I AMsterdam

Today I'm heading back to Europe for a month.  First stop...Amsterdam.  This is a special stop.  The first time I went to Europe was three years ago, and this was the city I landed in.  It happened to be one of my favorites.  Perhaps because it was the first few days of my very first European experience, but maybe it was because it was very similar to the awesome city I lived in at the time- Portland, Oregon.  They're both made up of dynamic free thinkers who are environmentally friendly.  Not surprisingly, the most bike friendly city in the world?  Amsterdam.  Second most bike friendly city in the world?  Yes, Portland. Maybe that was it. 

But there was something more that stung and stuck with me about Amsterdam.  It was the history.  Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum were beautiful.  The Van Gogh museum was the first one I had ever gone to and taken the guided tour.  It talked and walked me through his work and life.  I remember seeing how his artwork changed over the course of his life  I loved hearing about his journey, and realizing how such a simple and unassuming man could leave such a big impression on the world after his death...so yeah, the history and museums were a part of it.  But if I'm honest, what stung the most about Amsterdam was the Anne Frank House. Yes, that had the biggest impact on me.

The Anne Frank House is in West Amsterdam about 2 blocks from Hotel Toren, where I stayed.  I remember seeing it from the outside and thinking "so this is where it all went down".  It's fascinating to actually see something that you remember learning about in school.  For whatever reason, learning about most of history in school was almost like someone was just telling me a story.  Although I knew it was true, I didn't really feel it was because it felt long ago and far away.  The Holocaust and story of Anne Frank I read in Mrs. Glover's 7th grade class became something that actually happened 3 years ago when I saw the house and attic where Anne Frank went into hiding for over 2 years.

Standing there in Anne Frank's attic, I remember refacing all that I learned about the Holocaust when I was in junior high.  Mostly, that the Jews were oppressed, and many sent off to concentration camps where about 6 million of them spent the last days of their lives.  And although to a much less extent, where homosexuals were also targeted by the Nazis, including the thousands who died in concentration camps. 

That day in September of 2007 on my visit to the Anne Frank House and later The Homomonument http://home.wanadoo.nl/inspiritus/Homomonument.htm it occurred to me for the first time that had I been around Europe in the late 30's or early 40's, I too would have been oppressed.  There's a strong chance I would have been just categorized as a homosexual and given a pink triangle to wear "identifying" myself before being forced off to a concentration camp. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_triangle  This realization was heavy.  It's unfortunate that sometimes things have to become so personal before we can  realize their significance. Whatever it took, what's important is that I left Amsterdam with a better understanding that these events did take place, they negatively impacted millions of innocent people, and that I am privileged to have not lived through it.  Anne Frank and her family were seen and defined just as Jews, and punished for it.  She was in hiding for over 2 years, then arrested and off to Auschwitz and other concentration camps where she was eventually killed.

I later went to Auschwitz in Poland in February of 2009, and saw the horrific place for myself.  Yes, these camps also became something that really happened.  Believe it or not, I  left both Amsterdam and Auschwitz with a stronger sense of self. It reaffirmed that although being gay was a great and important part of me, it didn't fully define me.  I am so many, so many other things. 

I also came to understand that many individuals have been persecuted through out history and still are today because of who they are at the core, the way they were born, or what they believe in.  I've realized that it's my duty to stand up for those people in every instance, and not just because I am one of those people.  It's because many will never know first hand what it's like to be oppressed simply because they're privileged to be in the majority- whether they're male, white, Christian, heterosexual, or others.  

Traveling has certainly taught me a lot, and I'm grateful for these important experiences.  Amsterdam is one of the best cities, and I look forward to going back.  That being said, I've got a plane to catch.