Washington-Day 2, by Riley Joffe

Today was probably the heaviest day of the whole trip, as well as the most informative. First,we went to the Holocaust museum, where we went through heavy security, before entering the museum. As soon as we enter, we all stop joking around instantly. We receive id cards, each representing a person who lived through or died in the holocaust. We then split into groups, before crowding into elevators, where a video of an American soldier recalling his first sights of a concentration camp. We then proceed into an area filled with exhibits about the people who perished, and videos of survivors speaking about their horrifying experiences. Going through multiple floors, we learn many things we didn't know beforehand about the backstory of the holocaust and Hitler's rise to power. After we finish the main exhibits, we eat a quick lunch, before proceeding to a non permanent exhibit about the neighbours of the Jews who turned them in to the SS. It was horrifying to think about, someone turning their neighbour over to die for money. We also visited an exhibit based on the book Daniel's story, where we learned what it could have been like to be a child sent to a concentration camp. After the museum, we return to the hotel, eating dinner, before going to the play Shear Madness, which was an amazing experience, with some of the funniest jokes I've heard, as well as great improv acting and audience interactions. After a long day, everyone was relieved to return to the hotel and get some rest.