Bitter History

---

Since we arrived in Poland, we have taken day trips to the Salt Mines and Auschwitz. Completely different places, but both close to Krakow.
The salt mines were rather impressive in sheer size and dedication (who would carve a life-size Pope John Paul 2 out of salt?) but unremarkable otherwise. Something interesting I did not know was that the miners kept horses in the salt mines for their entire lives-they never saw sunshine! They would work all day, then be led into the stables in the mine at night. It was a pretty unbelievably cruel life. The miners, on the other hand, had no adverse reactions to the mines, unlike coal miners, and were paid equally in salt and cash. They were very rich men! Salt was very valuable, and so they have mined in this location for over 700 years. The biggest dangers were humidity, methane gas, and cave-ins.
This mine is massive-it stretches the equivalent distance from Krakow to Warsaw! The 4 hour tour only took us to see 1 % of the total mine. The last stop on the tour was "The Grand Hall" which is a massive ballroom with statues carved out of all of the walls. It has a grand staircase (made of salt, of course) and the floors are cut into octagons, and polished by the two million visitors feet every year.
They asked tourists to pay for a photographic license in order to take pictures, so I was only able to sneak these two. They cannot truly describe the enormity of the mine-but Ive done my best.


Yesterday we took a tour to Auschwitz and Berkinau-the largest concentration camps where 1.5 million Jews, Gypsies, and political prisoners were killed during World War 2. After passing through tons of school groups, you pass through the gates of Auschwitz, where the ironic words, "Work makes you free" greets you. You walk through identical two-story brick buildings, reading facts, names, and events. Many of the buildings hold displays on Sanitation, the Prisoner's Life, The Daily Routine. This is not a place for taking pictures-this is not a place for large, loud groups or laughter. It is a place for learning and remembrance.
Being in the largest extermination camp is all very surreal until you see it for yourself--their shoes.

An entire room of hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of glassed-in shoes. Shoes that people wore on the train, to the camp, that fit their feet. Shoes that were molded to fit these people--you could still see the nails and alterations that had been hand-made by cobblers.
There was a room just of pots and pans and bowls that they had brought. It was heart-wrenching to see what they had carted with them on the train, thinking they would use the bowls-but instead were fed a meager piece of bread and soup every day.
It was the same with their personal items: hairbrushes and combs and toothbrushes--all stripped from them as they arrived on the train and stored in warehouses. Totally useless to the women who had their heads shaved.

Being at the concentration camps is unbelievable-you just don't want to believe that something so terrible can happen. But its important to go-it is important because, "the one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again", and we can never allow it to happen again.
We then took a bus over to Berkinau-where more bunkhouses, showers, and workers stayed. It was enormous and frightening. We walked to the end of the camp, where you can view the ruins of the showers. These were the showers where they used Cyclone B to exterminate people upon their entrance into the camp, with a promise of a "Cleansing bath". They were dynamited a few days before the liberation of the camp, and all that is left are the ruins of the showers. There are also ponds where the ashes were dumped. It is all a very shocking and sobering view of history.

I had my fill of the concentration camp-it just gets to be too much. Leaving Auschwitz at the end of the day, I took away with me the knowledge that it is critical to learn and truly understand our history...and spread that knowledge to others. Thanks for reading and learning.

---

Photos

Running for the fences
When some couldn't take it anymore, they would run for these barbed-wire, electric fences.

Comments

[Ana]

Wow
Even though we know about all this I'm sure it's an entirely different feeling than what we'd expect being there. You're a very wise one Miss Rachel.

[Ashley]

A Strange Experience....
going to a concentration camp is something that cannot be described...only experienced....you really begin to question the world around you and the people that inhabit it....how could it be possible????

[Amy Snyder]

concentration camps
Rachel, I'm glad you got to experience this very sad place. I bet it was fascinating and scary and emotional, all at the same time. I took a Holocaust class in high school and have always been intrigued by those horrible times in our history. I am just bewildered that people could be so cruel to other people, in huge quantities as such it happened. Good luck with the rest of your journey!