Mauthausen, Memorials, Monkey

After a brief stop at the spare, modernist welcome buildings we drifted into Mauthausen. The concrete gatehouse stands like tomb doors.

Rather than entering right away we explored a field of statuary. I walked with Monkey on this crisp, perfect morning.

The walk down to the monuments.

A view of the quarry below.

Each nation had raised a monument to their dead and suffering in a field between the camp and the quarry. Monkey and I visited each in turn using Google Translate to render their words in English.

Germany?

Germany : Your sons who fought and died here carried the faith of the true Germany into the future.

Germany: victims of tyranny

Former Yugoslavia.

Israel

Germany: this had a statement “Oh, my sons and daughters, what have you done?”

Italy. This is the back side. In a way that is wholly unique and completely Italian, the backside of their monument has been turned into a shrine listing the people and villages that suffered. In the lower right here you can find a Gemignani.

These oval plates with photos of the deceased are something we saw all over Italy.

Hungary

A view through parts of the German Memorial to the countryside behind.

UK

Germany: The statues were adorned with the granite the prisoners had to break.

USSR

Monkey insisted we visit and pay respects to the lives and the words represented at each memorial. And then she was done.