Only a Raspberry

Last night, Ellie and I were out to dinner in the North End. As we made our way back through the city, we walked through the Holocaust Monument in Faneuil Hall. We both silently looked at the towering, glass walls, covered with the i.d. numbers that the Nazis branded the Jews with. We also read the quotes on each wall, which painted horrific snapshots of almost unimaginable conditions and cruelty.

As I observed all this, I tried in my mind to imagine seeing these things - the unspeakable cruelty and total disregard for human life - and I could barely grasp the thought that these things were real and that they happened only 70 years ago or so. It feels like it could have been 100's of years ago, or maybe even on a different world.

But it wasn't. It happened here (well, in Europe) - less than a century ago. That just blows my mind.

There was one quote that especially stuck with me. A woman describes her friend, in the same concentration camp as her, finding a single raspberry. She hides it in her pocket all day long, then presents it on a leaf to her friend that night. The quote on the wall was:

"Imagine a world where your only possession is one slightly bruised raspberry, and you give it to your friend."

Wow...