Auschwitz: The Nazis and the 'Final Solution'

Auschwitz…The very utterance of this word creates a sense of fear in my mind. Imagine being tortured to death in a concentration camp, or being wrenched apart from you beloved ones! The pain and anguish in Auschwitz is beyond one’s imagination. However, the bitter truth is that people did survive this tribulation, by maintaining their determination and zeal to survive. The movie shows glimpses of life in that “Factory of Death”, with experiences being narrated by the survivors of this painful ordeal. These survivors yearned, not only for food but also, human love, as one of them clearly says, “We were not only starved for food, but also, starved for human kindness.” How could mankind be reduced to such a drastic state of moral chaos, when the value of emotions, values and ethics was completely obliterated? Children were used as “guinea pigs”, where various laboratory experimental procedures were investigated on them, annihilating the innocence and bliss of childhood. Women were scorched to death in gas chambers, while men who were not, toiled their way to death. “Walking through this nightmare…”Do you think any of us would have the fortitude to deal with such a morbid environment around ourselves or with the threat of death constantly pursuing us? The movie successfully portrays the poignancy and the trauma of the victims of Auschwitz, and evokes a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow in the viewer’s mind. Devoid of any propaganda or bias, the movie is an honest depiction of the true circumstances at Auschwitz, when Germany, under Hitler embarked on the largest mass murder in the history of mankind. This entire struggle to live can be summarized in a quote from the movie, “In a semi conscious state of mind, I would tell myself, and “I need to survive.”” Herein lies the essence of survival which is an accomplishment of only those, with true strength and purity in their minds…