The Imperial War Museum was my favorite museum thus far. It offered great information about the warfare, people, and sufferings during this time. My favorite and most touching exhibit was the Holocaust exhibition. The videos, pictures and artifacts displayed, offered a real life view into the time era of the Holocaust and the horror and suffering that took place. A picture that stands out most in my mind is that of a young woman by the name, Anna V. Anna was a young orphaned girl who suffered from depression after losing her job after unemployment struck the country. She was sent to a mental hospital where she was diagnosed with ‘innate feeble mindedness.’ The doctors attempted to sterilizer her so she wouldn’t pass on her ‘bad genes’ to her child. A few months later she gave birth to a baby and her baby was taken into care and she was sterilized. It is awful that the government had such power, that they could decide who was suited to have children and was could not. Taking away a woman’s right to birth is so appalling to me. I couldn’t believe people who were mentally and physically disordered were sterilized and killed for their misfortunes.
Another exhibit that struck me was the cabinet containing a roll of yellow Jewish stars. In many countries controlled by the Nazis, Jews were ordered to sew these yellow stars onto their clothing. Anyone caught without one could be imprisoned and shot. This star was first intended to humiliate the Jews and mark the out for segregation and discrimination. Later it made them easy to round up and deport to camps. Watching the films near this exhibit was heart wrenching. People spoke of how they felt like animals herding through the streets, and how they felt humiliated. It was so sad to see pictures of children wearing these yellow stars.
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