that I felt and still feel. It’s one thing to read about Auschwitz or see it in the movies, but to really see the horror, to touch it, to feel it, to breathe it, is another thing all together. When I was 9, my brother gave me The Diary of Anne Frank, and since then, I have been hungry to learn as much as I can about the Holocaust. Being in a place where such inhumane, unimaginable events happened, I became overcome with emotion. I have no personal connection to the Holocaust, but I am a person, and these were people too. There are still people in the world who are being treated in the most awful ways. Genocide isn’t just a thing of the past. The most important thing we can do is learn about what happened so that it doesn’t happen again. An Auschwitz survivor spoke at my high school and said that he speaks for the millions of people who can no longer speak. For the men, women and children – the people – who died in WWII. After seeing a place like Auschwitz, it has become my story; it is my responsibility to speak for those who cannot. -Melissa Lepp, Canada
I’ve never seen such a sad place before. Even though I ‘ve never learned about Auschwitz at school, the narrow, straw beds in a small, crowded room, and piles of belongings and hair were all true parts of the story the guide shared with us that I couldn’t believe. My mind is filled by shock, anger, sadness, and the question about why it ever happened. The pictures of people who are called by number told me through their face. Though it was hard to look at, it was an important part of history that I could not avert my eyes from. We can’t repeat this tragedy, I want everyone to visit here and see this reality. -Shiona Momohara, Japan
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