The Eyes are Windows to the Soul

An endless hallway full of photos of the many prisoners of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II- Birkenau which were mostly taken by Wilhelm Brasse, a Jewish inmate.

Hundreds of faces looking back at me; faces of people who were doctors, engineers, teachers, and many more. Sad, scared, and fearful faces displayed down a never-ending hallway. “How could this be real?,” I thought to myself as I stood in the bunker speechless. How could these human lives have been taken? These are questions I asked myself throughout this entire trip. I gave myself a few minutes to look at these photos and continued my walk throughout Auschwitz I. As many different things caught my attention, I could not stop thinking about these faces. But more importantly, their eyes. As Khaled Hosseini once said, “The eyes are windows to the soul.” Looking into the eyes of these victims pained me. Their stories were jumping out through the frames, but I could not hear them. I could not understand what they experienced or what they saw or what they wished to pursue. I could not understand any of it for the Shoah is unimaginable to those who did not experience it.

During the atrocities committed by the Nazis, I cannot help but wonder if the Jews or other prisoners could have escaped their fate. During a workshop we attended at Auschwitz I, we watched many videos of scholars who shared their interpretations of many questions regarding the Shoah. When speaking about the Jews and their fate, many scholars suggest that they could not escape their fate. There were so little opportunities for Jews to act on their own fate. For example, the Germans threatened the lives of individuals and families who would potentially help the Jews. Therefore, there were many little opportunities for Jews to accept the help from non-Jews. The Jews were blindsided with the atrocities that were committed due to the manipulation and lying of the Nazis. There is no such way for an individual to prepare for something as terrible as the Shoah which made it difficult for Jews to escape their fate and save the lives of themselves and others.

Therefore, I think of the people displayed in this hallway, and I cannot help but wonder what they could have contributed to this world. One of them could have found the cure for Cancer or saved the life of another person. These were real people with lives, families, dreams and aspirations. As we near the end of this experience in Poland, I reflect on the lives of those who were taken too soon and wish peace upon their families and the survivors of the Shoah. These survivors can spread their stories and reflect on the atrocities that occurred. And for those who did not survive to tell their stories, we remember them for “the one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again” (George Santayana, Auschwitz I bunker).