Perspective

Crakow, Poland — Today, I was in Auschwitz.

There was a suitably ash gray sky punctuated by intermittent showers when the tour bus pulled into the parking lot. We walked to the gate I had seen a hundred times in photographs. A gate was up in front, a sign with the word “Halt” partially obscured the word “Arbeit” of Arbeit Macht Frei.

A guide walked us through the buildings and exhibits, but I barely listened; I know most of the facts. These were the actual buildings. This is where it happened.

Today, I was in Auschwitz.

It’s not a good time to be away for someone who works on hasbara for Israel, with the Prime Minister of Israel meeting President Bush. Important issues that may influence the future of the Jewish people are being discussed. Maybe there’s something I can contribute to make a difference in how Israel is perceived at this difficult moment.

Today, I was in Auschwitz.

The double rows of barbed wire fences look impenetrable, the empty watch towers still deter me from approaching them. The execution wall once covered with the blood of innocents now given color by wreaths and flowers. Isolation cells lit by memorial candles just bright enough to show a room in which one could go insane just from staring from the outside for too long. A gallows that is no cause for humor, but wait, this one was used only once, and for a worthy victim, Rudolf Höss, the camp commandant.

Drat, someone in front of the crematorium. I want a clear shot for the web site. The ovens. Maybe it would be better if someone obscured my view. Yes, this is where they baked the bread, not the humans, not my family. The deniers are insane and yet how can one believe such a place existed without seeing it?

Today, I was in Auschwitz.

Work is piling up while I travel; there are deadlines to meet, and bills to pay. Left my wife to deal with the kids. Not easy in the best of times and, lately, they have not been the best.

Today, I was in Auschwitz.

Family I never knew in aged black and white photographs. Piles of shoes, artificial limbs, and hair. Numbers beyond comprehension.

Today, I was in Auschwitz.

Hurt my neck before leaving Washington. Can barely turn my head, my arthritis is flaring, feet ache from hours of walking.

Today, I was in Auschwitz.

A passage from a book by Robert Fulghum comes to mind where he told the story of how he had a summer job as a youth and would pester an elderly night watchman every day with complaints about what the boss gave him to eat. One day the old man told Fulghum he had to learn the difference between a problem and inconvenience. The man had a tattoo on the inside of his forearm.

He had survived Auschwitz.