The Holocaust Centre.

Yesterday I visited the Holocaust Centre in Durban. I did not even know that it existed. Evidently it opened in 2008. I am sure there are all sorts of nooks and crannies of interest in Durbs that I am unaware of. My sister read in the local newspaper, that the Coffee and Gift shop at the centre, serves the best cheese cake in the land!

We went into Durbs on a mission and once it was achieved we followed it with a visit to the Coffee Shop for its famous cheese cake. True to its reputation , the cake was unbelievable.....worth every calorie!

How sad I had not put my camera in my bag! Oi!!

The Coffee shop was just the beginning.....

The Garden of Remembrance was charming and in it was a memorial to all the children lost in the Holocaust. It is estimated that 1.5 million children were killed by the Nazis. It is unfathomable!

A group of high school girls were wandering through the centre and one wonders how meaningful the experience is for today's children. It is good that there are Centres and Museums such as this one to serve as a constant reminder of those desperate times.

The following poem is inscribed on the wall of remembrance for all the children who perished during those shocking times,

The Garden.

A little Garden

Fragrant and full of roses,

The Path is narrow

and a little boy, walks along it.

A little boy,

A sweet little boy,

Like that growing blossom,

When the blossom

Comes to bloom

The little boy will be no more. Frants Bass

Therensien Concentration Camp




After the yummy Tea and cake, we took a tour through the Centre and were absolutely touched by the presentation. It reminded us of the monumental loss of lives during 1939 and 1942. Lest we forget!

A special tribute to Anne Frank and a replica of her room has been created for all to see and appreciate. The wall is adorned with "pages" from her diary. It is amazing that a girl so young could write with such wisdom and depth. On reading the debate on-line about her writings, its authenticity has been debated. However, I choose to accept that Anna wrote the pages and will get a copy and reread Anne's diary.

A quote from Anne Frank's diary, painted on the Coffee Shop's walls..

How wonderful it is that nobody has to wait a single moment to improve the world.

How true!