The memory of World War II and the Holocaust must live on through generations so that we never forget. Through stories, museums, monuments, and memorials, remembrance can live on and educate those born after the conflict. In Germany, remembrance takes on a much more important meaning. The citizens of Germany not only need to be reminded of the atrocities that took place but of the responsibility they must uphold for their ancestors’ actions. Apart from the abundance of museums throughout Berlin, there are many reminders of the war and of the Holocaust.

In the middle of Berlin’s government district, there lies a Jewish memorial. As I walked through it, I was reminded of a maze. The memorial is meant to be slightly overwhelming in order to capture the feelings of loss and confusion that so many Jewish families felt as they were taken from their homes or pulled into the streets to be shot.

Throughout the city, there are also stumbling stones placed at residences, offices, and university buildings. Each bronze stone represents a victim of the Holocaust, stating their name and where they ended up during the war. One is supposed to pore water over the stone they’ve stumbled upon and polish it. This is an act of pure remembrance and shows one’s respect for the dead. From memorials to painted pieces of the Berlin Wall to stumbling stones, Germany makes sure that the atrocities of their past are remembered, never to be forgotten, never to fade into history.

Auschwitz & Birkenau vs. The Schindler Museum

Once we passed the gates to the entrance of Auschwitz, it became obvious just how much the site had been preserved. Each of the buildings still stood tall and ominous with signs posted along the roads to highlight different pieces of key information. Inside some of the old housing blocks were museum-like exhibits that showcase the horrors of the extermination camp, from pictures of the enslaved to piles of shoes and luggage. Although the alterations of these housing blocks do not point towards complete site preservation, I do believe that it is the preservation of the personal belongings that matter more in that instance. This type of preservation provided me with a deeper, more personal connection to the lives lost in Auschwitz and Birkenau.

Standing at the memorial in Birkenau, I was able to look out over the camp and see its expanse. That moment in particular, with the main gate in the distance and two destroyed gas chambers to my right and left, allowed me a complete perception of what the camp would have been like almost 80 years ago. Without that depth of preservation, I would not have been able to capture such true feelings of disgust and anguish at the horrors that took place in these extermination camps.

On the other hand, the Oskar Schindler Museum was hardly preserved at all. Until we had made it through the entire museum, I did not fully understand that we weren’t actually going to see any of the factory from how it was back in the 1930s and 1940s. The closest we came to seeing into the past was in Schindler’s office, but even then, the map on the wall was the only original artifact and there was a large memorial in the middle of the room. While the memorial with the pots on the outside and the names of each of the Jews Schindler saved on the inside, the placement of the piece and lack of preservation of the office itself tore away any chance of having a visceral experience.

Hall Tom, Oskar Schindler’s Factory Tour – Krakow Historical Museum, 2018, Google Images, 2018.

The same was true throughout the remainder of the museum. Although the information within the museum was interesting and informative, the cluttered space and disorganization of facts within each broken-down time period made their intention hard to follow.

Krakow: Oskar Schindler’s Factory, n.d., Get Your Guide, n.d.

My experience of this general sense of confusion may have been quelled had we been allowed to personally explore the museum without a tour guide. However, the point remains, that the complete lack of preservation of the Schindler factory was disheartening and unfortunate despite the abundance of information that the museum holds. Any historical site should not be turned into the museum itself because, with correct preservation, a historical site will speak more words than any museum exhibition ever could. Auschwitz and Birkenau were able to artfully balance preservation with the exhibition of important artifacts and pictures that gave an added emotional layer to the camps. Unfortunately, while informative, Schindler’s Museum was unable to find this balance between preservation and exhibition.

I stepped onto Pointe du Hoc and was struck by the juxtaposition between the bloody past of war and the beauty of nature as new life has bloomed over recent decades. On 6 June 1944, Allied troops battled for control of the German stronghold. However, the topography was never to remain the same. Prior to the Allied landing, bomber planes had flown overhead, turning the once scenic peninsula into a smoking battlefield riddled with craters.

Looking at the Pointe now, 79 years later, it was hard to visualize just how horrific the scene of battle must have been. Rocks and chunks of grass spewed every which way from the bombs with possible spots of blood-stained dirt. In its place, life continued and nature grew from death, leaving Pointe du Hoc and the craters covered with luscious green grass and blooming flowers. How can such beauty exist in a place that saw so much violence and death?

In order to preserve the land, the American Battle Monuments Commission has erected fences across Pointe du Hoc that force visitors to walk within the allotted paths. Although these obstructions in some ways hindered my ability to take in the site, I found the intention admirable. Admirable because by protecting the land, France and the United States are preserving the memories of those lost in the battle at Pointe du Hoc. At the same time, the fences seem to demarcate the nature that has bloomed over the areas where so many lives were lost from the German bunkers that sit so dark and foreboding. No museum, no memorial could ever replace the visceral experience of standing where heroes of World War II fought for freedom. It’s as though the beauty of this place has grown in honor of the U.S. Army Rangers who fought and died at Pointe du Hoc. The nature that surrounds us sees and takes part in the cycle of life and each blade of grass at Pointe du Hoc will forever hold within it the memories of 6 June 1944.

Until recently little was known about Bletchley Park where codebreaking efforts took place during World War II. However, the establishment that was once an intelligence factory of almost 9000 now sits as a public museum in the countryside of England. Bletchley Park is without a doubt one of Britain’s greatest successes and walking through the exhibits at Bletchley Park, I noticed a clear illustration of Britain’s immense pride for the intelligence operation. The ULTRA intelligence that came out of Bletchley Park created a large advantage for the Allied powers and was of extreme use for planning Operation Overlord. However, the museum’s sole focus on the achievements of Bletchley’s work misconstrues the historical reality of the effectiveness of the operation and overemphasizes Bletchley’s abilities.

When the museum touched on Bletchley’s early days, it mentions limited space and unsatisfactory working environments but never touches on any failures of the intelligence itself. One of the biggest downfalls to ULTRA intelligence was that in the heat of battle intelligence from Bletchley arrived too late to be of any use to commanders. Any information received was confirmatory intelligence about events that had already run their course. Thus, at a tactical level, Bletchley’s intelligence was practically useless, a limit of the operation that the museum fails to mention. Such a misrepresentation paints an inaccurate picture of Bletchley’s capabilities and impact on the war. While ULTRA intelligence was crucial, it was not always timely and practical at a tactical level and that fact must be acknowledged for a better understanding of Bletchley’s overall impact on the war.