Imperial War Museum

Inside the Imperial War Museum, I found the Holocaust exhibit to be very interesting. This exhibit was filled with pictures, videos, artifacts, and information from the start of the Holocaust till the end in 1944. A few pictures and objects stood out to me the most. The first was a picture of Margot Schloss. In November 1935, she and her husband were arrested in their home along with the other members of their literary discussion group. They were thought to be communists because of what a prior maid had said, and were put into solitary confinement for six weeks. During this time, she made a set of playing cards with a pin and some packing paper that she had found on the floor of the cell. The playing cards were on display in the case with her picture. I thought it was so cool to see the actual playing cards that she had made during that time. I also thought this was interesting because the whole group was arrested on the basis that someone said they were communist, and they weren’t. During this time, everyone was judged harshly and any accusations were taken seriously. Another thing that I found interesting throughout this exhibit was the “Mother’s Honour Crosses”. The Nazis encouraged ‘Aryan’ women to have more children during the holocaust so that the population could grow and leave no traces of the Jews. The mothers were given these crosses when they produced more children, along with a certificate. If a mother had eight or more children, they were awarded the ‘Gold Mother’s Honour Cross’. This object of the exhibit really struck me because it was mind blowing to see a certificate and cross that was actually given to a mother for having more ‘Aryan’ children to support the community. It is so interesting that the government urged mothers to have more children, and then gave them award for it. I think of it as exploitation. Overall, the Holocaust exhibit within the Imperial War Museum provided a lot of information and was very interesting.