Arbeit macht frei” (work set’s you free)
Beneath a winters sun a biting wind blew,
Where nobody saw and nobody knew.
With tears in the eyes of our guide
Shock on our faces no-where to hide.
I couldn’t remove her words from my ear
The ones no decent human wants to hear.
Watching through a fog knowing the reality
It slid beneath flesh and warped earth’s polarity.
Ramming evil home, planting it deep
like marrow into the bone.
Escape was not made for here,
corrections happened and slaughter… its clear.
They walked towards death one by one,
Without the fear of what was to come.
When water became gas, to help them cope,
they sang the Hatikvah, their song of hope.
I see piles of hair when I try to sleep,
the discarded shoes torn from innocents feet.
I see their faces before me as I softly weep,
Brush crematoria soot from a tear stained cheek.
This place bore witness to pure evil that time,
it can not be erased from the depths of my mind.
At the shooting wall I picture them standing that day,
Singing hopeful prayers they refused to face away.
The Nazi machine, its power so strong,
kept the furnaces burning all night long.
Hundreds were cremated day after day,
Not fast enough to clear the piles of decay.
First their status then their pride
Ripped them apart nowhere to hide.
For all the souls that gather there,
Their fortitude, their pain and despair.
I beseech you all, to stand and see
the shooting wall… just like me.
The rose was placed on one of the beds that held six bodies in the barracks of Auschwitz one. Poignantly positioned, by someone paying respects on March the second 2017.
In light of new trials of two Nazi guards (one male one female) beginning imminently and national poetry day I repost this poem.
A piece of me shifted that day, my eyes clouded and my heart cried. I thought long and hard before posting this and though I hope you leave me a comment I will understand if you don’t.
I was station in Germany in the early seventies. I saw the death camps in Germany and in Poland. We cannot forget the people murdered for being Jews and Gypsies. I was a soldier and I saw terrible things. It is sad what men can do.
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Thank you for taking time to read.It is time for everyone to remember, … there is one race, the human race. It is awful what humans can do.
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I agree dear Ellen and you are welcome.
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Deeply heartfelt anguish and pain.
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Sometimes it is what’s left behind, the eirie empty of a place that calls to be seen, recognised and remembered. I can never unsee Auschwitz. Thank you for reading.
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I remember this poem. It still gives me goosebumps. This is my favourite piece of writing from you. Not because it’s terribly sad.
I think it’s because, I feel the need to read it aloud, and I absorb every word. It flows beautifully and it’s so meaningful.
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Your comments mean so much. Thank you.
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I don’t think I could ever go there. My brother and daughter have been and like you Ellen, they will never forget it. It’s a very sad poem, although everything about that place is sad! But beautifully written Ellen. Your emotions pour out of it.
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That is a comment to treasure. X
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I’ve never been there and experienced it but your poem was well written. It has made me feel sad and thoughtful, very powerful Ellen.
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Thank you for taking time to read and comment. It still evokes emotion just reading it takes me back. Just as it should. X
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Yes I’m sure it does..
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My heart breaks. As a history teacher, no matter how desensitized students are these days, this piece of the past always creates a sombre and pained atmosphere in the room.
I have been to Terezin. I still haven’t blogged about it- I often try.
A wonderful post about an exceptionally painful place.
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Thank you it was one of the hardest things I have written … as a poem it was about the emotion which was better than a blog post story as what other than my experience could I or anyone add to what has already been said. 😟😞
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I vividly remember visiting Auschwitz, especially the gas chambers disguised as shower blocks. My reaction was very similar to yours, and your poem expresses it perfectly. A very powerful piece.
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Dear George, even for me, re reading my own words … makes the hair stand on my forearms and up my neck. I do not want the humananity in me to evaporate, I want never to forget ; it keeps us from becoming like those that commit such atrocious acts. Thank you for commenting it means a lot.
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Absolutely!
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Oh, Ellen. This is a stunning post. And it’s rekindled my desire to visit some of these camps. For the past few years I’ve been reading mostly holocaust memoirs, thinking it’s the least we can do — hear their stories. It’s always humbling to be reminded just how inhuman our species can become. Thank you.
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I am just pleased that people read it and share. Your comment is much appreciated. X
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This is heart wrenching, Ellen.
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As was Auschwitz😞 and it needs to be remembered even more in today’s selfish world.😟
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Yes, I agree. I am listening to the audio book of Dark Visions. Very good to date.
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Oh wow, I have yet to listen to it.
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As was Auschwitz😞 and it needs to be remembered even more in today’s selfish world.😟 thank you for taking time to read Roberta.
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Heartbreaking and impossible to fathom. Well worded. Their stories must be told.
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I am pleased you came and liked the way I wrote this. One of the hardest visits I have undertaken; one of the hardest to put into words.
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I can imagine. xo
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I have read a lot about Auschwitz but never visited. Now, your powerful words make me feel like I stood there beside you absorbing the horrors.
