From Russia With Love: Oslo, Norway (Day 2!)

Day two was really nice for me. Some times when I travel with a large group, I get to a point where I want to just spend some time alone. Thankfully the girls in my group were totally cool to let me do my own thing on the second day. And I have to tell you, it was really nice to just be able to go to the places I wanted to see, without a plan or a time table and just take as long as I wanted.

I decided to go to the Holocaust Museum at Villa Grande. I slept until 11 and then took the bus to the exhibit. The lady at the front desk spoke English and was from New York! She was pretty interested to see another American in the building! She was really nice and gave me a tablet to carry around so that I could read the information. Unfortunately, the entire exhibit was only in Norwegian, but it was still worth the visit!

What I found most interesting about the museum is that it is inside a large mansion house called "Villa Grande," and the interesting thing is.....former Norwegian Nazi Party Leader, Vidkun Quilsing lived there. I just love the idea of putting a memorial and museum of Norwegian Jews inside a Nazi Leader's home! It's like the ultimate "stick it to the man."

(Entrance to the bunker/air raid shelter)

(A Torah found at Auschwitz)

(A rosary necklace found at Auschwitz. Many people are unaware that Jews weren't the only ones sent to death camps.)

(Uniform from Auschwitz)

(Children's shoes from Auschwitz)

I learned that the ship the S/S Donau departed from the port of Oslo on November 26th 1942, carrying 532 Jews. On December 1st, the Norwegian Jews arrived at their final destination: Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. All men, women, and children who were found unfit to work (346 people) were killed the same day. Only 9 who were onboard the S/S Donau survived the war. Altogether, only 34 out of the 772 Jews that departed from Norway on the Donau, Monte Rosa, and Gotenland ships survived. As many as 250 families from Norway were wiped out.

I can't imagine the pain and suffering that these families had to endure. I was amazed by some of the acts of strength and courage that I read about. One man smuggled and carried a baby in his back pack to save its life. I wish I had written down his name! It was definitely worth my time and as a massive WWII enthusiast, I found it all very interesting.

Just as I was leaving the basement exhibit, there was a room that had the names of all of the Norwegian Jews who lost their lives during the Holocaust. I decided to sit down for a minute and just respectfully read some of the names. It was a powerful way to end the exhibit.

(This was only one wall in the room)

This was one place were I wish my Dad could have been there too! We both love learning about WWII and the Holocaust, and I just kept thinking about how much he would have enjoyed it too!

After I was done checking out Villa Grande, I walked through a cute neighborhood, got back on the bus and decided to stop at the harbor. This one was much bigger and in a central location, right in front of the Nobel Peace Museum. The view was absolutely incredible! I had to take a million pictures and just stand and marvel for a bit!