This week, for Megan's Travel Tuesday link-up she asked:
Where's one place you have absolutely no (or very minimal) desire to visit? Why?


For this link-up I want to share a traveling experience that was bittersweet.  It was a place I definitely did want to see but, a place I wish I didn't exist.  A history so sad, but so important to acknowledge.  


I was able to visit the Dachau concentration camp twice when we lived in Germany.


The entrance: "Works make (one) free"





The moment we drove up to the grounds, we were overtaken by the "realness" of it all. You see it in movies and books, but until you see those walls and guard towers, you have no idea how real it all feels.  



The inside of the main building has been turned into a museum.





A chilling monument



Okay, you get it.  I won't haunt you with more.
I'm sorry to be such a downer.  But there's a reason I share...

A couple years ago, my friend Becky and I were honored to listen to this man speak.
His name was Chaim Melamed and he was a Holocaust survivor.  I write this in tears as I just find out that he passed away at 85 in February of 2011 in Savannah, Georgia.
I feel incredibly lucky to have heard him speak and although his stories broke my heart, I remember he had a very specific message he wanted us all to hear.  He didn't want anyone to forget what he and millions other had endured.


"Mr. Melamed felt that his mission was to educate everyone about the danger of hatred and racism. He spoke to many schools, colleges, churches and army bases to ensure that present and future generations never forget the horrors of the holocaust. He felt that it is the present generation’s responsibility to insure that history would not be repeated." 
{source}

So, I apologize for being so melancholy today, but it is a small price to pay to keep this memory alive.
Holocaust Remembrance Day is April 19th.
More information on Dachau can be found here.

I am linking up:
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