I watched the man prop up his phone and press record. He walked toward the Wall and stopped at a wreath, touching a ribbon that dangled from it. He positioned himself just right: head down, shoulders slumped, solemn. After he got his footage—which I imagined would become B-roll for an upcoming video—he about-faced, grabbed his phone, and hurried off, leaving the site empty again. I watched him from inside Block 11 at Auschwitz I. Just outside, where he’d filmed, was the Death Wall, site of thousands of executions. I wondered if that had registered for him at all.
Stefanie Fair-King loves coffee, books, cats, and Oxford commas. She has degrees in English, philosophy, and liberal arts. She and her husband live in Texas.