Pictorial Representation: The Essence of the Holocaust

To many this picture may not represent the horror and gruesome nature which categorizes the Holocaust, however  it is a scene which always struck me as bringing many elements together. This picture is actually a still from the episode "Why We Fight" in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. Band of Brothers is one of my favorite series and I could watch it several times in a month and not find it boring.

This episode is the second to last and it comes at a time when Easy Company has almost left combat completely behind. Naturally they are delighted to be alive and ecstatic that they might soon be returning to the United States. When the men find this camp they are utterly devastated, and after seeing what they went through and how tough they were even after enduring brutal combat conditions, it is unnerving to see them cry and become stoic. In the image one can see the prisoners still in a camp, locked up as if they are animals, and the body in the middle represents just a portion of the cruelty which also categorized their imprisonment. This picture shows not only the destruction that the concentrations caused but also, what I consider to be the reaction of humanity to that destruction: sorrow and defeat. It is also representative of the Holocaust because it was the remnants, that which was left behind which often in such camps, which society has come to associate with the Holocaust. The soldier represents the end of the war, while the prisoners represent the true cost of the war: a portion of the world's humanity.

Does this image capture the essence of the Holocaust? For the way I choose to view the Holocaust it does; I am sure not everyone will agree. All I know is that when I think of the Holocaust this episode immediately comes to mind and brings together two groups whom sacrificed so much that the Nazis might not succeed. However, the driving forces behind the Holocaust, fear and ignorance, are hard to capture in a single picture, and often manifest themselves differently to each individual person.