There is one thing I forgot to mention about this camp that I thought might offer some historical craic to others...
In the back of the camp there is a large memorial that, I want to say, the Germans put up in remembrance of those who suffered at the camp. It's a fairly large memorial that can be seen from all over the site.
When you walk up close, you notice that there are three human statues at the memorial's base. They are: an American soldier (i believe), and a Soviet soldier helping a prisoner walk. I thought this was quite nice. But then I looked at the prisoner more closely. The prisoner statue was of a strong and muscular young man which I thought was quite odd for a concentration camp victim. SO, I decided to ask the tour guide about it. In his response, he gave out an awkward laugh and said "they thought it was more realistic".
misrepresentation perhaps?
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
“Wait Tiff! Get my ANTM pose in front of this pole thing! ...Eat your heart out Tyra!”
I’d like to think that the popularity of my blog is what pulled you to my page but I’m betting it has to do with the title. You either know what ANTM stands for and wanted the inside scoop on the next season. OR you’re thinking: what does ANTM stand for and how does it relate to history? (for those of you who don’t know what ANTM is, it’s the acronym for a TV show called America’s Next Top Model) Well, Curious George! I’ll tell you. It’s about an issue I had while travelling and visiting historically-sensitive sites and photography etiquette.
This past year I decided to travel to Berlin, which is arguably one of the best cities in Europe. There is so much to see and do that I feel the need to go back again this summer. I spent the day with a few Aussies but soon realized that they just wanted to go shopping and I wanted to go see the many historically significant sites. (Surprise surprise for a historian!) I mean, how can you be in Berlin and not want to see anything related to the World Wars or the division of East and West Berlin? SO, I decided to venture around Berlin on my own just to make sure I didn’t miss a thing! It was a hot summer day and the streets were packed. Tourists were everywhere and taking pictures of everything, which is fine because I was one of them.
I was only in Berlin for 3 days so I had to be picky about what I wanted to see. (Something I wish I could’ve changed) So I decided to spend at least one of these days at the Sachsenhauzen Memorial and Museum, which was a major concentration camp located just outside of Berlin. This camp was suppose to be the template for all the other camps that were set up around Europe. It looked as though only 20 percent of the original camp was preserved and I must say, the owners did a good job at maintaining the original buildings.
This heritage site did not provide tours around the camp so I joined an independent guide who was very knowledgeable about its history. I really appreciated how much information this man could provide the group without anything there to help him. I was enjoying the tour and learning all these news things until we came across the camp’s internal prison. (this was where they kept the big name prisoners. IE. political opponents.) I had ventured through and, at the other end of the building, came across a large pole with a steel rod hanging out. I started looking at this pole and thought: ‘I wonder if that was used for what I think it was used for.’ Eventually, the guide came out with the rest of the group and explained what it was. He said it was used to torture prisoners to reveal information. They used to tie their hands behind their back and throw them up on the pull. (Basically, they were hung from the steel rod with their hands behind their back and if they refused to reveal information, the guards would pull on their legs.) This is arguably one of the worst ways to torture prisoners. It’s absolutely disgusting. Everyone listening made a sound of disgust as he explained its significance and we soon move on.
At that moment, as the group started to walk away, I looked at the pole once more only to discover a young woman getting her picture taken in front of this device with a huge smile and posing with one arm held up along the pole.
Personally, I was SHOCKED. My first thought was: Did she not hear a word our guide just said about how this was a brutal torture device? I was tempted to say something like; “did you seriously just take a picture like that in front of a place where people were tortured and eventually died? Do you have no respect?” You see, I can understand maybe taking pictures of the artefact itself but posing ANTM-style? I just don’t get it.
Nevertheless, it got me thinking. What is the photography etiquette for historically sensitive artefacts? Is it ok for tourists to get pictures with items that were involved in a touchy subject? I really don’t know how to answer my own question here. Am I wrong for thinking this was completely inappropriate? Is it ok to take pictures of yourself in front of a torture device involved in the holocaust?
Tell me. What do you think?
This past year I decided to travel to Berlin, which is arguably one of the best cities in Europe. There is so much to see and do that I feel the need to go back again this summer. I spent the day with a few Aussies but soon realized that they just wanted to go shopping and I wanted to go see the many historically significant sites. (Surprise surprise for a historian!) I mean, how can you be in Berlin and not want to see anything related to the World Wars or the division of East and West Berlin? SO, I decided to venture around Berlin on my own just to make sure I didn’t miss a thing! It was a hot summer day and the streets were packed. Tourists were everywhere and taking pictures of everything, which is fine because I was one of them.
I was only in Berlin for 3 days so I had to be picky about what I wanted to see. (Something I wish I could’ve changed) So I decided to spend at least one of these days at the Sachsenhauzen Memorial and Museum, which was a major concentration camp located just outside of Berlin. This camp was suppose to be the template for all the other camps that were set up around Europe. It looked as though only 20 percent of the original camp was preserved and I must say, the owners did a good job at maintaining the original buildings.
This heritage site did not provide tours around the camp so I joined an independent guide who was very knowledgeable about its history. I really appreciated how much information this man could provide the group without anything there to help him. I was enjoying the tour and learning all these news things until we came across the camp’s internal prison. (this was where they kept the big name prisoners. IE. political opponents.) I had ventured through and, at the other end of the building, came across a large pole with a steel rod hanging out. I started looking at this pole and thought: ‘I wonder if that was used for what I think it was used for.’ Eventually, the guide came out with the rest of the group and explained what it was. He said it was used to torture prisoners to reveal information. They used to tie their hands behind their back and throw them up on the pull. (Basically, they were hung from the steel rod with their hands behind their back and if they refused to reveal information, the guards would pull on their legs.) This is arguably one of the worst ways to torture prisoners. It’s absolutely disgusting. Everyone listening made a sound of disgust as he explained its significance and we soon move on.
At that moment, as the group started to walk away, I looked at the pole once more only to discover a young woman getting her picture taken in front of this device with a huge smile and posing with one arm held up along the pole.
Personally, I was SHOCKED. My first thought was: Did she not hear a word our guide just said about how this was a brutal torture device? I was tempted to say something like; “did you seriously just take a picture like that in front of a place where people were tortured and eventually died? Do you have no respect?” You see, I can understand maybe taking pictures of the artefact itself but posing ANTM-style? I just don’t get it.
Nevertheless, it got me thinking. What is the photography etiquette for historically sensitive artefacts? Is it ok for tourists to get pictures with items that were involved in a touchy subject? I really don’t know how to answer my own question here. Am I wrong for thinking this was completely inappropriate? Is it ok to take pictures of yourself in front of a torture device involved in the holocaust?
Tell me. What do you think?
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