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World War II

Visiting Auschwitz: Why I Didn’t Cry When I Totally Expected Myself To
in Europe, Oświęcim, Poland, Travel

Visiting Auschwitz: Why I Didn’t Cry When I Expected Myself To

Going to Auschwitz was always part of the plan. The Holocaust is a historical event that always hit a little too close to home due to some reasons I will not share here. However, one thing I can tell you is that those reasons actually helped me write an essay about the event that led me to win my first writing award. Later, I was sent to Israel for the 1st International Youth Congress on Holocaust Remembrance.

That week I spent in Israel made me go on a deep dive into history and somehow (try to) understand what happened to the people persecuted during the second world war. There wasn’t a day when my fellow congress participants and I weren’t crying as we went through the halls of Yad Vashem, looked through records and items left behind by the victims, and even when we met actual survivors of the Holocaust.

If you know me personally, you would know that I’m not one for crying in public. But the Yad Vashem Museum in Israel? Oh, that was an exception.

During the seminars, the talks, and even when we got to meet the late President Shimon Peres, Auschwitz was always mentioned. I knew what and where it was. We all know the horrors that happened there. We’ve read books about the Holocaust – from Anne Frank to Primo Levi, down to Elie Wiesel. Sure, it was painful to discuss knowing the suffering people experienced in these camps people talk about – especially Auschwitz – but they always felt a little too abstract.

That is, until I found myself there.

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Churchill, Winston Churchill, Churchill War Rooms, London, Travel, History, World War II, WWII
in United Kingdom

Travel: The Churchill War Rooms (London, UK)

Churchill, Winston Churchill, Churchill War Rooms, London, Travel, History, World War II, WWII

Note: The Churchill War Rooms is part of Britain’s Imperial War Museums. If you want to check out my write up on the IWM London, click here.

Tucked in a corner by the Clive Steps in London is the entrance to one of my favourite stops during our Europe trip. The inconspicuous door  leading to the Churchill War Rooms’ entrance was already modified to make it easier for people to find it. However, a lot of tourists who visit London still walk past it, not knowing what it actually is and not even noticing it.

The Churchill War Rooms is composed of the Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill Museum. It is an underground complex built under the Treasury building in London that served as Britain’s command centre during World War II. It is where then Prime Minister Winston Churchill spent most of his time, making the most important decisions and plans back then. The complex was abandoned in August 1945 after WWII and was preserved.

Churchill, Winston Churchill, Churchill War Rooms, London, Travel, History, World War II, WWII

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Travel, London, Imperial War Museum, World War, World War II, World War I, WWII, WWI, What to do in London, Where to go in London, London Travel, Europe, United Kingdom,
in United Kingdom

Travel: The Imperial War Museum (London)

Travel, London, Imperial War Museum, World War, World War II, World War I, WWII, WWI, What to do in London, Where to go in London, London Travel, Europe, United Kingdom,

On our first day in London, we decided to visit the Imperial War Museum (IWM). We were staying at a small hotel nearby and getting there meant just a three-minute walk. Whoopee! Summer walks in London? Why don’t mind if I do. 😉

IWM London is part of Britain’s Imperial War Museums – a family of 5 establishments in the UK dedicated to keep the lessons of the past alive.

We’ve been to three of the five during this trip and this is the first post on this series. Will be linking the other two here once they are up.

IWM London is housed in the former Bethlem Royal Hospital and has been there since the 30s. It’s quite hard to miss this building along Lambeth Road as right at the front are two, 15-inch guns taken from the HMS Roberts and HMS Ramillies.

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The moment you walk inside, it is quite hard not to be impressed. You’ll be welcomed by a Harrier Jump Jet along with a couple more planes, rockets, and bombs. All are hung from the ceiling. We stood there gaping at them for a while.

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