Auschwitz. A word, a name, a place with so many connotations but most importantly, it's a symbol. A symbol for the devastating amount of life wasted, lost, taken. A symbol for so many other concentration camps: places of inhumanity, places of pain, places of death. A symbol that tells us that we need to pay attention to the past and learn from it.
Birkenau. A place where persecution, torture, and murder were practised on an industrial scale. The enormity of the events were reflected in the enormity of the site. The sheer size came as a shock and walking the same steps that were too many people's last, was harrowing and poignant.
Our students, as expected and as always, have been a credit to us today. They have dealt with vast amounts of incomprehensible information with maturity, sensitivity, and respect. The sights they have witnessed and the places they have been exposed to will undoubtedly stay with them forever.
