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Sunday, 27 March 2016

No 15 Write down something I am grateful for every week in 2015 (7)

I kept to this and wrote down something in a lovely bound book for every week of the year. I have continued to do so too as it was such a good thing to look back over a week and find something positive and good that stood out to me - however large or small - I was grateful there was always something.

   

No 14 Do one thing from my Bucket List (45)

Half of me wants to write so much about this but the other half wants to remain respectful of where I went and the reason for its existence.

In January I went with my daughter to Krakow, Poland to visit Auschwitz. I have no relatives that were there, I don't know anyone who was there and I haven't met anyone who was there in my entire 50 years, and I have travelled a lot. However, it is not surprising I haven't met anyone - it was a death camp.

I wanted to go to show my respects to the millions of people who not only died and suffered there, but at all the camps under Nazi rule. As a child the shock that human beings could behave in that manner has stayed with me my entire life. I will never get used to the fact that people can go beyond the cruel to the nonchalant about human suffering.

I was concerned at first that Auschwitz would be a horrific tourist site, I was wrong. Yes there were a lot of visitors, but the atmosphere was mostly one of respect rather than voyeuristic; just the odd over zealous photographer.

I am glad I heard their story, it needs to be told for many years to come. This photograph I hope reflects the gravity of Auschwitz; I will always keep their plight in my heart.