Mauthausen Concentration Camp

In the little village of Mauthausen, Austria, we peered out the windows of the tour bus in awe of the beauty surrounding us. The village was full of beautiful cottages scattered along the hillsides and in the distance stunning views of the Alps painted the perfect picture of the country.

Once we made it through the village, we drove up a steep road that would lead us to our destination. We traveled through countless acres of farmland to find what, on the outside, looked like a castle. We knew, however, that this was no castle... This was Mauthausen concentration camp.

The camp was built by Jewish slaves, without a clue that they would probably die when they finished. Mauthausen's history starts in 1938, when it was first put to use. In the year 1945, the camp had upwards of 85,000 inmates. Death toll estimates about 320,000 people were killed in Mauthausen.

When I entered the camp I was thinking to myself, "Why didn't anyone stand up to the Third Reich?" and "Did the people living in the villages know what was going on?" The camp was huge and could be seen from miles around... Oh, the people knew.

During our tour and testimonials of the survivors, I found out that locals were able to use the prisoners for projects. Local farmers relied on slave labor to tend to their crops and livestock, giving them nothing in return. Many died working, due to malnutrition and disease. They were also required to work at a rock quarry, which I'll explain later on.

When roll was called, all of the inmates had to be accounted for before the line (Gershon Ron recalled in Birkenau it was 5 persons deep) could be dismissed. Whether dead or alive, they were still counted. The SS wanted to be sure that no one escaped the camp. Many people committed suicide by hanging themselves and running into the electric wire fences.

Perhaps the most uneasy feeling I have had this whole trip came from the gas chambers at Mauthausen. Innocent people, victims of hatred, those are the people that were disposed of here. The gas chambers at Dachau were chilling, but those were never used.

Where I was standing, people fought for their lives... Men, women and children tried to open the door, but they couldn't. They held their breath in hopes that they could outlast the poison round, but they couldn't hold it long enough. The able bodies tried to climb on top of others in order to get a fresh breath from above, but they didn't. They clawed at the tile, fighting for one more breath... And I was there. In the very same spot thousands of people lost their innocence.

The SS would lie to the prisoners, saying that they were going to get a shower. The gas chambers were even made to look like shower rooms, with fake plumbing and faucets. I can't even imagine how it would feel to be treated like they were. They couldn't do anything!

Another very horrifying visit came from the granite quarry in which the prisoners were stationed to work. Here we found the famous "Stairs of Death." Throughout the whole trip, no one mentioned a lot about what the stairs were, but I was horrified when I found out. The "Stairs of Death" was a steep, 186 stair climb up a mountain side that had been chipped away. The SS would have Jews and other prisoners walk up the stairs, carrying an estimated 100 pound rock. Once they reached the top, the SS would push them off, shoot them, or even have the person next to them do it. The bodies fell hundreds of feet, dying upon impact.

The "Stairs of Death" located just below Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria. Pictured above is Veteran Mickey Dorsy and other students on the Holocaust Memorial Tour.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my posts. Tomorrow I will be posting about our visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau. Keep praying for us as we near the end of our trip. Our Veterans and survivors have been a blessing for all.

A Positive Break

I know that I have been posting a lot of negative writings, but the situation we're in is not a happy one. I would like to post a few things that have happened to me the past couple days...

1.) The Eagles Nest- I was born to live in the Alps. Our trip to the Eagles Nest was not the highest on my list, but it turned out being my favorite moment of finding beauty amongst sorrow. The eagles nest is located about 6,000 ft up and is nestled RIGHT in the Alps. The views were a little cloudy at first, but God showed his grace and lit up the sky for us. Ryan Meeks, a buddy of mine, and I had a great time running up the mountain, taking pictures along the way. Again, the views were absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!

2.) A New Friend- So this was super random, but a few people in our hotel in Linz, Austria and I were talking and they spotted my name tag. One of the men ask me what we are doing with the Holocaust, so I proceeded to tell him what we are doing and all the places we are visiting. He then told me that he was a Holocaust survivor himself and that he is from Israel.
     When he was three years old, his parents actually hid him underground in Slovakia to avoid being captured by the Nazis. His wife was with him, along with a couple friends, and we were lost in conversation in the hallway of the Marriott Courtyard hotel. haha. Before we parted ways, I told him a dream of mine is to be baptized in the Jordan River. He got really excited and said "Ahhh, so you're a religious man yourself?" to which I replied "Yes sir." He said before they left the hotel that he would find me and give me his information and when I come to Israel, he wanted to meet me and be there for the baptism.
     Tonight at dinner, he found me. Right in the middle of dessert he walked into our private dining room, and turned every head in the room. haha. Nobody knew who he was but me, so I waved him over to my table and welcomed him. He got out his wallet and handed me a piece of paper and said "You come to see us... I will be there."
    Thank God for sending kind people to his children. I'm definitely going to make contact with "Itzik." :)

3.) New Friends- When we set out on this amazing journey, I didn't really know about half of the students going on the trip. After spending so much time with them though, I feel like we've known each other for a long time. All of the students are so comforting and warm to the Veterans and survivors and I am so thankful that this group "clicked" right off the bat. I'm excited to spend five more days getting to know them... I know these will be strong relationships that will last a while.


As always, thank you for your prayers! This trip couldn't get any better. So many things have been shared with us, and the knowledge is not something we can contain. I feel like I'm in a dream to be here and be a part of this life changing experience. Love is coming to you from Austria, and soon Slovakia and Poland.

