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-You said you were interested in seeing how our group reacted to Buchenwald. What were your impressions of the group's reactions? How about in comparison to past groups you've been with?
In contrast to past groups that seemed erratic and out of control
in their emotions, our group seemed to direct their anger and emotional
responses in specific directions and at specific parts of the visit. I
felt that many were trying to take a rationalizing approach to the pain and
anger that the visit causes. I don't mean to judge and say that one
response is better than the other, but what we didn't do that has been done
with groups that I've been with in the past was to have time to filter our
emotions. We seemed to maybe change gears a little too quickly and easily.
We had been bombarded with stuff on the Holocaust since we had been in
this course and since we had been in Berlin, and that could explain the
quicker change in mood than in prior groups, but I think you still need to
have time to come to grips with your emotions after the actual camp visit.
The first time I came to the camp, after the tour we were told to walk
around the camp by ourselves before we left. Then, after we got back to
our hotel and ate dinner, we broke up into smaller groups to discuss our
feeling on the day. That first group was by far the most emotional, but it
really seemed to help our group to spend time dealing both on a personal
level and as a group.
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