A testament to the reality of the holocaust
|
by Joe Havelick
Class of 2004 |
|---|
I was recently given an assignment in one of my classes which included much research into the recent developments on campus in relation to the holocaust denial sites. I spend several hours reading, reviewing and critiquing several sites, including www.codoh.com and www.air-photo.com. I ended up becoming emotionally involved and researching well beyond the assignment. Early one morning I was inspired to write the following note. To whom it was to be read, I knew not at the time, but I decided to publish it in Tech News:
This whole idea about the holocaust denial is very depressing to me. Much of the evidence is highly centralized around denying the mass gassings of prisoners. Many students have grown up and have been given a proper education which consisted of the history of the holocaust. Unfortunately, teachers have no way to physically prove it to their students and their teachers opinions may count for less than those of persons on the Internet. It is these people that the creators of those websites seek to persuade.
Over Christmas of 1997, I was given the opportunity to travel to Germany. The trip included a visit to Dachau, which is now a memorial to the holocaust and it's infamy. I saw, entered and touched all parts of the camp including the gas chamber, and crematoriums. It is very disturbing to see these sites which deny what I personally have seen and touched. In some regards, I wish I had taken a picture. I had my camera with me, but I did not feel it appropriate to do such.
Upon further research, I found some pictures on the Internet, modern and historical. I was further revolted to find certain pictures of the crematorium I had visited. I had recognized the scene vividly, only in this picture, there were piles of dead, naked twisted bodies. We all have seen such pictures before. We all recognized it's disgust, but this was different to me. It's like seeing a picture of your local Price Choppers with a pile of bodies in the parking lot.
The large number of ridiculous websites denying the holocaust, or specifically gas chambers, is revolting. I would just like to express that they positively exist and were used. Although there may be no positive evidence in most students' lives, and most of what we have learned is based on trust that the information is true, I can personally tell you, draw a picture, or discuss the fact that gas chambers did exist and were used in WWII. The holocaust is no joke, my friends, and anyone who attempts to persuade you otherwise is leading you down the wrong path.
| 
