Ignorance Isn't Bliss

Auschwitz II - Birkenau

A few weeks ago,  US Press Secretary Sean Spicer was in the news, vehemently apologizing for comments he made during a press briefing on April 11th. During the press briefing Spicer said, “We didn't use chemical weapons in World War II. You know, you had a — someone as despicable as Hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons.” A few months ago this comment may have just struck me as insensitive, because of the comparing of atrocities, but I probably wouldn’t have thought too much more of it, but now it angers me. 


A little over a month ago I returned from Poland with a new understanding of what happened during the Holocaust. I find Spicer’s comments so disturbing because they were made out of complete ignorance on the Holocaust and Hitler. Not only did Hitler use one kind of “chemical weapon” he used multiple, including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and Zyklon B. I think the most troubling part of Spicer’s remarks isn’t even the comments themselves, it is that Spicer’s view, though very public, aren’t the only display of ignorance on the Holocaust today. 
Since returning I have been asked many questions about my time in Poland, but most recently they have been about things people have heard on tv or read in the news. People generally are not knowingly being insensitive or cruel but they simply don't understand the historical significance of this tragic event. I have learned that you need to use this as an opportunity to educate people instead of getting frustrated. 

Walls in Auschwitz stained by Zyklon B

If I was to have a conversation with Sean Spicer today I would probably start by showing him the photo album filled with my chilling pictures from Auschwitz I and II. I have discovered that when I start to tell people about Poland, showing them pictures makes it easier for them to understand the true impact. I still don’t believe that pictures capture the full impact but at least pictures have given me the opportunity to show people what this horrible place looks like. I would then explain the history that I learned at these “Holocaust centers” where we heard about the horrors and what “chemical weapons” were actually used. 


During the Holocaust, large-scale gas chambers designed for mass killing were used by Nazi Germany as part of their genocide program. The Nazi concentration and extermination camps, like Auschwitz, used hydrogen cyanide in the form of Zyklon B. The first experimental gassing with Zyklon B took place at Auschwitz I. Zyklon B would stain the walls blue. Zyklon B was originally created and used for the fumigation of citrus trees in California. Zyklon B emerged as the favorite killing tool of Nazi Germany for use in extermination camps during the Holocaust. The chemical was used to kill roughly one million people in gas chambers installed in extermination camps like at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The use of this gas was devastating to the many victims of the Holocaust but especially the Jewish religion. 


What I have learned since coming back from Poland a month ago is that the amount of knowledge I gained while there has given me a powerful tool. I believe that people don’t mean to mistakenly mix-up facts or mean to insult the Jewish religion, I believe it is out of ignorance. So even though Sean Spicer made a mistake in reference to World War II and the Holocaust, he is not the first one and will unfortunately not be the last one to do so, but hopefully with the knowledge that I and other secondhand witnesses have attained we can work towards a world of greater understanding of the Holocaust.