Standing in Auschwitz

A Warning for Today from the Shadows of Our Past

The summer sun’s warmth quickly disappeared as we found ourselves enveloped by the cold, oppressive walls of the gas chamber. Silence fell over our group, a heavy, suffocating quiet that seemed to echo the horrors once witnessed there. As the door closed behind us, I moved through the crowd, pressing my back against the unsympathetic surface, and closed my eyes. I couldn’t help but imagine the terror felt by the men, women, and children who stood naked in this very spot, waiting for the inevitable.

My journey at Auschwitz had begun earlier that day, walking through rooms filled with pictures, names, and stories of the victims—husbands, wives, children, grandparents—each with their own lives, hopes, and dreams. But soon, the rooms transitioned into displays that vividly illustrated the systematic stripping away of their humanity. I saw rooms filled with suitcases, prosthetic limbs, eyeglasses, shoes, and finally, grotesque mounds of human hair.

As I exited the gas chamber, numbness settled in. Passing the furnaces designed for burning bodies, I had a chilling realization—once a person’s humanity is taken away, killing them becomes disturbingly easy.  

It’s tempting to believe that the path to dehumanization began only at Auschwitz. It’s easier still to think that such horrors were isolated, the product of a singular, deranged leader. While these beliefs hold some truth, they fail to capture the broader trajectory of dehumanization and the unsettling reality that we, too, are susceptible to walking the same path.

We often see the Holocaust as an isolated evil, as though it emerged without any cultural or psychological precursors. This view, however, ignores the gradual shifts in collective thought that made such atrocities possible—and it leaves us vulnerable to repeating history.

The road to Auschwitz began with name-calling and stereotyping. It evolved into enemy labeling, a “we versus they” mentality, dehumanizing language, and images portraying others as morally inferior. These rationalizations eventually led to violence.

If we are honest about the current state of our country, we can see a similar path emerging. I am not suggesting that we are necessarily headed toward another Holocaust, but there are undeniable parallels in the precursors. The most significant difference between then and now is the pervasive reach of social media.

Social media has created ideological echo chambers that allow groups to form without the limitations of geography. These groups can mobilize instantly to impose their beliefs on others, threatening the “melting pot” idealism that once celebrated diversity. Instead, we are becoming a landscape of ideological “nations,” each convinced it cannot coexist with the others.

This environment breeds name-calling and stereotyping, where enemies are declared morally inferior or subhuman. Within these ideological “nations,” the enemies must be silenced, canceled, threatened, or worse.

The question is no longer, “How will we come together in America?” but rather, “Are we witnessing the beginning of the end of America as we know it?” The ground beneath us now belongs to competing ideological factions, each unwilling to coexist or abide by others’ rules.

After the Holocaust, one of the most asked questions was, “Where was God?” As I observe our current path, I think I know the answer. God was there, as God is here now, imploring us to resist the forces stripping others of their humanity. We are called to stop the descent into name-calling, caricaturing, and stereotyping. We must stand against the rhetoric that deems others morally inferior or subhuman and oppose any act of violence against our fellow humans.

While it’s easy to blame leaders and social media for our current trajectory, the truth is we have created this reality. Yet, we also have the power to change it. We need reasonable people to rise up and come together, to reject the hatred and division, and to build a new community that values humility, peaceableness, and mercy for all. Only on this path can our shared humanity survive and flourish.

Question

In what ways am I contributing, or challenging, the dehumanization of other in my own community through my words or actions?

Peace,

Brandon