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USS Arizona
One of the more sobering experiences I’ve had in Hawaii (apart from losing my thongs) was visiting the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbour.
The memorial, situated above the rusting body of the Arizona stands as a headstone to the shipwreck and the 1,177 sailors that were killed on her during the December 7th 1941 surprise attack by Japanese forces on the US forces stationed here in Oahu. Many of the men killed that day still lay inside the Arizona, and the site is an active military cemetery.
The white platform built above the site offers visitors a place to remember the sailors killed that day and to look over the hull of the Arizona that lays just below the surface. The prominent gun turret that rises above the surface and the hatches nearby leak “the tears of Arizona”, oil that still seeps from the hold. It pools below the monument, seeping out from the wreck and staining the posts.
The memorial was very interesting to see, and really does make one think about not only the men killed on the boat that day, but the fact that on that day the lives of an entire nation of people changed with the US entering the war. I could not help but wonder how I would feel if I was the radar operator that day who dismissed the incoming blips as “nothing to worry about”.
This is my last post from the US, because I right now I am sitting looking over Honolulu airport, waiting for my boarding call. I’ll be travelling into the future by crossing the International Date Line soon and landing in Sydney before heading to Perth. Hawaii has been amazing and a fitting end to a pretty amazing adventure. I’m sure there will be a couple more debriefing posts from Sydney and Perth but, for now at least, I say farewell and thank you to the United States.
Dachau
It is difficult for me to write about Dachau Concentration Camp. Opened in 1933 it was the first of it’s kind, refined over the years to Theodor Eicke’s grand design and becoming a template the many camps that followed during the Third Reich’s rule.
While not a death camp as such, later during the war the camp did get a gas chamber and crematorium built in it. There are no confirmed numbers of how many people were killed in the chamber however due to the poor conditions of the camp around 30,000 people are thought to have died while incarcerated here. Most of the people placed in detention here were “political prisoners”.
I don’t really want to write about the things I learned that occurred here as I don’t feel they are appropriate for this blog, but I suggest you read on in wikipedia to understand more.
Terezín
Located in the Czech Republic, Terezín is a small garrison town and fortress with history dating back to the 18th century.
Originally created as garrison point for potentially 11,000 soldiers the fortress covers around 3.8 square kilometers. During WWII Germany took control of the town and its fortress and used it as a Jewish Ghetto. Here around 150,000 Jews were interned with around 90,000 people being processed through the concentration camp there, housed in the “Small Fortress”.
I did a tour of the prison which acted as a forced labour camp while we did a quick stop in the area. The guide was very informative and had an hilarious accent. It was mildly disturbing to wander around such a beautiful site knowing it was a place of much torment and sadness. I wonder if the inmates ever saw as beautiful weather was we did that day.
Cabinet War Rooms
One of the most interesting things I have seen so far in London is the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill museum. The Museum opened in 2005, and the War Rooms in 1983 making the exhibits reasonably new. The technically brilliant and interactive museum is a delight for Churchill fans and those interested in World War II history.
The Cabinet War Rooms is a series of bunkers, originally covering nearly 3 acres, built secretly under Whitehall. Covered with a massive slab of concrete the bunkers were used as a base for all of Churchill’s wartime operations between 1938 and 1945. It included communications systems with a direct, scrambled line to the US, typing pools, sleeping quarters and kitchens supplying nurshiment for the crew stationed down in the bunker around the clock. Much of the bunker was left as it was when VE was declared.
After picking up a complimentary audio guide the tour begins with the Cabinet Conference Room where Churchill brought together his War Cabinet based on leaders from all the political parties of the time. Those working there, got up, turned off the lights and left, leaving the space as is. Continuing through the tour you see the sleeping quarters of high ranking officers and assistants to the prime minister, communications rooms, the secret room containing the direct line to the US (which was made to look like an occupied toilet) and the kitchen.
In the middle of the tour you come across the Churchill museum. Cataloguing Churchill’s life from young man to his death this in depth and very entertaining museum presents its wealth of information in the form of multimedia presentations, movies, audio, interactive exhibits and memorabilia.
The last part of the self guided tour takes you through the working areas of the bunkers. The typing pools and offices are on display giving a glimpse of what life was like in the bunker. Perhaps the most interesting room was the map room, where all the movements and details of units and advances were tracked. Again, left as it was when everyone left this room is an amazing look at wartime history.
I spent hours wandering the museum and warrooms, and for around 16 quid, including a guide book, it was a great, cheap day out.