Auschwitz Exhibit at Union Station
Students involved in Amy Calhoun’s German classes traveled to Union Station in Kansas City to see a traveling exhibit on the most deadly concentration camp, Auschwitz. When entering the exhibit, the first thing seen is a quote on a wall reminding people that the events of the Holocaust could happen again.
On December 10, 2021, a group of students in the German classes at Seaman High School traveled to Union Station in Kansas City, MO, to see a traveling exhibit of one of the most deadly death camps from the Holocaust, Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Auschwitz-Birkenau was one of the most deadly and most known concentration camps from the Holocaust, in which 1.1 million people were killed, with most of those casualties being Jews.
SHS German teacher, Amy Calhoun, stated, “I think it’s important for students to get the experience of seeing how countries were impacted by the Holocaust, see how they’ve tried to make amends in the lives that were lost, how they celebrate the people who didn’t get a chance to complete their lives, and how they don’t celebrate at all – they don’t give any room to make the Nazi’s out to be good people.”
As students walked through the exhibit, listening to survivors stories and looking at artifacts brought from the camp itself, students reacted in many different ways to the knowledge they gained from this experience.
“I’ve kinda gotten a lot of different responses. I’ve had a couple people tell me that they just felt really numb because it’s so much information all at once. Other people were very moved by it and just kinda embraced being moved by it, but I think the cool thing that came out of it is the recognition of its [Holocaust] reality and the depth of its reality, and it’s impact,” Calhoun stated.
Below, photos of the exhibit are shown.