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*nods head* my heart still cries and the memory haunted me until I found the words to express it. Thank you for reading.
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Reblogged this on Ellenbest24 and commented:
The memory never fades. As never it should.
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Thank you, Ellen. It is such a poignant poem: fitting as it should be to its horrific subject. I read a true account of The Warsaw Ghetto when quite young and that left an indelible mark too.My husband’s family came from Lodz in Poland.Most emigrated to either the UK, USA or S.A. The few who stayed behind were murdered. We are both Humanists. Peace. x
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I love that you felt my words were fitting. And sad for all the loss.
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A very different aspect of Remembrance day. It is so important that future generations know why the Allies were fighting and what the enormous loss of life was for – you have captured the evil, the pain, the terror of all the camps in such a haunting way. I wish these places didn’t have to be memorable, but they do – a reminder of the evil that it is possible for humans to inflict upon each other. But also the lengths that humans will go to in order to eliminate that evil and save others. Thank you for sharing on BUYB x
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And thank you for coming. I still can’t comprehend thee power of a small group of evil men.
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Me neither
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So poignantly written Ellen it must have been very hard to write…I haven’t been but my daughter has and like you she was saddened and shocked to the core..she said you could still feel the evil. It makes you ashamed of the human some of these acts and we should never forget.
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I walked out knowing, There could be no God. 😢
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I also wonder that at times Ellen…When I watch films of times past the level of violence is appalling against our fellow man…Hanging, drawing and quartering is my example… The conclusion …man is cruel to its fellow man and it still continues today… It seems man has learnt nothing or has learnt that cruelty begets their chosen result….
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It is time for the world to remember there is but one race … the human race.
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Ellen it is and I and many others agree x
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But not all …
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Ellen, I can hear the truth and sorrow in your powerful prose. I’ve never been to Auschwitz and while I’ve heard countless stories told to remind us of the cruelty we can never tolerate to repeat, this piece was visceral. Very well-written without lapsing into the maudlin. Will remain with me for a long time.
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Thank you, it was juxterposed by the beautiful town, the salt mines that had salt cut crystals in giant chandeliers. Sculptures bigger than any man and pools as green as emeralds. Krakoa has lots more to offer than hate.
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A truly moving post, Ellen. It must have been so difficult to write, but I am glad you did. It is something that we must never forget, and hope that never gets repeated. x
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We must find a way to keep this current and in the fore. Only preservation of such terrible recollections of attrocities can stop it happening again.
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Absolutely, Ellen, I couldn’t agree more.
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Nicely written on such a grim and sordid tale of the part of history which we all will dread to get repeated again…..will wish that such an era never returns ever….
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The only way is to educate and be the best humans we can be. Thank you for reading.
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Right you are Ellen…
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I don’t think I will ever be able to visit Auschwitz and see the horror inflicted on mankind! Inhuman..actually!
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No i can understand it was not an easy thing to do. Thank you for reading.
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🙂
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A moving piece – I haven’t been to Auschwitz, but I can sense the place through your harrowing words
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That is what I hoped. Thank you.
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This is truly touching… you’ve done a beautiful job Ellen of covering an ugly subject that we should never forget or ever want to repeat .
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I had to do my best, as if it was for the voices of everyone. X
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You really hit the nail on the head … that rose at the end..
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I cried when I saw it, my fae was wet the whole day and often is when I stop to think.
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I can only imagine….
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A beautiful response to a most horrific tragic and violent part of history x
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Thank you for that comment. A time to never forget 😢
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Never x
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“Watching through a fog knowing the reality
It slid beneath flesh and warped earth’s polarity.”
You captured my emotional response to walking through Auschwitz/Birkenau perfectly with those lines. Your poem is breath-taking, raw, haunting, and a gift.
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Thank you for coming, understanding and commenting.
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Such a difficult experience to convey, yet your poem and reflection probes deeply at the confrontation of the worst in humanity. Turning away is to deny. And that’s why we keep saying we can never forget.
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Yes, we must not diminish the facts, there is power in keeping atrocities in the forefront; verified by history. Maybe to tweak the consciences of the rulers of many regimes.
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This tugged at my heart. It’s very beautifully written.
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There lies the dilemma , as the author you want it loved , to be a good piece of work, it lifts me to know you think it beautifully written. But the subject, you want it to stab the reader, make them hate the barbarity of it. I think/hope I captured both. Thank you for your lovely comments.
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Yes you did it. Delivered it right in. Right were it hurts.
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I visited Auschwitz in the summer. It was truly harrowing. I wish I could’ve fully wrapped my head around it all as I was walking around, but I just couldn’t. The sheer scale of the atrocities was just too much. Walking around on a summers day with a cafe across the road, you just can’t imagine the grotesque, crippling, torturous pain millions of people had to endure. There were flickering moments I got a sense of the reality, but for the most part it was very factual and educational (which was a good thing). The most important message I took away from the camp that day was that we must do everything in our power to NEVER let this happen again. Awareness is key. Thank you for posting this xx
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Thank you for coming though i didn’t see a caf’e i must have been blind to the now and lost in the then.
