The Walls of Auschwitz

Ecclesiastes 8:9 _All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man hath power over another to his hurt.

If only walls could talk, what stories would they tell?

If only walls could feel, would they smile or cry?

It is a science that all men are born of clean hearts that are slowly chipped and charred by the wars they silently fight and by the demons they constantly face! But what if? Just what if some of our hearts are born dark, evil, and corrupt with no fellow feeling?

Well, if walls could talk, those of Auschwitz would surely have the most harrowing tales to recount. But perhaps the most poignant would be those of the gas chambers, where millions of innocent lives were snuffed out in the most brutal and inhumane manner. Deep within the confines of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the most notorious of all the Nazi concentration camps, the walls were stained with a deep red color. Most would hope that the sun was to be blamed for its scorching heat as scientists speculate that its core is at least 27 million degrees. Well, while I've never been that close to the sun, its morning beams light up the eastern skies with their red hue. I believe it is one of the good guys.

The moss-filled walls whispered of another terror that brewed in these camps. It was here that one of the most heart-wrenching stories unfolded, a story of love, loss, and sacrifice. It was the winter of 1944. Snow had been falling for the better part of the night with the howling winds raging across the barricaded walls. Hundreds of thousands of prisoners, mostly Jews, were crammed into the overcrowded barracks, their fate sealed. They were stained, and corrupt, and their DNA was tainted. It was determined that they were unfit to live, or rather, fit to die. Men, women and children, tears frozen on their eyelids, wondered; what exactly is the difference? They never got an answer to this question; all they knew is it was their turn to wear the striped pajamas.

Among the walking dead were a young Jewish couple, Sarah and David. It is unfortunate that biblical names were chosen for them, yet an ending worse than the fiery pits of hell awaited their descent. Their marriage had taken place a few months prior to their current standing when they were torn apart from each other and sent to the camp. As was expected of Sarah, she had been assigned to work in the laundry. Everyone understood that there was a long road of suffering ahead, but no one knew how long their walk was, and neither did Sarah. David, along with several hundred men, women and children, met their end soon enough; a walk into the gas chambers. Shouts and screams of bodies hitting the floor could be heard. Unconscious, they fell, one by one, knowing that they would not be awakening. Their lives had ended the moment that the train dropped them at the camp's entrance.

Amidst all the chaos and despair, David's thoughts were only of Sarah. He knew that she was still alive, and he wanted to give her some measure of comfort before he died. So, in a moment of incredible bravery, he managed to scribble a message on the wall of the gas chamber before he lost consciousness. His last pain was not the idea of a stopping heart but the beating one he left behind, unloved and uncared for. The message read, "Sarah, my love, I know I will never see you again, but I want you to know that I love you more than anything in the world. You are my reason for living, and I will always carry you in my heart." While the knees of most caved in, his hands grew stronger. The newlyweds still had so much love to give, but in the end, all that would be left were stories and broken hearts of bodies never loved enough.

As it is expected of time, hours turned into days with nothing but rumors for Sarah. Unsure of speculation, the lack of sight of David only meant that he was gone. However, the love of women for the men they adore is always unending. She searched for him everywhere, asking other prisoners if they had seen him. But no one had. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air; worse off, this poisonous air vanished into him. Sarah was later assigned to clean the gas chamber where David had been sent. Expectations once followed through, always bore fruits. It was as if she had an extra life, David's life had been dumped in her to make this finding about him. A love so strong and pure that hate failed to vanquish. A message was passed. As she scrubbed the walls, her heart sank from the scribbles of a strong hand. She knew what had happened here, what horrors had taken place. She believed what she had known days earlier, but this did not prevent her heart from breaking into a million pieces.

There, written in shaky handwriting, was David's message. It was as if he was speaking to her, telling her that he was still with her, even though he was gone. Sarah felt a surge of emotion well up inside her. She fell to her knees and wept. In that moment, Sarah knew that she had to survive, that she had to carry on David's legacy. She knew that he would want her to live, to be happy, to find love again. And so, with his message as her guiding light, Sarah persevered. She survived the horrors of the concentration camp and waited for the war to end. Years passed, and Sarah went on to live a long and fulfilling life. She married again, had children and grandchildren, and carried David's memory with her every day. She never forgot the message he had written on the wall of the gas chamber, and she knew that if only walls could talk, they would tell the story of their love, a love that had survived even the darkest of times. Young love lost to hate.