Adventure is a State of Mind
Keeping History Alive with Travel
Many years ago when my cousin, Jill, and I were traveling in Germany, we told a German friend whom we were visiting that we wanted to visit a concentration camp. The friend expressed some dismay at this. To bolster her argument against visiting a place where Nazis imprisoned and killed Jews and other citizens they considered undesirable, she asked, “Do you make a point of visiting places where American soldiers killed Indians?”
She had a point, and she changed some of my thinking about history… just not in the direction she intended to change it.
Instead of talking us out of visiting the Sachsenhausen concentration camp outside of Berlin, she convinced me that sometimes it’s important to visit places where humans have demonstrated the worst of their humanity as a reminder – both to remember and honor those who were mistreated, and to remember and learn from the mistakes we hope won’t be repeated.
Why We Should Pay Attention to the Dark Side of History
Throughout history, there are numerous examples of positive human behavior and achievement. It’s why we love visiting art museums to witness the amazing creativity and beauty of the human spirit. It’s the same with observing stunning architecture, eating delicious food, and visiting sites where someone has acted with inspiring courage or generosity. Humans really can do incredible things.
Humans also can do incredibly horrible things, especially to each other. Much of the time, we want to turn away from the horrors humans inflict upon each other. The desire to look away shows you have a heart and can feel empathy for the suffering of others.
Sometimes, though, our curiosity overrides this impulse. Hence the popularity of true crime television shows and podcasts!
If we always look away from the pain, there is a risk of losing both our empathy and all of the hard-won wisdom that comes with it. As George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” But it’s also important to not let our curiosity become an obsession and override our empathy.
Keeping History Alive
There are many people – not just my friend but leaders of countries – who would prefer to whitewash history and only show the parts that they consider noble and glorious. Doing so, however, does a disservice to society.
Sure, we all wish we were perfect, so it’s not surprising that many want to believe their culture or their country is perfect. We also all know that no one is perfect. No person. No country.
Trying to ignore the mistakes and problems of the past flattens out the depth and meaning of a place. Much like living with a cardboard cutout of your spouse would mean less arguing over shoes left by the front door, or whose turn it is to carry out the garbage. That cutout could also stay perfect and never age, but I’m pretty sure you could never love it the way you do your actual, flawed partner.
Here in the US, we have a long, dark history of slavery, inequalities, and abuses of power. That history has prevented us from attaining the ideals created by the founding fathers in the Declaration of Independence.
I wish our history was different. But it’s not. And trying to ignore that history won’t make it go away.
Recognizing and learning more about the dark history of my country as well as others will hopefully help me recognize current problems of inequality, whether in my country or in my neighborhood. We can’t address a problem if we can’t see it. Knowing more about history helps us see those problems as they occur today.
Doesn’t It Make You Feel Bad?
If you visit a World War II concentration camp, I hope it makes you feel bad. I also hope you feel bad if you visit the Sand Creek Massacre Site in Colorado, or the slave quarters on a former southern plantation.
Feeling bad isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
As I said before, feeling sad or angry when you learn about the atrocities committed in such places is a sign that you have a heart and can feel empathy for your fellow human beings.
Sometimes, visiting these places can also make you feel good about humans. Not because of the hatred and prejudice that were exhibited, but because of what can happen in spite of all of those negative actions.
For example, when I visited Sachsenhausen, and many years later the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, I was overwhelmed by feelings of sadness and anger at how humans could treat each other. I also experienced a feeling of awe in considering the strength and tenacity of the individuals who survived those camps. I’m amazed how they didn’t give up entirely on the human race, and they were able to go on and live creative and productive lives!
When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
Viktor E. Frankl
The Bad Parts Don’t Cancel Out the Good Parts
We currently live in a “cancel culture” in which celebrities who do or say something unacceptable are often boycotted or shunned on social media. I think our friend, in discouraging my cousin and me from visiting a German concentration camp, may have had a fear of something similar happening – she may have been worried we would no longer enjoy Germany or the German culture once we had witnessed the dark side of their history up close.
