Malcolm Brabant:

In all, 1.5 million children were murdered during the Holocaust; 235,000 perished here at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Frequently, children were the first to be exterminated because the Nazis believed they were too weak to be forced to work and were a waste of food.

Eighty years ago, the air here was heavy with the stench of death, but not anymore. Over time, the ashes of the children have been absorbed into the earth, and they are beneath my feet and beneath the feet of millions who walk past this drawing of an orchestra serenading slave laborers beneath the sign “Work Sets You Free.”

The victims of Auschwitz have no graves. The only tangible evidence of their earthly presence are the possessions the Germans confiscated as they ordered the Jews to take a shower. We’re not allowed to film the exhibit of human hair, but the suitcases and baskets and shoes provide a spiritual link with the six million who perished in the Holocaust.