As the group discussed our transit from Vienna to Salzburg, we realized that we would be passing through Linz, less than five miles away from the village of Mauthausen and its Nazi-era concentration camp. About 40 of us requested the opportunity to deviate from the planned program and visit the camp. (I should add that those who chose to go on to Salzburg had either visited a camp previously, or had other good reasons not to go.)
Mauthausen is situated on a hill over the village, in beautifully verdant agricultural surroundings. The camp offers a museum and video interpretation of the era. We approached the video apprehensively after paying our admission, and left shaken. To me, the most telling interview came near the end of the film, with a big tough G.I. from Texas breaking down as he tried to describe the horror of what he and his unit discovered as they came to liberate the camp.
The facilities somehow seemed too small to contain the enormity of what happened there. I was shocked to see that the crematoria were no larger than a brick pizza oven, and that the gas room (which I had imagined had to be enormous) was no larger than my bedroom at home, about 12 by 12 feet.
The most sobering sight was the rock quarry, where granite for Viennese wartime buildings was mined by the prisoners using the most primitive tools. A large swath of hillside was carved out by men who were starving, injured, and tortured beyond our imagination. Blocks of granite were carried up a staircase of 187 steps, often without success. An overlook at the top called the “parachute jump” awaited prisoners who were condemned to “death by work” — if they happened to make it all the way up the steps. Several of our group walked down to the floor of the quarry, and at least two ran up the steps to get a sense of what it was like. Rich said:
Here I am, a runner and in good shape, and my legs were burning, my lungs were out of breath, and I’m sweating hard here at the top—which means I’m well-hydrated (and I feel guilty about that). I’m well fed and well rested. I can’t imagine how anyone as mistreated as these prisoners were could get all the way up those steps even once.
The journey was intensely personal, and I can’t help but think that our group was changed by the experience. I hope it is an experience we bring to our music in years to come.
Tags: mauthausen, salzburg, sights, Travel, vienna
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April 21st, 2008 at 9:50 pm
As someone who was raised a jew in the conservative tradition, I was exposed to the horrors of the Holocaust from an early age. The Sunday school curriculum included the classic “Night” by Elie Wiesel and of course “The Diary of Anne Frank”, both of which left me shaken. I am of course hardly alone in this experience. It is one thing however to experience the nightmare of genocide through the written word or visual media, another thing entirely to place oneself at the very site of unspeakable atrocity. Having an opportunity to tour an actual concentration camp was something I have always had on my bucket list. I am grateful for the opportunity to experience Mauthausen first hand and will never forget it. Among the barracks and gas chambers and rock quarry, which Matt described so well, one could truly sense the spirit of those who endured profound suffering. As my wife and I walked the grounds, we repeatedly exchanged thoughts on man’s incredible capacity for evil. At the same time, as we walked through the Memorial field, we felt a true sense of the power of redemption, and man’s incredible capacity for forgiveness. Such experiences as this inevitably enhance one’s appreciation for what we have and how lucky we are to be living in a just society where extreme acts of evil are quickly quashed. To maintain such perspective, we must never forget the horror of the Holocaust. Never forget! -Adam
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I cannot even begin to enumerate the emotions and thoughts that were in my head leading up to that visit and the experience that day. What I will share is, that although raised Catholic, I was drawn to the Holocaust from a young age. I became intensely aware of the fears of such atrocities that I oft attributed to childhood or neuroses. And yes, I dealt with my feelings in all too many different ways through the years, but most of which was a powerful draw to pay homage and, in some small way, undo the terrible acts of man’s inhumanity against man. Yet shame pervades. I felt only a small portion of that shame in making a large portion of our group have to wait for some of us in departing. If indeed this was only a small portion of what it felt like to be branded a Jew in those times, the feelings of helplessness and isolation were certainly a part of the experience. I so very much thank those who helped make the Mathausen Tour possible, and especially to Matt McCaffrey for words of solace and memory. I for one, whether in feeling weak, walking up a flight of stairs of in thinking about the ongoing acts of inhumanity today, will hopefully never forget. But I am left with one burning question: “What would I have done?”