Holocaust Museum

I went to the Houston Holocaust Museum recently, which was a very sobering experience. It's not the sort of thing you can say you enjoy, but it's interesting, and it's important to remember what happened, I think. The museum was a lot like a memorial. There weren't very many artifacts, and those that were there were the kind you'd have at a memorial. There were children's shoes found at Auschwitz, stones from a crematorium, and a boxcar outside just like the ones used to transport the Jews. The museum had a lot of signs to read that told the story, as well as lots of old photographs. There were a few videos that showed Nazi propaganda, the Warsaw ghetto, and stories of survivors.

It was all pretty overwhelming because it was so horrific. Two things really struck me. One was the amazing power of propaganda. It caused millions of people to believe it was right to systematically murder an entire innocent people group. It boggles the mind.

The other thing that struck me was how the Jews endured such terrible things when they’d done nothing wrong. It made me consider whether I’d be able to stand up for my faith in the face of torture and death if I had to. I have such an easy life, that the things I complain about are really nothing at all. The situation was different for the Jews because they were being attacked because of their very identity. There was nothing they could change or any faith they could recant to get off the hook, but it still made me consider the similarity to persecution against Christians.