Photo by UT release
Freshman forward Steven Pearl looks out over a memorial cemetery for those who died in the Terezin Concentration Camp.
Photo by UT release
Head coach Bruce Pearl discusses parts of the Terezin Concentration Camp with sophomore guard/forward Josh Tabb.
TEREZIN, CZECH REPUBLIC — The Tennessee men’s basketball players trudged back to the team bus after walking the grounds of Holocaust horror the previous three hours.
Throughout Sunday morning’s tour of the Terezin concentration camp, the players asked questions at every turn, and made exclamations of wonderment, trying to imagine how anyone could have endured the Jewish holding community set up by the Nazis in 1941.
Tennessee preseason All-American Chris Lofton was anxious to leave after the emotionally charged field trip.
“I just say get me back home; I like where I’m at in the States,’’ Lofton said. “No way does this happen again. Nobody has that much power or that kind of following. Hitler had to be a very influential person to get so many people to do the wrong thing.’’
But it did happen, and seeing was believing for the Vols.
“It put a picture to what we’ve learned in school, just to see how devastating this was and how total families were wiped out,’’ UT sophomore Duke Crews said. “To kill that many people for no reason is heartbreaking.’’
Many of the 80,000 Czech Jews who died in the Holocaust were killed or died while at Terezin, a prison camp that served as a stopover before the Jews were shipped to the death camps in Poland.
The outside of the camp — originally built as an Austrian fort — is innocent, nestled in beautiful Czech countryside, where fruit trees and flowers abound.
But inside the walls lay a tragic story.
“Just seeing the big shower room, that was horrible, and the way they put 160 people, side-by-side in bunk beds like that,’’ UT sophomore Ramar Smith said. “Man, that was bad. And those rooms, just dark rooms, and dirt floors.’’
Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl, who is Jewish, said the trip may have offered the most valuable lesson of the Vols’ 11-day European trip.
“This visit to the Terezin Concentration Camp was probably the most important lesson of our trip,’’ Pearl said in his exclusive column for the News Sentinel. “Who knows what lasting effects this will have on my players.
“It’s my hope that when they’re faced with a difficult decision of what’s right or wrong, even if it’s an unpopular choice, that they will make the best decision.’’
Sophomore Josh Tabb was the first player to come to Pearl in search of answers for the tragedy that unfolded on the grounds he stood.
“I asked Coach Pearl why it happened, but no, there’s really not a good explanation for it,’’ Tabb said. “Coach Pearl tried to explain how his people were wealthy and rich, but he said he didn’t really understand how it could happen, either.’’
One thing the African-American players did come to appreciate was what both Pearl’s and their ancestors had to overcome.
“I believe that helps Coach Pearl relate to us, him being from a minority background, too,’’ Crews said. “There’s a definite connection there.’’
Sophomore Wayne Chism said he left angry that many of the Germans who ran the camp were featured in a museum.
“Why have people in a museum who were killing people?’’ Chism said. “These people were killing and putting 60 of them in one room, and then outside they were living in mansions with a pool in the back yard.
“I definitely have an appreciation for it, and I respect it’s Coach Pearl’s background and Steven’s background.’’
Steven Pearl, along with his father, grew teary-eyed on many occasions on the visit.
“It’s emotional. You hear about it, and you see pictures, but when you’re face to face with it, and it’s the real thing, it’s different,’’ Steven Pearl said. “This was kind of a bonding experience with many of my teammates. Their families endured similar things; with the Holocaust, and the Civil Rights Movement, we can all appreciate what our families have gone through.
“We think we have it bad sometimes, but you see something like this, and you realize we have it much better than many, many others. This was a growing experience.’’
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Comments » 17
dmouron2#209823 writes:
Wow. What a powerful story. Thanks.
jmdurden#205727 writes:
I have had the opportunity to experience the Holocaust Museum in Washington twice. As you walk through the dark rooms with photographs, and survivor accounts you struggle to realize the "tangible-ness" of it all, because it seems so horrible that it's surreal. You think in your mind that it couldn't possibly happen....until you make your way into a long rectangular room. It's well lighted and probably 100+ feet long, and 15+ feet wide. There is a 3-4 foot wide path that runs the length of the room with a plexiglass divider that seperates the path from the rest of the room. The divider stands about 4 feet high. Inside that section, filling 100% of it, to the top are shoes, slippers actually. Dusty, ratted, and torn. Those slippers were taken from a single concentration camp and they were, each and every one, removed from the bodies of those who were killed in that camp. 5000 cubic feet of shoes. It is a scene that literally brought me to my knees, both times I was there. I expect that this trip had much the same effect on those young men, and brought that horror to the forefront of their minds. As uncomfortable as those young men surely felt to be there, it is for a greater good that they can walk away with that new knowledge and experience. God Bless to those effected by it, and thank you Coach Pearl for helping to make those kids better people by showcasing this. Go Vols!
