Yad Vashem - The Holocaust

I first found out about the Holocaust at around the age of ten years and it is a theme which has hanuted me ever since. Of all the episodes in human history, for me, The Shoah stands out as one of the most despicable, evil and wicked acts of barbarism ever committed by one group of people upon another.
That 6 million Jews could be rounded up, suffer inhuman degredation on a monumental scale, then hideously murdered in the gas chambers really beggars belief.
How was it possible for the Nazi regime to stoke up ancient hatreds and prejudices so as to create an overtly racist state with official policies designed to root out and destroy a section of its own population based on race alone?
The fact that it DID happen must never be forgotten by humanity since the fragile 'crust' we call decent, civilised behaviour can easily be broken again so that history repeats itself.
To my mind, The Holocaust is the end game of all unchecked racism, hatred of minorities and persecution which takes place to this day right across the world.

On our visit to Jerusalem is was therefore essential to visit Yad Vashem, the official Shoah memorial site in Israel. I'll never forget how everyone just went almost silent upon arrival at the site. People followed the route around, looked at the photos etc. in total respect. I could never manage a visit to Auschwitz itself.