Never Again: A Reflection on Our Visit to Buchenwald Concentration Camp

Never Again: A Reflection on Our Visit to Buchenwald Concentration Camp
At what point is one person worth less than another? At what point do you have the right to degrade and brutally kill another person because of their religion, origin, sexuality or political opinion?
We think that there will never be a point where this can be allowed or even justified. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened in concentration camps all over Europe. There were over 24 large concentration camps where inhumane things happened. One in particular was very formative, the Buchenwald concentration camp. A concentration camp that was "responsible" for the whole of central Germany, where over 56,000 Jews, homosexuals, political opponents and children died. A place with an inhuman history. It was precisely this place that we, grade 9, were allowed to visit on May 7, 2025.
We started with a tour at the bell tower. This is where we started our tour - descending the stairs past the seven stelae that tell the story of the site's origins right up to its liberation. We saw the three grave funnels with the ashes of thousands of people who died in the Buchenwald concentration camp. The striking of the Buchenwald bell at exactly 10 o'clock was impressive.
We then took the bus to the former camp, now a memorial site. After a short break, we started the guided tour. First we were shown the former structure of the concentration camp and given some basic information. For example, we were told that in the past there was not only the 'main camp', but also a smaller one where 'celebrities' were housed. They were intended as hostages during the war and were treated better than the prisoners in the main camp so that visitors could not see the horror of reality at first glance.
We were then shown around the former camp. Among other things, we visited the train station where the prisoners arrived, the bear kennel, which was built right next to the fences of the concentration camp to provoke people, and the crematorium. In the crematorium, we all realized how cruel it must have been to be locked up there. When the tour was over, we still had time to visit the camp on our own.
It was a very moving day for us. We experienced history lessons in a place steeped in history. This day was very moving and interesting for all of us and gave us a lot of food for thought.
We certainly speak for everyone when we say that something like this must never happen again. The past reminds us not to look away, not to forget, not to remain silent when injustice happens. History reminds us never to blindly follow a leader and that something like this must never happen again.