Personal Development
Guten Tag!
 |
| Enjoying life in Linz... |
They say that time passes quickly when you are enjoying yourself and for me this certainly is the case. It's hard to believe that two months have nearly passed as it feels like yesterday I was saying my good-byes to friends and family. Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882) once said that "A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life...". With this philosophy in mind I really am trying to make the most of my time here and this week has been another action-packed but truly enjoyable one!
 |
| Pictured at Mauthausen... |
Like most European countries, Austria looks back on an eventful history and the period of Hitler and his Nazi Regime is a topic that has always been of great interest to me. On Monday of this week we were given the chance to visit Mauthausen, a concentration camp constructed in March 1938. The site was designed to resemble an old fortress, complete with stone guard
towers. Jews and political prisoners from Poland, Britain, Austria, Holland, Italy, and Hungary
were forced into extreme labour in the camp.
 |
| The entrance to Mauthausen... |
To witness the squalid conditions where these innocent victims were kept proved both a harrowing and thought-provoking experience. The estimated number of prisoners that passed through this camp was 335,000 with most of them being forced to do hard labour in a rock quarry. The quarry was at the base of the infamous "stairs of death." Prisoners were forced to carry blocks often weighing as much as fifty kilograms up the 186 stairs. Often exhausted, they would collapse in front of other prisoners in the line, creating a horrific domino effect the whole way down the stairs.
The Jews in Nazi Germany suffered appallingly and being literally metres from these stairs was quite surreal. Once in power, Hitler used his position to launch a campaign against the Jews and brainwash his people into a campaign that culminated in the Holocaust. Hitler blamed the Jews for all the misfortunes that had befallen Germany and this evitably led to almost 40,000 jewish people dying at Mauthausen. In all, some 119,000 persons were murdered here, whether by execution, starvation, exhaustion, or disease.
On a more positive note, just last night I was very fortunate to witness a superb show to celebrate the opening of Europe's latest opera hall! Designed by British architect Terry Pawson, the steel, stone and glass-fronted 'Landestheater' is situated in the central park, smack-bang in the middle of the city. The two-hour performance explored the 'grotesqueness' of human life with singers, acrobats, dancers and even robots helping to provide an amazing spectacle. The people of Linz seem extremely proud of their latest attraction and I look forward to a show or two in the near future!
 |
| A fantastic shot of the new 'Opera House'... |
 |
| No turning back now!! |
To round off another fantastic week it was time again for another haircut! However, this time I was able to call upon my trusted, Albanian friend Klaudio who had agreed to give me a quick trim. I would be lying if I said I was not slightly anxious as I would only be Klaudio's third ever customer but in the words of Albert Einstein (unknown) "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new". I am very pleased and slightly relieved to tell you that Klaudio did a great job and will be definitely getting my custom again in the future!
Chao,
James
References:
- Darwin, C., (1958) Selected Letters on Evolution and Origin of Species, Dover Publications, New York
- Kleiser, G., (2005) Dictionary of Proverbs, : A.P.H. Publishing Corporation, New Delhi
No comments:
Post a Comment