It’s important to remember that cultures, like individuals, are complex.
Yes, Nazi concentration camps are a horrific piece of Germany’s history that should never be repeated. That doesn’t mean there aren’t parts of Germany’s history that should also be celebrated. For example, knowing that concentration camps exist didn’t keep me from enjoying the beauty of castles along the Rhine River.
And visiting a concentration camp didn’t keep me from returning to Germany for two later visits. And I hope to visit again in the future.
Here in the US, there are some individuals who believe we should hide our history of slavery, racism, and discriminatory policies like Jim Crow laws and red-lining. Some even feel that learning about racism makes white children feel bad and therefore shouldn’t be taught in schools.
There are politicians trying to cut funding to museums and historical sites that share this dark part of our nation’s history. Unfortunately, they are failing to accept that, like it or not, it is part of our history. And in failing to recognize it, they are taking away the opportunity to recognize the resilience of individuals who survived these experiences, as well as opportunities to celebrate when the American experiment of democracy has overcome these problems and lived up to its ideals.
Recognizing that racism existed and still exists in the US doesn’t mean forgetting there are good things about American culture as well.
Dark Tourism
Much of what we have been discussing is referred to as “dark tourism.” There are actually some travel industries that focus on visiting places of tragedy and death, and there are some individuals who choose primarily to travel to these areas around the world.
Getting out of balance isn’t healthy. For example, ice cream is great, but a diet consisting of nothing but ice cream will eventually land you in the emergency room. Similarly, focusing your leisure time on all of the worst things that human beings have done to each other probably isn’t going to be good for your emotional health.
Just as it’s important not to hide our dark histories, it’s important not to celebrate or fetishize them.
Respect
If you google “dark tourism,” also known as morbid tourism, you’re likely to find some criticism of the practice. This criticism isn’t so much about the belief that we should try to erase negative parts of history as it is about individuals who revel in the human tragedy of these areas. This is not the empathetic response we were talking about earlier.
Finding enjoyment in others’ suffering, even if that suffering was long in the past, is not a healthy or respectful human response. Indifference is not much better.
These are the tourists whom you see in the news getting in trouble for trying to take a piece of human bone from an archeological dig at a mass killing site. Or the Instagramer shamed online for taking a goofy selfie at Auschwitz.
The problem is not that they are visiting places with a dark, inhumane history, but that they are doing so in a disrespectful manner.
Most people when they travel are focused on things they enjoy. No problem with that. Many often travel for experiences or knowledge, even if some of that involves exploring painful parts of history. There’s also no problem with that.
Being disrespectful, however, is a problem.
Regardless of why you travel, it’s important to show respect for others’ history and culture. When visiting a site where past tragedies have occurred, respect means remembering it was real human beings who suffered and died there. Remember you’re visiting, in part, to keep the memory of what they experienced alive.
How We Can Help
In many parts of the world, including in the US, there are political leaders who would like to erase parts of the past. As brave, wise travelers, we can fight back. How? By doing our part to keep history alive.
In addition to all of the fun things you have planned during your next travel adventure, do some research about the history of the area and consider visiting places that are less well-known but important to history, especially the history of minorities or marginalized people.
Also, check out museums and historical sites in your local area. Too often, we put off visiting local tourist activities because we feel we already know the history, and there isn’t any urgency to visit when we know we can go see it anytime. But often, being able to actually see and touch places where significant events occurred in the past brings the history alive for us. For example, visiting the Brown v. Board of Education Museum in Topeka, just an hour from where I live, brought more meaning to the event than just seeing old newspaper articles ever did.
Travel is one of the most powerful tools we have to preserve our history, deepen our understanding of it, and inspire action toward something better. When we choose to confront history honestly — not just its triumphs but also its tragedies — we honor those who came before us and equip ourselves to build a better future. So go ahead, keep planning those castle tours and market strolls — but don’t shy away from the places that make you pause, reflect, and feel.
What events in history, including sad and painful episodes, would you like to learn more about? Are there historical sites you can plan to visit during your next travel adventure?
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