"You would never question why 'Never Again'": Arnold Schwarzenegger opens up about his Auschwitz Memorial visit
Arnold Schwarzenegger has not just made his name in the acting and bodybuilding industry, but he is also known for his notable philanthropic activities.
Arnie shared a series of Instagram posts telling his fans his views on the 'path of hate.' He recently shared a video on Instagram detailing his Auschwitz Memorial visit.
He started off by nut a brief description of Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp where 1.1 million people were brutally killed. Schwarzenegger added:
"You know, after a trip to Auschwitz, you would never question why 'Never Again' is the rallying cry of all of the people who fight to prevent another Holocaust. You would never question that. Almost all of them were ruthlessly murdered simply because they were Jewish."
Arnold Schwarzenegger describes Auschwitz Memorial
Seven-time Mr. Olympia champion Schwarzenegger has always been an empathetic guy. He often takes to his Instagram to teach his fans the difference between sympathy and empathy.
Arnold's recent Instagram post is all about the same. He described his visit to the Auschwitz Memorial and shared his immense feelings:
"When you walk through a place like Auschwitz, you feel a tremendous weight. There are reminders everywhere of the horrors that happened there: The suitcases never claimed by the prisoners who were told to remember exactly where they'd left their belongings so they could retrieve them after they were finished with their showers."
Arnold Schwarzenegger talked about the log books, gas chambers, and the crematorium at the memorial which were used by the Nazis to follow up their evil. He said:
"The logbooks with thousands of name crossed out, as if a cruel accountant only measured death. The gas chambers with scratches in the walls from the fingernails of people who tried to hold on to life. The crematorium where the Nazis tried to erase all of their atrocities."
Arnold Schwarzenegger was so deeply connected to the event that he compared the weight to the heaviest squat he would have ever done. He described it as a 'feeling of history' and a 'voice of millions.' He said:
"Let me tell you something. The weight on your back hits you at the very beginning, heavier than any squat I've ever done. And it never goes away. It's the feeling of history, of millions of voices that were silenced decades ago begging you, begging you not just to look at their shoes, but to spend a few hours in them -- to imagine you were there."
Arnold Schwarzenegger urged his fans to feel the pain that Auschwitz had to go through back then. He detailed it with the hardships people faced back then and also referred to the people of Auschwitz as 'living ghosts.'
In the end, he said that if people turn empathetic towards such incidents, they would definitely think of stopping any such evil ever in the near future.
"Once you've spent the time to really think about all of those things, then your imagination has no choice but to start the real work. How do we stop this from ever happening again?"
Arnold Schwarzenegger recently faced a major backlash when he shared his views on the 'path of hate'. However, this video is being well received by fans and many of them came up in support of Arnie's good work.