Leaving Auschwitz, the ghostly prisoners staggered out of the
sinister gates. Only a few human phantoms were still alive,

liberated by the Russian army on January 27, 1945. Some
clung to the arms of Russian soldiers in order to stand up
and trudge through the merciless snow.

All left the death camp behind, hobbling past corpses frozen
in the snow, as they began their long, labyrinthine journey of
freedom.

For the remainder of their lives, they would stumble through a
maze of trauma. But on this day of liberation, they were free,
although the shock and unbearable evil of Auschwitz would
remain inside their wounded souls forever.

Trapped in the private prisons of the psyche, the survivors
would relive and re-experience the horrific reality of Auschwitz
again and again. They would never forget. Neither would we.

I’ve heard soul-cutting stories about the perennial stench coming
from the crematoria at Auschwitz II where bodies were fed into
the ovens and burned.

Speak to the Auschwitz survivors. They still smell the stench of
the burning bodies, for the foul odor of evil never leaves.