As soon as I stepped into the elevator of the museum, it was clear to see the amount of detail that went into the place and what they chose to display. There were red smears on the inside and later there was a train cart that you could walk inside of where Jewish people were transported.
Also seeing the connections America had with the Holocaust was frustrating. There were a lot of sentiments from the American people saying they felt bad and it was terrible what they were doing overseas but also wouldn’t like refugees to enter the country. There were also mentions of systemic issues like immigration and controlling what information is allowed to be circulated. Although not surprising, it was still discomforting to see those same issues be prominent today.
It’s interesting to see which genocides history decides to focus on. This museum also presented a main slogan repeated throughout the walk though, never again. It’s presenting genocides in general as something that only occurred in the past. I didn’t get to learn about other genocides because the portrayal made it seem like the Holocaust was the only relevant one.
I couldn’t help but see the irony of the sentences people involved were given. Many of the people who were sent to trial had an involvement with deciding who gets to be killed. Choosing who gets to live and die. When I learned some of the punishments given were death sentences, it also sounded like a group of people deciding who gets to live and who get to die. I understand the people have committed horrendous crimes and many would want a punishment that reflects those crimes. I don’t think the government should have the power to institutionally take someone’s life away.
I also was interested to see how the artifacts from the museum were obtained. In a seminar for one of my other classes, the topic was, “Should countries have to be forced to give back the artifacts they stole?” To answer a broader series of questions, one of the points brought up was, “How were they obtained and how ethical it was?” A country profiting from the removal of this artifact only benefits the country who has the artifact. At the end of the walk, there was a sign that was dedicated to the people who made the exhibit. They mentioned the artifacts were obtained from negotiations with the governments of Eastern Europe, Soviet Union, and the Chairman of International Affairs.