Dachau Concentration Camp

Today we saw another side of Germany. It was a cruel past led by the Third Reich. Dachau was the first concentration camp established in Germany and other camps were modeled in it's fashion. Veteran Chan Rogers was a liberator of the camp and painted a picture of what it was like in 1945.

Before we got off the bus, one of our tour guides told us that the camp had be "sanatized" and that the changes to the display of the camp were more viewer friendly. When we arrive at Dachau, after a short stop at the visitor's center, we walk to the entrance to the camp.

First, I was taken by the railroad tracks that still led up to the gate entrance. This is where boxcars full of both living and dead Jews would unload. The whole camp was surrounded by concrete walls and towers, with electric fence lacing the tops of the walls. We crossed a small bridge over a creek, and there it was... the phrase "Arbeit Macht Frei," which means "work shall set you free."

This was, of course, a cruel joke that the Nazis played on the prisoners. Thousands and thousands of innocent people lost their lives because of hatred. Seeing the words on the gate simply disgusted me. To think that people excelled in their work, tried to hard to gain freedom, but yet they were denied and often died trying. Everyone has heard they were mistreated and malnourished, but Mr. George Spooner recalled the SS men throwing a bag of potatoes into a fire and watching the Jews jump into the flames for their dinner.

Once in the camp, under the famous Dachau monument all the Veterans gathered for a wreath laying ceremony. After a moment of silence in honor of the innocent lives that were taken and the Veterans that served, a beautiful floral arrangement was laid in front of the monument. Chan Rogers, a liberator of the camp, spoke about the lives of the victims and spoke of gratefulness that changes have been made so nothing like the Holocaust happens again.

We walked through the SS administration building, which is now the documentation center after the wreath laying ceremony. Audio guides led us throughout the building, informing us all about the camp. We then stopped in a small cinema to watch a short film about the Holocaust and the Third Reich. When the video started, you could have heard a pin drop. All eyes were glued to the screen as it showed scaring pictures of the Jewish victims.

The next destination within the camp was the crematorium. This was located in the woods, a short walk from the very far end of the camp. Dachau was not known as an "Extermination Camp," however, most people don't know that it was set up to be. The original crematorium was a single furnace, much too small for accommodating the large amounts of bodies that were being brought to the doors. So the SS had another built.

We then made our way to the back of the camp were a Catholic convent was located. One of the Sisters was there to greet us as we made our way into the chapel. We were able to listen to the nuns chant, which they do five times a day. After we had a "roundtable" discussion, with Chan Rogers leading. He gave us his perspective and what it was like seeing the camp for the first time when it was still in operation.

It was an emotional day, but definitely one that I won't soon forget.

Touring Munich, Germany (photos)

Touring Munich, Germany

       Today we had the opportunity to explore the heart of Munich, Germany. On the way to the city, we stopped on the outskirts to see Hitler's Administration building. Chan Rogers, a Veteran that took the city with the 45th Infantry, recalled what it looked like back in 1945. Hitler's buildings were actually twin buildings, located parallel to one another. The buildings were ordered to be "De-Nazified" and the building fronts showed the scars. On the front of the buildings, above the entrances, Nazi symbols were torn off. The other building had ivory growing all over it. Chan said "They didn't want to tear the buildings down, so what better way to pay tribute (to the Jews) than to let ivory, a sign of peace, take over."

After loading back on the bus, we headed for the shopping central of Munich. We arrived at the town square called "Rathaus," located exactly in the middle of the city. It was a little before noon, so we heard the bells sound and watched the famous "Glockenspiel," which is a Deutsch fairy-tale type clock display on the bell tower. After the display we split up into small groups and started exploring the city. Hall, Bonnie and myself decided to start walking, with no specific destination in mind. My goal was to find a German Beer Stein (for coffee and hot tea, don't freak out).

Hall cracked joke after joke and had us laughing most of the day. I was pushing him in a wheelchair, which was not cobblestone friendly, and he said "I'm the definition of Rock and Roll..." I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. Then we started singing "I'm All Shook Up." I felt bad it was such a rough ride for him, but he just shrugged and said "It's like a massage that I don't have to pay for."

He did end up paying for it by buying our lunch. Hall insisted that he pay and treat us to our first German meal. We stopped at a little restaurant right off of the square for lunch. On the menu, pizza was one of the cheapest items at around seven euro. Hall and I ordered pizza, thinking it would be a slice or two, but boy were we wrong. The waiter came out with two full pizzas and set them in front of us. Hall gave about 3/4 of his pizza to Bonnie and I, and then put the pressure on me to finish mine as well. 

A really neat stop was to HB or the "Hof Brau Haus," a brewery famous for being one of Hitler's favorites. Some of our Veterans enjoyed a pint, while the students had cola (HA). It was a really neat setting, with German beer maids serving tables and walking around with GIANT pretzels. We made the best out of it and took some funny pictures. We were nearing our trips end when I realized that I had not purchased my stein yet... 

We stopped at a little souvenir shop, where I found the best deal on steins I had seen all day... 17 euro. Hall treated Bonnie and I to "Gealto," a popular treat in Europe, much like ice cream. 

To me, tomorrow is the true start of our trip. We will be touring Dachau, a concentration camp that many others were made to copy. I get chills thinking about the tour. Mr. George Spooner has not been back to Dachau, where his father's life was ended by the Third Reich, but tomorrow he will walk into the camp in remembrance and share his story with us. 

As always, prayers for the Veterans, survivors and students are appreciated.