Holocaust Memorial Day, 80 years on. We remember in grief- and in hope that NEVER AGAIN will such monstrosities be committed in the name of politics, religion, hatred, or greed.

As we approached the main entrance to Mauthausen Concentration Camp the sky was gloomy, and the atmosphere sombre. Going under the archway gave a sensation coloured by apprehension: and we weren’t being screamed at by armed guards with savage dogs.

We entered an antechamber of hell.

They called it a “work camp” at first, where prisoners quarried stone by hand, lifting blocks up a steep stair. Those who fell or were injured died. People who didn’t fit the “ideals” of the Third Reich were sent here as cheap workers (slaves) and the authorities sold the stone at great monetary profit. The blood cost wasn’t on the balance sheet. Stone walls and electric fences kept things neat.

Later, they added gas chambers and crematoria ovens. Jews, gypsies, Russians, criminals, gays, and political “inconveniences” were subject to industrialised genocide. Mauthausen was a smaller camp than many, but the death toll was extremely high. Only a few survived.

We saw photos of inmates and staff, visited huts and displays, walked through the killing zone… and on the way out looked at the huge memorial sculptures erected by many nations. Near the exit was a Christian Cross made of timbers from the demolished huts.

The nearby towns and farms raised no real objections about the “vermin and criminals” who died here. Some of the guards were posted here without any real choice- Stalingrad and the Eastern Front were the alternative, for most soldiers a death sentence.

Shockingly, most of the prison staff were ordinary people, and the horrible thought is this: as ordinary as us. Few were sadistic zealots. They did a job where prisoners died rather than leave. When dictators stifle justice and humanity, ordinary people do terrible things. If the circumstances had been different, it might have been you or me. Evil insidiously drowns decency and Death takes over.

Never again. Or we will be responsible. God is just.

Proverbs 24 v11-12
“Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die;
save them as they stagger to their death.
Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.”
For God understands all hearts, and he sees you.
He who guards your soul knows you knew.
He will repay all people as their actions deserve.”