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The cafe was on the other side of the road from the entrance. Where our tour bus parked. It was a really horrible cafe that we only bought a drink in, but I suppose that’s quite fitting xx
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You would somehow want there to be nothing nice in its vicinity.
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I agree. It felt wrong that you could order a large pizza across the road from someone millions died of starvation and malnourishment…
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My heart aches for those that endured that. It saddens me deep to my core. I don’t know that I could ever visit, as an empath I have a hard enough time watching the news. Going to such a place would probably be too much to bare. I will honor their memory by living a kind and compassionate life, standing up for others, and being a voice for the voiceless.
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Many couldn’t and many shouldn’t, but we must not forget.
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I didn’t hit Like, Ellen, because I felt this too deeply. I have been reading about WWII for four or five years now, fiction, non-fiction, whatever I run across. And I’ve been to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. three times. The first time I totally broke down at the exhibit of a pile of shoes — mostly belonging to young children. I am so drawn to that museum. I sincerely doubt I could do Auschwitz…
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It changes you, the experience of walking where so much evil trod, so little thought for any human before them. Our world needs to be very aware of how that began.
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I hit like, although I hesitated to, but had to because of the depth, meaning and well written reminder.
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You read and shared thank you. Your input is received gratefully.
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Thank you. 🙂
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Beautiful, moving post.
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Thank you. 😇
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Thank you for reading it. 😇
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A moving poem and one that should be read so we never forget. It could so easily happen again.
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I sincerely hope not. Thank you for taking time and for the commenr.
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Beautifully written, Ellen, if such a word can be used for so sad a piece. I believe it’s our duty to continue to lament man’s inhumanity toward man with these reminders. Otherwise, sadly. we are not above committing them again.
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If my piece moves just one person enough to think about today, I will have succeeded.
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Well said, well written, well done Ellen :0)
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Sometimes we just have to.
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Reblogged this on Kate McClelland.
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Humbled
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prolific and haunting piece.
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Thanks Daisy.
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Even after 75 years it’s still too distressing to think about.
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But thank you for coming. 😢
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I almost didn’t read. Then I knew I had to. In memorial, we must never forget.
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Thank you for doing so. In these uneasy times the fear is repetition. A terrifying thought.
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Agree! That thought horrifies me. Which is why I knew I had to read. Not only never forget. Never again!
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I knew Holocaust survivors when I was a kid, too young to really understand what they had gone through. It was a horrific period of history, one that I fear would be too easy to repeat. I agree with you in wishing heads of state (and others) would see what you saw. Well said.
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Thank you for reading and commenting. It means an awful lot.
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such horribly unbelievable cruelty. Very difficult to imagine that fellow humans can and have done such atrocities to one another. We can’t knowingly allow this to ever happen again.
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I was asked “if you were ordered to would you” before i could spit out ‘never’ she said “on fear of condemning your family, your friends and acquaintances to torture and death”.
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Ellen, you expressed your feeling with such clarity and beauty. It is so very difficult to wrap your head around the murder and torture that was the Nazi regime and to believe that we humans are capable of being the murderers or being the humans who ignored what was happening. If you want to life your spirits, read the Zookeeper’s Wife. It is the true story of a woman and her husband in Warsaw who helped many people.
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Thanks Bernadette I will do that, Loving books as I do it won’t be hard, but the film comes out this month 31st March in USA.
I have studied, read and watched so much in the past that I thought I was prepared; and I would be going to pay my respects. I wasn’t prepared for learning more and I will never forget.
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I will probably go see the movie but the book is very special. The author uses her own words and there are some personal photographs. I hope the movie moves people in the USA to think about what our government is doing and perhaps realize the importance of protecting all people.
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Ours too 😢 lest we forget Betnadette lest we forget.
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You did a great job writing about this. The most emotional I ever got was visiting Dachau-horrific. I love the rose, too.
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It was tough I am glad that I went and pleased that you visited and read my work. The place without a doubt altered the me I was.
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I love the tribute of a single rose on that bed where so much pain and sorrow must have lain. I can only imagine how moving it would have been to visit in person. We must never let this happen again.
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That is why I wanted to write this. I wish every head of state was made to go. A compulsary visit to at least one site.
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It would be a sobering experience for them that’s for sure.
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Maybe it would finally stop future repetitions, 😢
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I ticked like because I support what you say. Those dark times are always just a heart beat away. Oppressors are always around as are the oppressed. Lest we forget!
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Kracow is a beautiful city. It goes to show evil can happen anywhere. Thanks for reading Willow.
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Heartfelt from someone who has seen and felt the present evil of the perpetrators and the terror of the victims.
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Thank you for reading this and for experiencing it with me.
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