On October 1st, 1934, Adolph Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles. Put in place to limit Germany's power after the first world war, the treaty implied a dangerous force to be reckoned with. As many know, what followed were years of destruction, fear, and tragedy. While his initial move to increase the size of the German military was threatening but not inherently aggressive, the world would later know the truth behind his rise to power. I chose this day because no matter how far removed we are from the situation, World War Two still strikes a chord within all of us. To remember that on this day (or, since I'm writing this on October 2nd, yesterday) a minor event triggered a life-changing, national history-altering war. The fighting between the Allies and Axis powers hid a darker side of human nature occurring in Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, France, Austria, and more- the Holocaust.
Our generation and the one before it have grown up inundated with documentaries, photographs, diaries, and countless other precious pieces of information relating this story to us. It's a story no one can entirely comprehend. I think that the Holocaust, and the broader happenings of WW2 serve as a source of confusion for almost everyone. For the religious, wondering how a higher power could let this happen, or if they could have stopped it. For the descendants of Nazis, citizens of Germany, bystanders around the world, a questioning of human nature. For those persecuted, the bewilderment of being punished without a crime. And none of it is limited to the generation that experienced it firsthand.
In the words of graffiti on the walls of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp (allegedly):
"If there is a god, he will have to beg my forgiveness".
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