I’ve been incredibly moved by the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. I can’t believe these events actually happened. We’ve seen films about it, watched documentaries about it, but there’s a weird sense of unreality about it. Seeing a Channel 7 reporter from Perth talking about the horrific events from the actual barbed wire fence in Auschwitz was quite grounding. I thought I could see tears in Ben Downey’s eyes as well. I imagine actually being in that place would be very unsettling. There would be something in the air. In the ground. In the wire.
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| Train car - symbol of the event (auschwitz.org) |
My family and I visited Port Arthur in 2014, and when we were at the site of the old cafe, we felt a shift in mood. There was a palpable feeling of dread that we all felt. It was like the tragic events had sunk into the very soil that surrounded them, and I would imagine, Auschwitz would have that same kind of feel, but significantly magnified.
A 97-year-old Australian woman shared her experiences as survivor of the camp when she was fourteen. Yvonne Engelman's story is well worth reading, but I grapple with the fact that these events actually took place. What those people went through, and how undignified their deaths were. How badly they were treated. How they were seen as less than human. How their lives were worth less than others. It is truly horrifying, and the older I get, the more my emotions about those occurrences intensify.
I recently watched two films which painted pictures of frightening indifference. Both 2008's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and 2023's The Zone of Interest depicted a German family living in a house next to Auschwitz, with the family patriarch being charged with the running of the camp.
What gives this anniversary such weight, is that it is possibly the last time the liberation of Auschwitz will be marked with survivors. On January 27th this year, 56 people who had managed to leave the camp returned, and met in front of the death gate. Eighty years on, those who survived that terrifying place are slowly passing. It was encouraging to see so many world leaders attend the memorial event. One wonders if those tragic events are slipping from the public consciousness.
It's very disturbing seeing the rise of antisemitic graffiti and vandalism in Australia at the moment. Even Perth had some horrible instances in recent. No doubt the strife and war occurring in the Gaza strip is also fueling some of the hatred seeping into the community. There is a police theory that these hate crimes are being funded by overseas syndicates with Neo-Nazi interests. As the ceasefires in Gaza tentatively leads to the release of prisoners on both sides, hopefully peace will come to the area.
I've never understood the persecution of Jewish people. The hatred they inspire in bigots. The fear of 'letting them take over the world'. People going on rants that they're the biggest evil that exists. I don't understand. I don't get the vitriol directed to this community and I hope we all move forward as more harmonious world. The intolerance for other cultures and beliefs stupefies me. Australia, for one, wouldn't be the country it is without the diverse range of people and ethnicities populating it.
Be kind to one another. That's it.
Don't herd up people into camps and kill them. Don't invade other countries. Don't shoot people. Don't cause harm to another soul.
