Today we went to the memorial grounds located in Latvia. the memorial monuments were placed in the forest that was a location of the mass killing of Jews during the Holocaust. here women, men, and children were shot and also a train loaded of WWII war heroes from Germany. The whole forest was surrounded with an eerie and gloomy feeling. We heard trains passing on the tracks just outside the forest which brought tears to my eyes and gave me the chills because it made what we were learning about that much more feel. The forest had a feeling of unrest and it was extremely emotional for everybody on the trip to walk on the grounds of the forest that once contained so much blood of our ancestors, our people. There were lots of stones covered in names of ones who passed in these killings. It was so surreal to see huge families killed there, the huge section of monuments dedicated to just the Jewish children and to walk the same paths from the city and the train tracks that both lead to the center of the forest that the Latvian Jews once walked also. We held a memorial service for our people who were killed there and also sang the mourners kaddish. This was one of the most meaningful experiences and we learned so much about what the Latvian Jews once faced through detailed stories and facts. This day meant a lot to me, and even though it was very emotional, I was very appreciative of the chance to see this area.
-Whitney
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