The Little Known Holocaust, Before the Death Camps: Babi Yar (Graphic photos)

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9. Visited something similar outside of Vilnius, Lithuania

Unbelievable, but all part of such an ugly history of cruelty and barbarism. The locals were partly to blame as well. I can only imagine how difficult it was to stand against such atrocities. It would have meant certain death, and most probably your family would be included in the barbarism.

When there we visited The Occupation Museum. It's unreal what those people had to endure. The Russians, then the Germans, then the Russians again...and this continued until there was no real heart or strength to resist the brutality that these occupying forces laid on these poor people.

We took a train to a city outside of Vilnius, where the Jews were marched, and then systematically lined up and gunned down by waiting machine guns. You have to imagine what it was like to have been a Lithuanian, and certainly the futile hopelessness of being a Jew. Unbelievable.

Your husband, sons, brothers, fathers would have been enlisted in whatever army occupied their country; and those who had served in the previous occupying force were either murdered or marched off to prison camps and never heard from again. This repeated itself for decades. It's no wonder you don't see people smiling on the streets even today. They are a people who were totally broken and nearly destroyed.

They are building their lives back today, but it will take generations. And hopefully Russia and other occupying forces will leave them in peace.

Definitely worthy of a visit if you ever happen to Eastern Europe. Beautiful cities; wonderful people; rich culture; but such a brutal and sad history.