Tuesday dawned and we went on the included trip to Auschwitz.
I took only a few photos. Some, I felt, were too distressing to show.
We've all seen history books with certain images in them, but until you've actually witnessed the conditions first hand,
breathed the same air, and imagined what it was like as you physically stand there, the history books
just don't come near.
The trip here was especially poignant as my great uncle, a Polish Jew (through marriage) was
imprisoned and subsequently escaped from Auschwitz. He eventually fled to Britain and married
my mum's aunt. He died in his early 70's a few years ago.
The writing above the main gate reads "Arbeit Macht Frei". Translated this means "work sets you free".
The prisoners were soon made aware that this was an attempt at sarcasm. On arrival at the camp they were told
"You are now in Auschwitz. The only way out is through the chimneys".
Literally thousands of people every day, men, women and children, were killed on first entering the camp.
For the rest, it meant a daily routine of humiliation, degradation and suffering.
THE MAIN GATE.
THE MAIN GATE, REVERSE SIDE.
VARIOUS BLOCKS, INCLUDING THE EXPERIMENTATION QUARTERS.
HOLLY STOOD AT THE SITE WHERE PRISONERS WERE SHOT.
We were given a 2 hour guided tour of Auschwitz where we saw the gas chambers, crematorium, cells and much more.
The prisoners themselves burnt the corpses of the millions that died. Imagine how it must have
felt to dispose of the bodies of people you knew?
As well as seeing the huge displays of the prisoners personal effects such as cases, spectacles, hairbrushes
etc, probably the most shocking display (for me anyway) was the display of human hair. There were
over 2,000 clumps of hair that were saved after prisoners had been shaved. This was then used
to stuff matresses and line the coats of the SS Guards. To me, this had more of an impact than
seeing inanimate objects, even though many of them had belonged to children.
It was a beautiful, hot, sunny day and many people visited Auschwitz that day. Subsequently, there
were a lot of people having picnics on the lawn directly outside the camp. We joined them, but
it felt almost wrong. I visited Ravensbruck concentration camp in East Germany when I was in my teens
and it was a very sombre occasion. Auschwitz, probably because it was SO busy, did not have the same
feel. Mark felt it was very commercial but I suppose it is. When you have as many visitors as it does,
I suppose it will take on a more "museum like" feel and all that that brings with it.
After a 45 minute break for lunch we then continued to Birkenau (an extension of Auschwitz)
PRISONERS SLEEPING QUARTERS AND TOILET BLOCK, BIRKENAU.
THE MAIN GATE OF BIRKENAU AS SEEN IN THE FILM SCHINDLERS LIST.
THE RAILWAY, STRAIGHT IN TO THE CAMP.
The beds were built at an angle to enable more prisoners to be crammed in.
PRISONERS SLEEPING QUARTERS.
The toilets were the place where prisoners traded what little they may have found.
Some of the prisoners worked in the stores - known as "Canada".
The stores were where the Nazis held all the items confiscated from the prisoners. Canada amd the USA were thought of
by the prisoners as a symbol of hope, wealth and freedom, hence the name they gave to the stores.
The toilets originally had no drains and the smell would have been horrendous.
This is why it was the only area the prisoners were free of the SS Guards breathing down their necks.
Drains were built, not for the prisoners comfort, but to reduce the contamination to the SS Guards.
THE TOILETS.
In conclusion, Auschwitz/Birkenau was definetley worth a visit if only to remind us
how NOT to behave as human beings. I thought the whole experience a worthy one.
Auschwitz was tastefully done and not quite as gruelling as I thought it might be.
Holly, at only 9 years of age, coped very well with it. She's studied Anne Frank's Diary at school
and so had a pretty good grasp of what she was visiting. She wanted to do the tour.
If you ever get the chance to visit similar, you should take it. The images and stories will
stay with you forever, but that can only be a good thing.
We were lucky. At least we got to leave.
Visit the official site of Auschwitz-Birkenau HERE
Click Next to continue.
