Who would have thought that thousands of old shoes could represent such a significant historical period? A civic artifact that has always highly caught my attention is located in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. It is a room full of old shoes, which belonged to those who were victims of the Holocaust. As many know, the Holocaust has been a memory remembered for decades, specifically to remind the world of the terror and sorrow that it brought to millions of lives. From this event, we are always reminded that “we must learn about history so that it does not repeat itself”. I feel that this civic artifact and quote go hand-in-hand to make people understand the consequences of not learning from your mistakes. This civic artifact has an immense persuasion factor because sometimes it is difficult to understand situations until they are directly in front of you. It makes you wonder about the lives of those killed, and even who they might have been today. Also, it makes you question how things would have been if these events could have been avoided or stopped early on. I think learning about historical events, specifically genocides, is a constant reminder of what must be avoided. There are many ways to handle conflicts, and there are means of controlling power that one single person may have. Unfortunately, it seems as though society doesn’t learn from its mistakes at times. With current issues such as abortion and extinction, it feels like history is repeating itself, and it feels like we are evolving backwards. Issues that had efforts to be resolved and improved have only gone on a downward spiral. Ultimately, society needs to view civic artifacts, such as the room of shoes, to always be reminded of what has previously occurred. No one wants to be a future victim of hateful events or injustices in the government. Therefore, it is crucial that people take effective steps to better our society and not repeat history.