20th Century Wars

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The Railroad Spike

A grim souvenir is a reminder of unspeakable acts.

By the time i had traveled to Europe in 1975, I had interviewed many holocaust survivors who had been in various Nazi concentration camps. To pay homage to them, I planned to visit a number of camps. It was at Auschwitz-Birkenau, I thought to walk from a distance out toward the camp along the railroad tracks…to share those thousands upon thousands of victims’ experiences of approaching certain death! Where the red X is on Auschwitz photo  is where I suddenly spotted, dug out the rusted, bent railroad spike which had witnessed Nazi crime aginst humanity…spike found just outside camp’s entrance… spike where victims had last moments of “freedom” before entering Auschwitz-Birkenau gate to Hell!