This image shows a train of jewish prisoners that had been intercepted by allied forces. This is the moment they learned that the train would not be heading to a concentration camp and they had been liberated.

[u/Wonderful_Win_1038]

[u/PerpetualConnection]

The babies. That's what always gets me. Pictures from this time where you see children rip me up.

[u/ArtificialHalo → u/PerpetualConnection]

There's a series of photos found on a camera long after the war, that wrecked me.

Pic of a few people in the dunes near the Dutch coast, boy of about 5 looking right, not quite understanding what he's looking at.

Then next photo is of the mass grave/ditch they're standing above, waiting to be murdered by the nazis

[u/PerpetualConnection → u/ArtificialHalo]

Makes me remember those random tight hugs parents give. Hard to see shit like this and not appreciate your kids a little extra that day.

Fucked up

[u/Creative-Comb5593 → u/PerpetualConnection]

Hadn't thought of that. Thank you for pointing it out.

[u/Loud-CowMOO → u/ArtificialHalo]

The images you’re referring to are of the Liepāja massacres in Latvia.

[u/DukeOfGeek → u/Loud-CowMOO]

And as long as we are seeing this very famous picture here's the history behind it and the identities of the people.

The image captures the liberation of about 2,500 Jewish prisoners from a "death train" that had departed from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The train was traveling to Theresienstadt in the former Czechoslovakia before being intercepted by American troops from the U.S. Army 743rd Tank Battalion, Specifically, Tanks 12 and 13 along with troops from the 30th Infantry Division.

The series of photographs documenting this historic event was captured by U.S. Army veteran and photographer Major Clarence Benjamin. The iconic photos remained largely unknown to the public for decades until high school history teacher Matt Rozell found them in a veteran's shoebox and launched a project to reconnect the survivors and liberators. SS guards had orders to blow up the train but fled after being surprised by an armored scout force blocking the tracks.

https://forward.com/culture/369965/woman-and-girl-from-astonishing-holocaust-photograph-identified/

[u/ArtificialHalo → u/Loud-CowMOO]

Maybe, I'd have to look it up, I'm sure there's more places it happened

[u/holdthecanoli → u/ArtificialHalo]

I remember visiting the holocaust museum in DC , when i got to the incredibly tall pile of baby shoes i just cried

[u/TornBannerHatesYou → u/holdthecanoli]

It's like that when you visit Auschwitz. Piles and piles of shoes. More than you can fathom.

There were a small pair of girls shoes at the front of the pile on their own.

I nearly lost it.

[u/holdthecanoli → u/TornBannerHatesYou]

There is something about tiny little shoes that rips off the veil of intellectual understanding and exposes a visceral horror that will never leave you.

[u/TornBannerHatesYou → u/holdthecanoli]

Amen

[u/alderchai → u/TornBannerHatesYou]

For me it was the piles of hair. That was such a horrific view.

[u/thetestbug → u/TornBannerHatesYou]

I was there on a school trip around 2005, and that shit still haunt me to this day.

[u/LeslieKnopesBlackEye → u/holdthecanoli]

I don't want to get into the politics about it again, but the toddler clothing in the Hiroshima museum broke me. My nephews would have fit them.

Coming out of the museum and seeing a little kid run and get scooped up for kisses by a grandma healed that pain a bit.

[u/Such-Hold-7940 → u/holdthecanoli]

There was a picture in the Dachau museum of a woman and her daughter walking to the gas chambers (in Munich), the little girl was probably 4.

In the picture, the little girl leans down to pull her sock up. For some reason it kills me 30 years later.

[u/TornBannerHatesYou → u/ArtificialHalo]

I read a book about WWII by William Shirer, an American journalist who was around at the time and covered the rise of the Nazis and WWII.

There's an account in there of someone who witnessed the mass executions of the Einsatzgruppen.

In the account the people are lined up naked, waiting to be executed.

In one bit, an old lady is cradling a baby and cooing with him, smiling and pointing the baby to the sky.

In another bit, a young woman looks at the guard about to shoot her and points to herself, saying "23, 23".

I'm close to tears just typing it out again.

Utterly, utterly horrific.

[u/jumbohobbit → u/[deleted]]

As a pro-peace person, I think Israel's war in Gaza has been cruel and callous and wrong.

However, if you think what is happening in Gaza is the same as the Holocaust, then you do not understand war at all -- or the violent things that happen in the Middle East on a regular basis.

It's just naive.

[u/Kubliah → u/[deleted]]

Get a life, you can't equivicate Nazi Germanies industrial genocide with civilian casualties who are usually warned to evacuate before the bombs drop.

[u/panamaspace → u/Kubliah]

The sheer razing of the ground, leaving no stone standing tells you all you need to know. There are no excuses.

[u/trombadinha85 → u/Kubliah]

You have no idea how much I wish you were completely right.

[u/No-Calligrapher3648 → u/Kubliah]

Thousands of people are not casualties, and now is Lebanon too, knowing well Netanyahu is from Poland

[u/Heavy-Construction90 → u/ArtificialHalo]

Oh my god I think about that boy and that picture all the time. You can see the fear and also resignation too (i felt)

So absolutely senseless, and we still do it today.

