Why? Why? Why?

November 8, 2018

Why? Why? Why?

children

Young human beings—why did you have to die?

One of you still has the eyes open, but the eyes are without a spark—the life has gone out of them.

I don’t know who these children are—all I do know is that they died from starvation and typhus and were about to be buried. The only consolation is that they were getting a decent burial arranged by those who liberated Bergen Belsen.

The look of the dead child has touched me more than any other image I have seen before. It touches my heart. Although I don’t know them, Although I don’t know them, I feel a pain—which is a real pain.

The oversized socks rip my soul apart.

They only died because of the hate of those who did not deem them worthy to live.

Two young human beings who had so much to live for became a statistic. 2 of 13,000 unburied corpses.

But I refuse to see them as a corpse—the body once encompassed a life and a soul. I refuse to see them or any of the victims as a statistic—they are all a part of our history. If we see them as a statistic or some mathematical equation, we forget that they could have been a friend, a neighbour, a parent of a spouse, a parent of the lady in the coffee shop who serves you a latte and a muffin once a week and does it with a smile on her face.

We should never forget that these were human beings.

If we forget our history, we forfeit our future.

WE CAN NEVER EVER FORGET

dirkdeklein

Bergen Belsen, History, Holocaust, World War 2

Bergen Belsen, Children, History, Holocaust, Starvation

7 responses to “Why? Why? Why?”

Moshe Ofer

November 8, 2018

Dear Dirk, It is so soul touching, impossible to resist. Actually I don’t want to resist. Two dying angels. Currently in my place outside beautiful sun, inside so sad. I wish I was a poet. In school they teach Shakespeare. They should dedicate a semester only for that. I wish I could say “thank you” but I can’t. It ruined my day. It easy could be me if my father did not escaped from Poland and joined the Red Army. I don’t believe in the so called “New Germany” and the history of Jews and Germany for over 1500 years is on my side. No, I’m not pretend to be a prophet but in physics the rule is if some process repeats itself time and again it must be the true rule.

Moshe

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Zoran Smileski

November 8, 2018

It sounds distant and cold saying “dear sir”, typed on mobile, but for me, you sir are indeed dear. I read your articles always when they are posted on FB,and never once I had anything to add or deduct. You speak for those who had their voice taken. And the humanity today needs you, to never forget what horrible things were done,so they don’t happen again.
Best regards, Zoran Smileski, Macedonia.

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Melody Ziff

November 8, 2018

So proud to be your friend.

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Jerry Gerrit Meents

November 8, 2018

I believe that this picture of the 2 children was taken in the Warsaw Ghetto, they died of starvation. 1.5 million Jewish were murdered by the Germans. One was my first great love. She was murdered in Auschwitz, she was only 12 years old.

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Linda van Ekelenburg

November 8, 2018

I noticed the oversized socks right away. The boney knees. The right size socks would have stayed up, kept his little legs warmer. When I was a little girl, I had five sisters, so there were a lot of dolls around, many naked, some missing an arm or so, After everybody was asleep, I would get up and move the dolls to comfortable positions and cover them with whatever was at hand – my undershirt, a scarf, a blouse or slip, so they would not be cold. Even though I know these children are dead, I feel I should be covering them up with something, not their faces, but a blanket to warm them, as if they know they are cold. Without any reason, I sense these two are sister and younger brother. I am haunted that in their last seconds of consciousness, they knew not so much fear as perhaps a mature anger at having been betrayed by adult humanity, just the seed of the thought of that old song. “Is that all there is?” Is this why we were born? For this? Really?

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Jerry Gerrit Meents

November 12, 2018

No, this is not why we are born Hate is what killed those two children. 1.5 million Jewish children were murdered in1940-1945. Including all my cousin’s.

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dirkdeklein

February 29, 2020

Reblogged this on History of Sorts.

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