Searching For Sanctuary

DC Part Two

Tuesday, June 6


We did not have breakfast before heading out this day, so at mid-morning we bought sandwiches and water at a stand and found an outdoor picnic table in the shade – the only shaded table available. As we started eating I noticed a older-aged couple also looking for a place to sit in the shade, so I motioned for them to come join us. It turned out that they were visiting from Holland, had an American friend of 40 years with whom they were staying in McLean VA, and because of that friendship had visited D.C. many times throughout the years.

Years ago, the Hollander was serving in the Dutch Airforce when he met an American Army officer at a NATO meeting in Brussels. That was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. The Dutchman served in the Airforce for 15 years, and then became mayor of two different towns for the rest of his career. He is now retired. We had a lovely half hour talking with them. Then it was time to say goodbye and for us to get to our next museum.

We spent the rest of the day at the National Museum of American History. The main exhibit was titled “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War” which traced American military actions from colonial days to the present. It was an emotionally engaging exhibition of the horrific reality of life-taking in war. And at the same time an excellent display of actual weapons, maps, drawings. Several times I was moved to tears as I pondered how God’s creation has turned on itself in violent acts of death and destruction.


Coming to the end of this day's adventure, we needed something to eat. We found a food court not far from the hotel and stopped there for a dinner meal. We got slightly turned around in our directions and got momentarily lost, only to discover we were two short blocks from our accommodations.

Wednesday, June 7


We arrived at the US Holocaust Museum by 9:15 a.m. to get in line for same-day tickets. The line was long, but we made it for the 10:30 entry time. We attended a first-person presentation of a Holocaust survivor. She was only 5 years old when her affluent Jewish family bought their way out of Germany to purchase and run a farm in Kenya, a British protectorate in Africa. They did experience a considerable amount of religious/ethnic prejudice and were considered enemy aliens by the Brits (which placed them under a kind of house arrest). Though most of her relatives were murdered by the Nazis, she lived a relatively happy childhood in Africa. After the war, she and the immediate family ultimately immigrated to the United States.

As with the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem that we had the privilege to visit in the summer of 1996, the US version reinforced the horrific cruelty produced by a social Darwinist philosophy that justified genocide based on ethnicity, culture, and religion. I was moved to tears more than once as I viewed the photos and videos of the death and suffering perpetrated by the Nazi bullies and thugs. The Allied Forces of WWII were truly engaged in a “just” war if there can be such a thing.

Yet, it was still war – killing to stop killing. Oh, how this tribalism must grieve the heart of God.

Next post: Adventures in Italy.