In reading and replying to Texas Wahine's post on places to visit on Oahu got me thinking about places I had visited that had had an impact on me. I had agreed with her that the Arizona Memorial was one of my fav's on Oahu. That got me thinking about other places that had affected me, either positively or negatively.
I went on a month-long tour of Europe between my sophmore and junior year of college with a tour group. Saw most of the usual tourist sights in Greece, France, England, Italy and Austria. It was when we got to Germany that I realized what an impact history can have on someone. We saw many museums and ruins that I had read about or studied in both high school and college. When we were in Germany, we visited Dachau which I assume many people know was a Jewish concentration camp. Up to this point, the trip had been light-hearted and fun. I can frequently pull out my old pictures and remember what sights I had seen and have them to show to others. At Dauchau, you are not allowed to take cameras into the sight. After viewing the musuem, which has blown up pics of the horrors that went on there the mood of everyone was obviously very sullen. After seeing the ovens that were used to cremate bodies and the "shower rooms" which were actually used to kill, I was forever changed. Because I only have the visual imprint of what I saw there, I don't have a constant reminder of what it was like, as you would with "vacation" pics. But also, because of this, the visuals are sharper in my mind than any other sight I have in pictures. I went on this European tour when I was 20 and I am now 38. Stays with you a long time......
With all the comments and blogs referring to racism recently, this only reminded me of this experience even more. To hear anyone moaning and groaning over the "White Trash" or "Black Trash" articles, which were meant to be light-hearted is really nothing compared to the true racism that occured during the Holacaust. I know I have a hard time watching films that depict this era of history, yet I watch every time they come on so that I can remember what racism truly is at it's worst. The "Pianist" was on t.v. a few days ago and even though I have seen it 3 or 4 times as well as owning the DVD, I still had to watch it and cried as usual.
This is the event or place that made the biggest impact on me. What about others? I would welcome hearing what place or event made a deep impact on you and why....
Varoom (Melissa)