A day at Neuengamme

The day started at six o’clock when I got woken up. Alice, Ella and I were in the galley yesterday so we had to fix the breakfast for today. After a quick clearing of the tables we were on our way to the concentration camp called Neuengamme.

Neuengamme is a camp were many political enemies, homosexuals and Jews were captured to work during world war two. Some of the work could be collecting clay, digging a deeper river or building brick houses. The conditions were bad. Not much food and in the end 14 000 people in a space for 2500. There were no gas chambers as in other camps but here you worked until you died. The number of deaths could vary from 1 to 250 per day.

After the war Neuengamme was turned into a prison for criminals in the area. Why? Maybe the Germans didn’t want to think of the history there, wanted to forget the terrible things that had happened. Almost all buildings and barracks were destroyed which made it hard to actually understand what had happened there. In 2003 they decided that the prison would be a monument and a museum. Inside the houses we read texts about the life there but we also had two persons showing us around and telling many stories of the people who had lived and worked there.

The visit was something I will remember for all my life. It was very interesting to actually see how humans can be this disgusting towards other people. I have come to realize that this could happen again, we don’t know and can´t predict the future. This visit made me think about what I have and how life could have been. How does it feel? Being hungry, not being able to sleep and being tortured.

After a very interesting and meaningful visit at Neuengamme we got back at five o’clock. Me and some others went to a restaurant where we ate pizza and pasta. We split up and then me and Tilda Å went to a store called DM. It is a shop where they sell makeup for a cheaper price and when we were out again we smelled strong after trying many perfumes.

We got home and me and some others watched a movie called moulin rouge. I watched it two days ago for the first time but it was so good I had to watch it again. It is a romantic musical and I would really recommend it. I´ll probably watch it in a few days again.

The day has been very interesting and I have learned a lot.

Midships, Ellen Götsten