When you visit a concentration camp, even if it is a work camp, you don’t exactly expect to enjoy yourself. You brace yourself for the charred buildings and the chilling stories. What was not anticipated were the events that coincided with my visit to Dachau. On August 12th 2017, while I was visiting a concentration camp in Germany and reciting “never again,” white supremacists yielding swastikas were lining the streets of Charlottesville, VA. As Jews, we had been anxious to visit Germany, but we never expected that we would feel safer there than in our own country. How could we say “never again” when blind hatred was so close to home? This feeling of unease and sadness has never really dissipated.
Pro-Tip: Honestly, this one’s above my pay grade. But for starters, can we all just agree that hate speech, vehicular homicide, and swastikas are wrong?