Month: April 2016

This wall was part of the southern boundary of a ghetto, built by the Nazis during WWII, to cut off the Jewish population from the rest of the city of Warsaw. Approximately 450,000 Jews were housed behind these walls. Almost all eventually died, either of starvation, or in an uprising brutally suppressed by the Nazis, or in the nearby concentration camps.

Standing and gazing at the wall, it’s hard to imagine the depth of depravity that could lead to such events. These bricks stand as an emblem of the evil found in the heart of man. They stand as a reminder of our need to be ever vigilant in our concern for freedom. These bricks urge us to remember our God-given call to seek peace and the good of all people.

I recently visited Warsaw and snapped this picture of the Palace of Culture and Science. It’s the tallest building in Poland and one of the largest buildings in Europe. It was built for the people of Poland by Joseph Stalin, the former autocratic leader of the USSR.

Stalin “gave” this building, named in his honor, to the people of Poland after World War II, while the USSR controlled Poland. The building holds a controversial place in Polish history today, a symbol of a communist era that many would like to forget. But it’s hard to forget the tallest building in your country.

You can’t help but be astonished by the hubris of a dictator, who chooses to give people living in hovels in a devastated, war-torn city, a skyscraper named in his honor. The grandiosity of man’s pride and callousness is on display in Warsaw.