The Tree at Auschwitz-II Birkenau: Growing Defiantly

Nothing - no books, articles, movies, lectures, or lessons - can quite prepare you for visiting Auschwitz and Auschwitz-II Birkenau. For rooms full of shoes, suitcases, spectacles, and heartache. For graves for millions, and buildings full of suffering. For the injustice, and frustration, and horror. For the numbness, and tears, and the breath that catches in your throat.
Or for the one tree that still grows defiantly where it seems nothing should.

No, it's not a pleasant experience visiting Auschwitz. But you should, and not only so we do not forget, do not repeat history. But also to be reminded of so many other important things, too.

Be nice to people. Accept, and celebrate, differences. Do not blindly follow or accept. Question everything.

And grow defiantly, even where it seems nothing could.