Treblinka

I took my family to Poland in December 2005 to see relations there. We agreed that Treblinka is the quietest place we've ever been to, largely because it was New Years Day in the middle of nowhere. While there, we didn't hear any sounds. The lack of noise was almost as intimidating as the displays, because it left you to your thoughts.

This memorial is on the site of one of the gas chambers. At gunpoint, the various groups the Nazis deemed to be undesirable (Jews, gays, gypsies etc.) were made to run up a hill, from a railroad carriage, into the chamber situated at this monument. That way they'd be out of breath when they went in.

The display (which includes a list of places which sent people there on the stones in the background) serves as a memorial to the horrors that people can do to one another.