Birkenau

July 2, 2017 by joachim

.

Birkenenau in German means a “meadow of birch trees,” just as Weidenau, the name of my home town, means a “meadow of willows.”  Both conjure a beautiful, peaceful scene.  But Birkenau, the bigger one of two Auschwitz camps created by the Nazis, is the most gruesome opposite of peace and serenity one could imagine.

A German by birth, I always dreaded being confronted with the physical reality of the Holocaust even though I was just 5 years old when the war was over.  Now, as a 76-year old, a one-day 62-mile “bicycle ride for the living” from Auschwitz to Krakow finally brought me to the murderous place.

I took what I saw in silence, as many of the visitors around me.  Just as Adorno noted, “Nach Auschwitz ein Gedicht zu schreiben ist barbarisch” — to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric — words failed me, or they seemed so petty in the face of the remnants of crime of such magnitude.

This entry was posted in Blog. Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to Birkenau

  1. Mechthild Doepner de Alarcon says:
    October 4, 2017 at 3:27 pm

    Das hat mich sehr beruehrt . Wir haben als Schueler ( FJMG Weidenau) Bergen Belsen besucht u. sahen Dank Louis Thomas zahlreiche Filme u. Dias ueber das 3. Reich u. bes. den Holocaust. Bin nicht sicher , ob ich den Mut haette, Auschwitz zu besuchen. ————- Ansonsten, herzlichen Glueckwunsch zu Ihrem Nobelpreis. Ich hatte das uebrigens bei unserem 50. Abiturtreffen 2016 ( fast ) vorhergesagt. “Most likely to succeed from FJMG”.

    Reply
    1. Mechthild Doepner de Alarcon says:
      October 4, 2017 at 3:35 pm

      Kindly inform me of your “moderations” in advance; in all fairness. Would be happy to submit my commentary in English. if necessary. However, as a foreign lg. teacher. I like to do all I can to encourage foreign lg. study and work against U.S. ( n.b. NOT American ) insularity &isolationism.

      Reply
  2. Mechthild Doepner de Alarcon says:
    October 4, 2017 at 3:46 pm

    I would be happy to translate my remarks; although I do not like to encourage U.S. ( NOT American ) monolingualism & isolationism.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

© 2024 Franx Fiction – Joachim Frank. All rights reserved.
The Alliance of Independent Authors - Author Member