History comes to life

You know, it is one thing to learn about WW2 in a classroom and hear about the bombings, the people who made the gas for the gas chambers, the Holocaust, the rebuilding after the war, Communism and the Cold War - it is quite another to actually go to places affected by all that and hear the stories of the people who lived in and through it.  Hamburg is an incredible city, and if you get the chance to do the free walking tour, do it.  It is fun and informative and the right price for any budget!  We got so much more history than we would have if we had just walked around on our own.  I'm trying to figure out how to explain everything... basically bear with me because I don't really have the words, but let me tell you about a couple stops on the tour.

One was outside the factory where zyklon b was manufactured.  The guide told us that the owners of the company had gone to the Nazi's to get them to use their product, and took out the additive that made it smellable.  He also said it was considered more humane - not for the victims but for the soldiers so that they would be more removed from the killing.  If you are wondering, the owners of the company were executed since they took the additive out that made it detectable by smell, therefore they knew what the gas was being used for.  Outside of the building (which is no longer used for the manufacture of gas) there is a plaque for the victimes and a quote in Yiddish that says something along the lines of "do not fight to destroy evil, let evil destroy itself."

The second one is the St. Nickoli memorial - the church was bombed by the allies in "Operation Gemorrah" and the city decided not to rebuild it, but to let it stand as a testament to the war and to the people who lost their lives during the bombing and the firestorm that followed.  He described some of the bombs that were dropped as being fire bombs that were coated in a chemical that explodes when exposed to air, so they would explode above the city, rain fire down on people and the people became human torches.  Those who tried jumping in the canal to put out the flames were not saved because when they would come up for air, the chemicals would re-ignite.  Listening to these stories while standing in the ruined church... it was such a sobering experience... it's just incredible to be here.  All throughout Germany, there are "tripping stones" - small plaques set in the sidewalk in front of places where victims of the Holocaust lived or worked before being murdered.  I get the sense that the people here intend not to forget what happened... and it still floors me that people can try to say that the Holocaust never happened.

You know, when I was planning this trip and telling people about it, I had some people ask me "Why?"  As in, why would I want to go to Europe?  Well, this is why.  History is real here, it's not just words on a page or dates to memorize, it's a ruined cathedral next to a modern office building.  It's mideval houses with Lamborgini's parked out front.  It's just incredible... awesome, amazing... choose your favoirte adjective, really!

We also did the pub crawl in the red-light district and we have determined that... we are sooo not clubbing type people!