Neuengamme

The second day I was in Germany, I decided to do something a little less "touristy" and a little more significant.  I wanted to do something that would mean more to me than just exploring a city with friends.  I decided to go to Neuengamme.   If you have no clue what I'm talking about, don't worry, I had no clue what Neuengamme was either until one of my professors strongly suggested I travel there while in Germany.  So, Neuengamme was a concentration camp located around 15 kilometers outside of Hamburg during the Holocaust.   Today, Neuengamme acts as a memorial for all the Jews who were killed during the Holocaust, a memorial for the survivors, and a historical site for those wanting to learn more about what took place at Neuengamme during the Holocaust.  When I decided to go to Neuengamme with my friends Liz and Kacey, none of us knew what to expect.  We had all learned about the Holocaust in school and knew how horrible the concentration camps were, but none of that really sunk in for us until we stepped foot into Neuengamme, a real concentration camp where real Jewish prisoners worked and were killed.  I had been to the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. before, but until I stepped on the same ground where Jewish prisoners stepped during the Holocaust, the Holocaust was almost just a story to me.  I couldn't really connect to what I had learned about the Holocaust until I was literally in a concentration camp and in the buildings where the Jews were kept as prisoners.  I was able to see remains of the prison wall, the German watch tower, the building where the Jews were forced to make bricks, the basement of a building where the Jews were kept when there were raids on the camp, and the names of all the Jews who died while in Neuengamme.  It was one of the most saddening, yet most moving moments I have ever had in my life.  However, I am so thankful I was able to spend the day at Neuengamme.  It gave me the chance to learn the history of a small concentration camp while giving me a whole new perspective on the Holocaust and Germany. 

"For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God..."
Romans 3:23