Battle of Kobarid
“Even though love is embedded within nature and God is “all love”, we have a hard time believing that.” Matthew Fox
We like to take tours when we travel internationally. The local guides are so good at assisting you in “seeing with new eyes”. I particularly find them helpful when we visit museums.
We visited a WWI museum in a Kobarid, Slovenia. It is a small town located in the Julian Alps along the Soca River. It was a very sobering experience.
We learned about the “battle of Kobarid” which took place two and half years into the war. The battle resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties, prisoners, and refugees, completely reshaping the political and military landscape of the war in southern Europe.
As you come into the museum, this is what you see.
On the one wall, are black and white photos of young men and women from all sides of the war. This was a museum that wanted you to strip away their uniforms, nationalities and politics and see their common humanity.
At the base of this wall was the projectiles of the weapons of the war and the partially exploded fragments. On the wall on the opposite side was just crosses and tombstones. The guide says this is all that needs to be said.
The crosses and tombstones of lives lost in this deadly battle in the beautiful mountain valley.
The horrific things that happened during the war were hard to take in during our visit to this museum.
“Love and fear are not compatible; so often we prefer fear over love. It is a choice we make but and ignorant one…” Matthew Fox
On the path together,
John