GreerVol22 writes:
Nice job, Griff. Thank you.
tnmantravel#531151 writes:
proud to be a Vol
girdle1998#233171 writes:
Mr Lofton, you say that it couldn't happen again? I'm sorry to say that it is happenning right now in Sudan. Unfortunately the Arab dictator is conducting genocide of blacks now, and because he is "on our side" against the "war on terror", we have done nothing other than slap their hands with useless sanctions an a slight scolding at th UN.
threehundredbowler writes:
Not only am I proud to be a vol,I am most proud that I am a God fearing AMERICAN.
TriCityVol writes:
With all due respect I beg to differ with Lofton's comment "no way does this happen again."
Saddam Hussein was doing the same thing on a smaller scale in Iraq. Thank God George Bush had the courage to stand up to him.
Spuchy writes:
I'm very glad that Coach Pearl took these young men to witness this camp first hand. THIS is the type of educational experience that will stay with you and, hopefully, change you for the rest of your life.
DadwasaVol writes:
With all due respect I beg to differ with you TriCityVol. Bush did not have the courage to stand up to Saddam Hussein. Bush's daddy helped him avoid service to our country, then ordered other, braver, men to stand up to Saddam Hussein.
vol4jesus writes:
Dadwasavol get over it and stay to topic. It was great that these young men were exposed. Saddam was doing genocide on his own so relevancy to Hitler is there. Al Gore loves the VOLS and would now be playing canasta with Saddam if he was our president. Coach Pearl helped these young men understand hatred in history via this trip. Sorry Dadwasavol I got emotional over article and my president. Lets stay united for our VOLS and country.
bleed_orange writes:
I think this is just a great experience and oppurtunity for the players. They will remember this trip for the rest of their lives. It stuff like this that makes me so proud to be a VOL. God Bless Coach Pearl and UT for putting this trip together for them. Sounds like they are learning alot and at the same time playing some pretty good ball. GO VOLS!
JDS
Basketball_Jones writes:
I agree with alot of you that this was a great article. If you havn't seen "The Last King of Scotland" this is a must to realize some countries are not what we think. I have also been to the Holocaust Museum in DC as well and its a moving experience. There are many things in the world where maybe people are not being killed by someone but they are by something. I have traveled to numerous 3rd world countries and seen how poverty affects so many millions of people in this world. People are all the time in these laces due to the rich getting richer and poor still starving. Things such as this make you appreciate some of the stuff we as Americans have. Great article and a great learning lesson for some of these kids may one day be millionaires
Colliervol writes:
Great article and we are very lucky to have Coach Pearl in Knoxville. He is a class act. In addition to the examples mentioned about things going on like this in the world today, there are guys like Hitler floating around out there albeit on a smaller scale. Chavez in Venezuela, Ahmadinejad in Iran, and the little twerp in North Korea whose name escapes me right now, etc. Yes Chris, if folks aren't vigilant, it can happen again. What amazes me is that there are some morons in this world that would deny that the Holocaust occurred.
txsvol#372416 writes:
CV, it's Kim Jong il. Just for the record, Dan Rather's report on George W. Bush's Texas Air National Guard service during the Viet Nam era has been discredited, Dad. As one in the military during that time, with both reserve and active duty service, I should point out that it was fairly common to release one from the last year or so of drills in order for a person to pursue higher education. In my case, I had to continue active drills each month for six months to fulfill the active reserve requirement (and then, two years inactive reserve, which would mean that I would not have to attend drills each month) after beginning medical school, and found that my Memphis unit bent over backward to accomodate my schooling. I remained in the active reserve until returning to active duty for internship and residency. I am fairly certain that 'W' got his required points for his last year in the Texas Air National Guard, or else, that requirement was waived, before he headed off to Harvard for his MBA. I should also point out that entire units were rarely mobilized during the Viet Nam era, but if his unit had have been called, he stated that he would have gone. So, he chose a perfectly legal and honorable way to discharge his military obligation. Go Vols!
VolBrian13 writes:
You people disgust me. A 22-year-old basketball player who is admittedly not upfront with his feelings about anything makes a comment about one of the most humbling experiences a human of any race or creed could experience and you all turn it into diatribes and political debates. How about this. How about we continue to marvel at what Coach Pearl does for UT and these young men and what opportunities they are provided instead of calling one uninformed because he doesn't think the genocide of 6.5 million people could ever happen again. Stop being ridiculous. Go to whatever biased media outlet blog you choose and leave the sports to everybody else.
UltraViolet writes:
Having visited both Auschwitz and Birkenau, I realize how powerful this experience is. I still remember the feelings that rushed over me when I saw the gates at the entrance of Auschwitz with the statement "Arbeit Macht Frei" (work makes you free). Although it has been almost 10 years since my visit, it is often difficult for me to talk about the very emotional experience I had.
Thanks for this very moving story.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
E-a-s-y, guys; Chris is kinda saying "this is phooey, no way should it happen". Just keep this in mind: Hitler was an average bigot but one with a strong sense of purpose. he was forged in WWI, and was immune to scenes of death (just picture a WWI battlefield!!). Hitler was NOT crazy, and he WAS intelligent. he fed on the prejudice and envy of the the 'average jerry' whilte making the right moves with the wealthier germans. This is a little tongue-in-cheek, but here goes "charisma kills; absolute charisma kills absolutley". Night y'all.
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