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WYD pilgrims on Auschwitz impressions

(Vatican Radio)  Among the pilgrims attending the World Youth Day events in Krakow were two American friends who went on a tour of the site of the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau and afterwards spoke to our correspondent Lydia O’Kane about the emotions their visit had aroused in them. Lydia spoke first to Hattie Shore and afterwards to her friend Irene Wilson, both of them pilgrims who had come to Poland from their homes in the U.S. Listen to the interviews with Hattie Shore and Irene Wilson:   Asked about her impressions of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Hattie described what she called the “eerie” and “unsettling peacefulness” of the site, saying she walked around it “with a pit” in her stomach.  Although not keen beforehand to visit the site of the infamous death camp where nearly a million people died at the hands of the Nazis, Hattie said going to Auschwitz had helped “to bring history alive&rd...

(Vatican Radio)  Among the pilgrims attending the World Youth Day events in Krakow were two American friends who went on a tour of the site of the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau and afterwards spoke to our correspondent Lydia O’Kane about the emotions their visit had aroused in them. 

Lydia spoke first to Hattie Shore and afterwards to her friend Irene Wilson, both of them pilgrims who had come to Poland from their homes in the U.S.

 

Listen to the interviews with Hattie Shore and Irene Wilson:  

Asked about her impressions of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Hattie described what she called the “eerie” and “unsettling peacefulness” of the site, saying she walked around it “with a pit” in her stomach.  Although not keen beforehand to visit the site of the infamous death camp where nearly a million people died at the hands of the Nazis, Hattie said going to Auschwitz had helped “to bring history alive” for her and had given her a “better understanding” of that dark chapter.

Turning to the World Youth Day gathering, Hattie spoke of how “inspiring” it was to be there with so many other young people from all over the world with a common mission:  “all of us want to deepen our faith.” 

The second American pilgrim to be interviewed by Lydia was Irene Wilson who said she had had a similar reaction to her friend Hattie when going around the site of the Auschwitz camp.  She too mentioned the “eerie silence” of the place and said she was shocked by “how normal it looked” in certain areas.  Like Hattie, Irene said it was “really important” to learn about these horrors.

Asked about the World Youth Day events and her impressions, Irene spoke of the value of so many people of different cultures “all united in wanting to connect” with their faith.  As a practicing Catholic, Irene explained how often this meant “going against the tide”, saying this was “definitely difficult” for young people, mainly because of “a fear” of being rejected or “left out” by their peers.  

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