[Leica] The Wall

[n.wajsman at chello.nl (Nathan Wajsman)]

I agree that the Wall is a moving memorial, I saw it in Washington
shortly after it was built. But...I must say that I find the huge Allied
war cemeteries in Normandy and Belgium more impressive with their
endless rows of crosses and the occasional Star of David; for me, these
people really died defending my freedom (although I was not born yet),
nay, my very existence.

Also, when I was in Warsaw last year, I visited the Umschlagplatz, a
place from where hundreds of thousands of Jews were deported to
Auschwitz. Because so many of the victims were nameless and because of
the sheer number, listing the individual names is just not feasible. So
instead, there is simply an alphabetical listing of the most common
Jewish first names. I found it incredibly emotional to see my name and
that of my son on this list. 

I guess this shows that one's response to these sorts of monuments
depends partly on one's background--without in any way belittling the
tragedy of the Vietnam war.

Nathan

"B. D. Colen" wrote:
> 
> The Wall is the single most impressive memorial of any kind that I have
> ever seen anywhere. It's power lays in its understated simplicity, and
> in the genius of having it consist of nothing more than that seemingly
> endless list of names, each of which represents negated possibility.
> 
> B. D.
> 

-- 
Nathan Wajsman
Almere, The Netherlands

e-mail: n.wajsman@chello.nl
Mobile: +31 630 868 671

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