A Saturday in D.C.
Saturday, Brent and I spent the day in D.C. Our first stop was the Holocaust Museum, where we picked up tickets for the permanent exhibition. Then, it was on to the Museum of Natural History. As always, I was completely intrigued with the fossil exhibits. (How did this ever walk the earth?) We made a quick pass through the insect zoo and were completely disgusted, but in a fun way. As Brent so eloquently put it, “Mother Nature is grody.”
Next, we went to the National Gallery of Art, but only had a little time to browse before we had to return to the Holocaust Museum for our scheduled tour.
The Holocaust Museum. The exhibition was skillfully laid out within the building’s brilliant architecture. The tour illustrated the conditions in Germany in the early 1930s, Hitler’s rise to power, the emergence and rapid growth of the Nazi party, the repression of everything non-Aryan, the concentration camps and “Final Solution,” and the liberation.
The entire experience was overwhelming, but two things in particular struck me to the core. First, to get to the area of the exhibition dedicated to the camps, you’re forced to walk through a model of one of the railroad cars used to transport the prisoners. Standing in that car, even with open doors on either side of me, was stifling and excruciating. Not long after, I found myself facing a casting of the Auschwitz “Arbeit Macht Frei” gate. As soon as I saw it, my heart sank. I’d seen the gate in countless documentaries, but facing it and walking beneath it was almost more than I could bear.
Once we finished the tour and collected our thoughts, we decided the World War II Memorial would be our next stop; it seemed appropriate. I was surprised by the size and complexity of the memorial, but marveled at its perfect location between the Washington and Lincoln Monuments, at the end of the Reflecting Pool. We also visited the Lincoln Memorial before it was time to head back to the metro.
It was an exhausting day – more emotionally than physically – that will stay with me for a long time.
Next, we went to the National Gallery of Art, but only had a little time to browse before we had to return to the Holocaust Museum for our scheduled tour.
The Holocaust Museum. The exhibition was skillfully laid out within the building’s brilliant architecture. The tour illustrated the conditions in Germany in the early 1930s, Hitler’s rise to power, the emergence and rapid growth of the Nazi party, the repression of everything non-Aryan, the concentration camps and “Final Solution,” and the liberation.
The entire experience was overwhelming, but two things in particular struck me to the core. First, to get to the area of the exhibition dedicated to the camps, you’re forced to walk through a model of one of the railroad cars used to transport the prisoners. Standing in that car, even with open doors on either side of me, was stifling and excruciating. Not long after, I found myself facing a casting of the Auschwitz “Arbeit Macht Frei” gate. As soon as I saw it, my heart sank. I’d seen the gate in countless documentaries, but facing it and walking beneath it was almost more than I could bear.
Once we finished the tour and collected our thoughts, we decided the World War II Memorial would be our next stop; it seemed appropriate. I was surprised by the size and complexity of the memorial, but marveled at its perfect location between the Washington and Lincoln Monuments, at the end of the Reflecting Pool. We also visited the Lincoln Memorial before it was time to head back to the metro.
It was an exhausting day – more emotionally than physically – that will stay with me for a long time.
posted by Amanda at 10:39 PM
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