Visit A Concentration Camp

 Auschwitz-Birkenau

I'm sure some are wondering how I could add visiting a concentration camp onto my life list.   It isn't exactly the most uplifting experience to spend a vacation.   For most it is difficult to face the reality of human cruelty, and to see firsthand of the horrible atrocities that were committed there.  Unfortunately it did happen, and I feel that it is so important for people to remember what happened in these places.  Even if you don't remember learning about Auschwitz in your history class then you probably know a bit about it from the movie Schindler's List. 

 The famous entrance sign that was stolen months after I visited Auschwitz

One of the first things I saw while walking around Auschwitz was the "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign.  In English it translates to "Work Sets You Free."  The slogan was placed at the entrance of  several concentration camps during the Holocaust, the most famous being the one at Auschwitz.  In December 2009 the above sign was stolen and broken into 3 pieces.  The original sign is now in a museum, while a replica was put in the place of the old sign.    The picture above is of the original sign.

Walking around Auschwitz

 A Gas Chamber

Some of the most moving moments were walking through the halls and rooms surrounded by hundreds of photographs of those affected, and the collections of shoes, glasses, suitcases, and even the piles of hair of the victims.   We even went into a gas chamber used for mass killings.   It really saddened me knowing so many people were brought into those chambers not even knowing their faith.  Some gas chambers could kill 2000 people at one time. 

Walking where many took their last steps

 Barb Wire lined Auschwitz-Birkenau

We then took a bus to Auschwitz-Birkenau, an extermination camp.  It made Auschwitz I look like a luxury hotel.   Right by the main entrance of the camp are train tracks that help transport thousands to their deaths.  Many prisoners referred to it as the "Gate of Death." Jews exited from the trains and the selection process began.  Those who were fit for work were allowed to live for a few months (usually dying from disease).  The others were sent immediately into the gas chambers (often times without even registering, therefore skewing the stats of how many people actually died in Auschwitz). 

Train Tracks to the "Gate of Death"

One of the barracks at Auschwitz-Birkenau

The living conditions were horrendous.  The barracks were modeled after horse stables.  If used as a horse stable it would normally hold 52 horses, but the Nazis squeezed in up to 1000 people into each barrack.  So it's no surprise that these barracks harbored loads of diseases.  There was no running water or sanitary equipment, so diseases ran rampant through the barracks.  It also gets mighty cold in Poland during the winter, so imagine spending one hour in one of those barracks in the middle of winter?  Truthfully...I can't even imagine one minute in those living conditions.  The prisoners worked 11-12 hours a day (remember that the next time you complain about work), they worked hungry, exhausted, and often times sick. 

The "Toilets" at Auschwitz

Toilets?  Forgettaboutit!  Privacy...forgettaboutit too!    You had to use the bathroom on command, and if you spent more than your allotted time (a mere few minutes) you were beaten. 

Even though I read countless books about the Holocaust, and I even took a Judaism course in college, NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING could have ever prepared me for what I experienced that day.  Despite the overwhelming emotions that took over me,  I will never forget my experience at Auschwitz.  It is one of those experiences that will stay personally in your mind forever.  I will never forget.

Date Accomplished:  June 14th, 2009