"Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."
While walking around, one of the most strange thing happened: during the visit, the weather changed from sunny to raining to snowing!! to sunny and to snowing again..I still do not forget that feeling.
And you know what other thing struck me? How grown-ups, men in their 40`s or their 60`s , women from 30-80 years old could cry ( and no, they were not all Jews) and how teenagers can remain silent for couple of hours..
There could be so much more to say about this place. But, if you ever get a chance to come close to this place, please take some hours from your life and go see it.
Anne Frank
This is not a story about politics, religion, race or "my truth is better than your truth". This is a story about something that happen, that is real, that is not an imagination. This is a story about humans versus humans.
Let me start by saying that it was never in my plan to go to Auschwitz. I knew it was a place somewhere in Poland, but never looked on Google to see exactly where it is. But at one point in life, "something" happened and here i was. This "something"="life"="destiny"="?" lead me to buy a plane ticket to Krakow, Poland. Again, it was not on my list to go to Poland, but one thing lead to another and i convinced my sister to accompany me to go to Krakow in spring. We had an extended week-end to check this town (i will tell you more about it in a different post) and when researching for what can we do there, i discovered a lot of tours that went either to the Salt Mines or to Auschwitz. And i chose the last one.
We have arranged with the hotel for the tour bus to pick us but please note that you can also take the train or the bus to Oświęcim train station. The train station is 2 km away from Auschwitz 1, but the bus leaves you quite close.
While you are there you can buy tickets to see Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz II-Birkenau. It is allowed to take photos but there are couple of places where is prohibited.
Personal comment: i saw some people taking selfies there!!!!!!!!!! how can this be, from all the places you take a selfie in a former concentration camp??? I had no words..
Birkenau is the main camp and is the place where the main gas chambers were situated. I do not want to sound melodramatic, but what i saw there...it will always stuck in my mind.
But first you start with Auschwitz 1. There are English and French tours ( could be German and Spanish also, but not sure) as well as audio-guides. Here, there are couple of building where you can find lots of information and see heartwarming photos. Oh, and yes, the first striking part is the entrance where you will see :"Arbeit macht frei" which stands for work makes (you) free".
Later on you will arrive to Auschwitz II-Birkenau.
There are so many things that have impressed me, even if some of the buildings were demolished by the Nazis before they tried to run away. Maybe the gas chambers, or what remained from them, maybe toilets or the "rooms" where they lived, or maybe the railway line where their last trip ended.
Walking around the area ( depending on when you are going, please take proper clothes as this is mostly an outdoor activity, and even indoor there is no heating) , you can find the shower area where their clothes were decontaminated. Those who arrived directly here, had been sent directly to gas chambers and their belongings taken and sorted. There is one chamber which i will never forget, with toys from children, with brushes and shoes. And one with human hair....
Do you know that those who arrived here never knew where they were going, and that they were told only to take one suitcase?
And you will see the remaining of couple more crematorium/gas chambers.
At first, they built only one, but then that was not enough and as more Jews arrived, they kept building others until they had 5.
Let me start by saying that it was never in my plan to go to Auschwitz. I knew it was a place somewhere in Poland, but never looked on Google to see exactly where it is. But at one point in life, "something" happened and here i was. This "something"="life"="destiny"="?" lead me to buy a plane ticket to Krakow, Poland. Again, it was not on my list to go to Poland, but one thing lead to another and i convinced my sister to accompany me to go to Krakow in spring. We had an extended week-end to check this town (i will tell you more about it in a different post) and when researching for what can we do there, i discovered a lot of tours that went either to the Salt Mines or to Auschwitz. And i chose the last one.
We have arranged with the hotel for the tour bus to pick us but please note that you can also take the train or the bus to Oświęcim train station. The train station is 2 km away from Auschwitz 1, but the bus leaves you quite close.
While you are there you can buy tickets to see Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz II-Birkenau. It is allowed to take photos but there are couple of places where is prohibited.
Personal comment: i saw some people taking selfies there!!!!!!!!!! how can this be, from all the places you take a selfie in a former concentration camp??? I had no words..
Birkenau is the main camp and is the place where the main gas chambers were situated. I do not want to sound melodramatic, but what i saw there...it will always stuck in my mind.
But first you start with Auschwitz 1. There are English and French tours ( could be German and Spanish also, but not sure) as well as audio-guides. Here, there are couple of building where you can find lots of information and see heartwarming photos. Oh, and yes, the first striking part is the entrance where you will see :"Arbeit macht frei" which stands for work makes (you) free".
Later on you will arrive to Auschwitz II-Birkenau.
There are so many things that have impressed me, even if some of the buildings were demolished by the Nazis before they tried to run away. Maybe the gas chambers, or what remained from them, maybe toilets or the "rooms" where they lived, or maybe the railway line where their last trip ended.
Walking around the area ( depending on when you are going, please take proper clothes as this is mostly an outdoor activity, and even indoor there is no heating) , you can find the shower area where their clothes were decontaminated. Those who arrived directly here, had been sent directly to gas chambers and their belongings taken and sorted. There is one chamber which i will never forget, with toys from children, with brushes and shoes. And one with human hair....
Do you know that those who arrived here never knew where they were going, and that they were told only to take one suitcase?
And you will see the remaining of couple more crematorium/gas chambers.
At first, they built only one, but then that was not enough and as more Jews arrived, they kept building others until they had 5.
While walking around, one of the most strange thing happened: during the visit, the weather changed from sunny to raining to snowing!! to sunny and to snowing again..I still do not forget that feeling.
And you know what other thing struck me? How grown-ups, men in their 40`s or their 60`s , women from 30-80 years old could cry ( and no, they were not all Jews) and how teenagers can remain silent for couple of hours..
There could be so much more to say about this place. But, if you ever get a chance to come close to this place, please take some hours from your life and go see it.
Again, this story is not about religion..this is a story about how mean can us humans be and how much can some humans suffer. This is a story, about something that unfortunately it is still happening, in a different format, but it is here: think about Bosnian or Rwandan Genocide.
It is my believe that it is our duty not to forget and do everything in our power not to happen again.
I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.
Anne Frank
