Tuesday 14 May 2013

They died, but they also lived too

All over the world there are memorials and lists upon lists of names of those who were victims of the Holocaust and the Nazi regime, however this is how they end up being remembered; as names on a list, as a statistic, as one of the dead, we forget to remember that they were once alive, living day to day lives like ourselves today.


Across central Europe, particularly Germany and the Czech Republic, on pavements outside buildings plaques like these are found all over the country.
These plaques read:
1) SARLOTA ZIZALOVA nee FREUDENFELDOVA
    born 1911, deported 1942 to Terezin, died 1943
2) MIREK ZIZALA
    born 1938, deported 1942 to Terezin, died 1943
3) RUDOLF FREUDENFELD
    born 1903, deported 1942 to Terezin, died 1944
4) ADELA FREUDENFELDOVA
    born 1881, deported 1942 to Terezin, died 1942

The plaques have been placed outside the residences of those who were deported to the concentration camps during the Holocaust as a reminder of those who were killed and that they aren't just names on a list somewhere but they were here, this is where this family lived and spent their lives together.
Particularly in Germany there seems to be a theme of making what happened in history into a constant presence to serve as reminders to it's people of what happened. In Berlin there are many memorials dedicated to the victims of the Nazi regime sitting on nearly every street so it is unavoidable for a person to go about their day without being constantly reminded of what happened. These plaques are also a part of this as they make sure that remembering the victims is a part of daily life, they are not to be forgotten.

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