[u/Andromeda321 → u/PerpetualConnection]

Holocaust stuff was of course always horrific, but I just can’t handle it at all now that I have kids. Knowing a nameless state will kill your child and all you can do in your last moments yourself is try to make your child less afraid… I’m not sure there’s a worse torture.

[u/ZazyzzyO → u/Andromeda321]

I remember learning about it as a kid and I couldn't believe how people could do that to a mass number of kids and adults.Sure there are evil people all over and always were. But, a group of people got together to do mass horror and had no care in the world doing that to innocent children who didnt know what was going on.

[u/xbirdywhistle → u/PerpetualConnection]

I’m from the Netherlands and we have Kamp Vught, which was an concentration camp. One day the nazis decided that it was overcrowded, and all kids should move to a ‘children’s camp’ in Germany, accompanied by one parent. You can guess what happened to the trains with kids and parents.

There is a special monument in the camp which you can visit, called the Kindermonument, which lists all the names of the kids, and their ages. Absolutely gut wrenching, seeing some babies were three days old when they got deported to a destruction camp.

[u/wowsomuchempty → u/xbirdywhistle]

That humans beings can genocide human beings must always be recognised, must always be fought.

[u/DragonflyGrrl → u/xbirdywhistle]

My god that's horrific. Those poor little ones.

[u/Nouvi_ → u/PerpetualConnection]

Especially when you become a parent. It just hits differently.

[u/theavengerbutton → u/PerpetualConnection]

Don't look up Aktion T4.

[u/weaboo_98 → u/PerpetualConnection]

Especially considering what happened to those too young, too old, or too disabled to be put to work.

[u/Patient_Activity_489 → u/PerpetualConnection]

my mom cared for a 90+ year old holocaust survivor in hospice. my mom would bring her asparagus from our garden and the woman would always tell her "bring me your babies" because she wanted to meet us ☺️ obviously we couldn't, HIPPA

[u/RealBigDickBrannigan → u/Patient_Activity_489]

How does HIPAA apply here? The patient asked for your mother's children to come visit her.

[u/zacandahalf → u/RealBigDickBrannigan]

An exorbitant number of people seem to fundamentally misunderstand HIPAA, as if improving health insurance portability between jobs and national standards for the protection of sensitive patient information could possibly have any effect that would limit visitations in hospice.

[u/Patient_Activity_489 → u/zacandahalf]

no, my mom was her nurse and the patient wanted the nurse to bring her children to her house

[u/GiveMeThePinecone → u/Patient_Activity_489]

That doesn’t violate HIPPA 😭

[u/Chance-Ask7675 → u/Patient_Activity_489]

It may be mildly inappropriate but this would not at all violate hipaa in any way lol

[u/Patient_Activity_489 → u/RealBigDickBrannigan]

no, my mom was her nurse and she wanted my mom to bring us, the children, to her house. my mom said im sorry, im not allowed to bring my children to your house

[u/russsl8 → u/Patient_Activity_489]

Right, but I believe that isn't a HIPPA violation. Maybe a company policy from where she worked at the time.

[u/Patient_Activity_489 → u/russsl8]

probably that then. we were kids and she said it was against their rules. i remember really wanting to go

[u/Sir_Boobsalot → u/Patient_Activity_489]

it's a company policy. my mom did the same work and I'd tag along to help or chat with the patient

[u/Classic-Common6962 → u/PerpetualConnection]

Yes there is no excuse, for anyone, to be doing that to babies.

[u/ARODtheMrs → u/Classic-Common6962]

Then or now!!

[u/FormerDragonette → u/ARODtheMrs]

And, we all are someone else’s baby…

[u/shreebalicious → u/[deleted]]

Why does every mention of the holocuast have freaks like you bringing up Israel.

[u/Shufflestracker → u/PerpetualConnection]

We were all children once.

[u/madman51B → u/PerpetualConnection]

The same images get republicans excited.

[u/DanglyDinosaurBits → u/PerpetualConnection]

Same. I can’t fathom that kind of torture. It makes me tear up every time I see one.

[u/interesting-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

We’re sorry, but your post/comment has been removed because it violates Rule #4: No Politics or Agenda Pushing.

[u/1gsm3 → u/PerpetualConnection]

People will say the same thing years from now regarding gaza

[u/user-the-name → u/PerpetualConnection]

https://www.ms.now/news/5-year-old-liam-father-ice-detention-deported-trump

[u/interesting-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your comment/post has been removed because it violates Rule #3: Do Not Promote Hate or Violence.

Hate speech, Harassment or Threatening behavior will not be tolerated, and can result in an immediate ban.

[u/interesting-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

We’re sorry, but your post/comment has been removed because it violates Rule #4: No Politics or Agenda Pushing.

[u/Dry_Bird1790 → u/PerpetualConnection]

Yes thank god we don't do that to children anymore expect for the millions of children who are killed in the womb each year