Gwinnett Daily Post

NORCROSS -- Chinese philosopher Confucius once said, "Study the past if you would define the future," and his quote is true today.

To teach people about the past, the city of Norcross has teamed up with Kennesaw State University's Public History and German Studies Programs to present "Remembering Ravensbruck: Women and the Holocaust," an exhibit about a female concentration camp.

The exhibit will be installed in the Norcross Welcome Center throughout the day Monday and is on display until the end of the month.

"This concentration camp was just horrendous," said Welcome Center manager Cate Kitchen. "I was reading about it. They sterilized women, they would test drugs on them by cutting down to the bone on their legs, it was awful."

The topic may seem pretty grim, but many people are interested to learn more about the Holocaust, according to Kitchen.

"We've found when we do a Holocaust exhibit, we have a good crowd," she said. "There are a lot people who are interested in the subject."

Located in northern Germany, Ravensbruck held more than 150,000 women during its tenure as a concentration camp from 1939 to 1945.

The panel-based exhibition tells to story of several women who suffered there, including the female guards that were part of the Nazi regime. The inmates were brought in from all over the area, but the majority of residents were Polish. Their occupations varied from nuns to authors to poets to artists.

In Norcross, people will be able to re-live these tales through historic photographs, maps and artwork created by the prisoners.

The exhibit is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.