Blogs from Auschwitz, Lesser Poland, Poland, Europe - page 8

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Europe » Poland » Lesser Poland » Auschwitz May 18th 2007

After Jasna Gora, we arrived at BIRKENAU, (Auschwitz 2) and only had 20 minutes to walk around. A watch tower and the railroad tracks that the prisoners arrived on were the first things that came into sight. Upon entering, barbed wire fences separated the area in 2 sections and were on either side of the tracks. The prisoner's barracks were to the right of the tracks. Signs tell the history and explain the set-up of the camp near the barracks. This was the part we saw. Everyone was pretty quiet here except for a woman in our group (nicknamed interrupter) who yelled for people to move so she could get a picture inside the barracks! There always seems to be one in every bunch. We then went over to Auschwitz Museum where Tunde said we could ... read more
entrance to Birkenau
part of the entrance to Birkenau
wire fence

Europe » Poland » Lesser Poland » Auschwitz May 11th 2007

Auschwitz. I've read many books, watched a few movies, looked at the pictures, but nothing prepares one for the real thing. Headed to Auschwitz I first and did a guided tour. I knew that when I booked the trip that the day would probably be spent in tears, and I was right. I was fine wandering the buildings and seeing the grounds of the camp, but when we got to the suitcases and shoes. Thousands, hundreds of thousands of them stacked behind glass on display. The suitcases were the worst as they were all labelled with names, addresses, dates, and ages; you could see that each one belonged to someone. There were also rooms of hair that was all grey - mounds of it, and eye glasses piles of bend frames and lenses. Next there ... read more

Europe » Poland » Lesser Poland » Auschwitz December 30th 2006

We left Krakow for a day trip to Auschwitz to take in all the history. It was cold again and some light snow had fallen the night before. I figured that this would add to the intensity of what we were about to see when we arrived in Auschwitz. I guess it would somehow make the place more real to me knowing that the people who were held there and died there had to deal with conditions like these without any protection from hunger, cold, and disease. I am glad I didn't come here in the summer to see the place while conditions were much more comfortable, fighting with much larger crowds to see for my self one of the most horrible places on earth. The first thing we did upon arriving at Auschwitz was to ... read more
Lies at the Gate
Birkenau
Auschwitz

Europe » Poland » Lesser Poland » Auschwitz December 29th 2006

Were both amazing. If you are in Krakow, do not miss these. Auschwitz because it is a very sobering experience, and it's just so surreal to be walking through the gas chambers where so many people were killed. And looking at millions of authentic pairs of shoes from the people who were at this camp. I mean some of these shoes are like 5cm long little booties, just belonging to normal people, normal kids. And there's a display of hair from the people who were kept there. Their hair was used to make cloth. And this display is several metres long. I mean it's just a huge mass of hair, some curly, some still in plaits, some dark, some blond, I was just stunned, I mean, real people had their hair cut off 60/70 odd years ... read more

Europe » Poland » Lesser Poland » Auschwitz December 19th 2006

What does ıt mean to plant flowers alongsıde the crematorıum? Not an unımportant questıon, perhaps. Yes, they put flowerboxes on the sıde. Geraniums, ashes, petunias, bones, rosebushes, screams. What does ıt mean to cultıvate lıfe alongsıde the cultıvatıon of death? Does ıt mean much more than the lotus blossom? Many people responded to the Auschwitz blogs appropriately with exclamations of sadness and horror...But also with comments about the ınhumanıty of the perpetrators. People have also suggested that such events are somehow inexplicable, somehow beyond explanation. I dısagree wıth these vıews however ınstınctual they may be. Concerning the first view: Sadly, the events at auschwitz-birkenau, buchenwald, chelmno, etc., rather than being inhuman, are profoundly all-too-human. In fact, to call the perpetrators anımals and the behavıors animal-like does an in... read more
Humans
Vısta

Europe » Poland » Lesser Poland » Auschwitz December 19th 2006

One day, once upon a time when i was a teacher, a student came to me after class and asked me, "Can I say the word 'Jew'?" She said it quietly and innocently, as her face slightly scrunched up, as if she were saying a vulgar word. I was so taken aback i didn't know what to say at first. They say there are no stupid questions...but come on! Then i realized that she didn't know any better. From whatever failed social and educational background she came from, she had in all of her 20 years somehow got the impression that Jew was a bad word with bad associations. Think about that. 60 years after the Holocaust. I simply replied that yes, you can say Jew, it is perfectly alright. But since that moment i have ... read more
Blood Libel
Host Desecration

Europe » Poland » Lesser Poland » Auschwitz December 18th 2006

"Maximize Killing Capacity" "...and this is where selection took place..." she said, "...those fit and those not fit..." "...families torn apart..." shake your head, uh-uh "men from women, children from mothers, old from young..." "...and this is the wall where they shot political prisoners..." you shake your head, resist "...and this is where they took roll call..." "...standing for hours in the Polısh winter..." shake your head, grimace, shake your head, resist... "...and this is where some were hanged..." furl your eyebrows... "...and these are the suitcases...you can see they put their birthdates on them...they were made to think they would get them back...you can see this one belonged to a 7 year old girl..." choke it back... "...and these are the eyeglasses..." twist your heart... "...and this is where they extracted the gold fr... read more

Europe » Poland » Lesser Poland » Auschwitz December 17th 2006

Imagine...you arrive on a train car meant for cattle packed beyond limits; you were made to buy the ticket, the stench is unbearable, you can't breathe; after 3 days you finally arrive and you don't understand the language but men in caps with machine guns are yelling "Schnell!" and pushing the crowd this way and that...you are supposed to put your luggage in a pile with all the others...another passenger says you are to get them back after you clean up and check in. You don't know what is going on...then the guards come and point the rifle in your husband's guts and knock hım down for daring to try to stay with you...and then he is put in another line...you and the other women are to line up in another...a doctor is at the end ... read more
Entering Birkenau
Arbeit Macht Frei
Work Makes You Free

Europe » Poland » Lesser Poland » Auschwitz December 5th 2006

I don't have too much to say about visiting Auschwitz.. Though it definately deserves it's own place in my story. I wasn't moved to tears, put it that way, the inquistive English photo-tourist in my group made sure of that. I took a tour, not "typical me", but it's winter, the days are short, and this place is about the people and their stories, not the architecture or beautiful view. There's plenty to read around the camp if you want to walk by yourself, but my attention span isn't that long these days and I'd much rather have someone narrate to me. Visiting Auschwitz was one of the things I hadn't spoken to anyone about, but felt I had to do - right from before I left NZ. The opinions and ideas that lead to this ... read more
Outside the infamous main gate
Railyard, Auschwitz II
A reconstructed portion of Auschwitz II

Europe » Poland » Lesser Poland » Auschwitz November 1st 2006

What sould happen if you were taken from your home told you could bring a bag with 25 kilos of your things and taken on a journey for a better home...for these people it was Auschwitz...a long journey on a wagon with 1 barrel for a toilet and another for water having such brutal conditions that people didn't survive the trip; a place where once people arrived they went through a selection process those who were fit and healthy to one side and those sent directly to death and other brutalities; a place that meant 'work for your freedom;' a palce where children underwent experimental procedures with shots of drugs and poisons; a place where people being sentenced to death believed they were being disinfected until posionous gas filled the rooms and screams from mothers, babies, ... read more
In Prison...
Execution Spot
Auswitz




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