Visiting Auschwitz: The Second Entry

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Geo: 50.0432, 19.2695

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum is located in the town of Oswiecim, which is west of Krakow. There are several options for visiting from Krakow: bus, train, car or guided tour. Once you get to Auschwitz, you are required to be on a guided tour between the hours of 10-3. I did not want a guided tour as I had read that people felt rushed and couldn't hear the guide well. I was going to take the train, but the helpful people at one of the information sites in Krakow said the bus was the better option and gave me a list of all the departure times. The earliest bus was 5:40, but I wasn't quite ready for that so I took the next one at 6:40. For 14 PLN one-way, you get to ride in a nice coach bus and we arrived at the museum a little after 8. I had already reserved a spot for 9 online (It is free, however if you have the guided tour requirement then its 40 PLN) but was able to go right in. This is the way to tour the museum. For those not on a guided tour, they have a good selection of maps and guide books for sale. I bought all the English options and found them very useful. There is the suggested walking route for the camp, but you can pretty much wander wherever you want and go into any building that has an exhibit. There is also a 15 minuted video that uses footage shot by the Soviet Army as they were liberating the camp. I did not watch the video so I can't comment on it. There were just a few groups already there, the grounds were still quiet and the buildings mostly empty. I was able to walk at my own pace and take in the contrast of what happened within the wire fences with the chirping of the birds and the stillness of today.

Auschwitz I was mainly a labor camp. There was a gas chamber and people died by hangings, executions or gassing. However Auschwitz II-Birkenau was the larger, death camp site. The exhibits in the buildings are very well done and range from documents from when the camp was active to displays of belongings of the people brought to the camp. There is a room full of hair, one full of prosthetic limbs and of course the piles of shoes. An exhibit tries to portray what daily life was like for those living in Auschwitz I. One building shows what the "accommodations" were like. One building, Block 11, allows you to go into the cellar where prisoners were kept in starvation cells. This is also the building where all the executions were decided on and performed.

Further along, you pass out of the barbed wire fencing and into the gas chamber. Not really anything I can say about that.

The only negative I have about the site is the lack of signage. There is a bus that connects the two places and I couldn't find it so I just decided to walk. The walk between Auschwitz I and Birkenau takes about 20 minutes. I should point out here that it was pretty warm by the time I started walking, but I made the choice to do it anyway.

Auschwitz II-Birkenau is harder for me to describe. This was the largest of the death camps. Most who arrived on the trains were not even registered, they were sent right to the gas chambers. Those who made it through the selection were sent to live in long buildings made of wood or brick, sleeping 3-5 in a bunk with 3 levels to each bunk. The buildings have few windows and even fewer doors. I think the heat today made it even harder to visit as I could not imagine living in it. There are no trees for shade, no fans, no umbrellas to keep the sun off your face. Just rows and rows of buildings. Many were burnt as the Nazis were retreating to try to cover up what happened here. Gas chambers were blown up and mass graves hastily filled in. I followed the suggested walking route and added on the additional walk to see more of the camp. I was tired, hot and thirsty but I kept going. I walked past ponds that were full of ashes, past open areas where piles of bodies were burned and through stands of trees where people waited to enter the gas chambers. Nothing really prepares you for the enormity of the camp. In all directions, the buildings, or foundations of buildings with chimneys still standing, stretch about as far as you can see. When you walk all the way to the rear of the camp, the entrance gate is a speck on the horizon. I had trouble comprehending the size. I just could not believe it. Birkenau is quieter than Auschwitz. It's larger so the groups are spread out and sounds do not carry. Again, the birds are chirping and the grass blowing softly in the wind. It is easy to stand still under a tree, gaze out at the shells of buildings and take a few moments to take in the quiet. Movies are probably pretty good at depicting the horror that occurred, but they aren't real. The peacefulness of Birkenau makes it hard to understand how what happened there happened at all.

I did take the shuttle bus back to escape the heat and rest my feet. All in all, I walked a little over 8 miles today. I stopped in the restaurant for a snack of some rhubarb cake and grapes. By then it was about 1:00 and the next bus to Krakow was at 2:20 so I had time to reflect. Unfortunately, the bus back did not have the a/c going full blast, but I guess I could deal with that. The return trip took over 2 hours. Oh and I wanted a salad for dinner but couldn't find one so I took the next best thing, a kebab wrap that had lettuce, tomato and cucumber.

In the book I bought, there is a section about the debate of whether to call it a museum, memorial, or cemetery. Some wanted to plow it all under to erase it from the landscape. I am not sure what the correct "title" is, but I am glad a group of former prisoners got together and decided to preserve Auschwitz-Birkenau and make it open to the public. I know it is not for everyone due to the subject, or the distance or for many other reasons and that's ok. For me, it is a place I always felt I had to go to. It is a visit I will never forget and I am so glad I was able to choose to make the trip to this very special place.

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Comments

[Anne]

It is very difficult to reconcile the pictures of a peaceful landscape and beautiful sky with what went on there.

[MOM]

And there are people who still say it never happened. Those people need to visit these places and see them for themselves.....but I fear they would still say it never happened.

[Rachel]

Great post, Tine. Thanks so much for sharing this experience with us.

[donlonwartell]

Christine, I am so proud of you. When I heard you wanted to visit Auschwitz on your own without a group, I was concerned. Your blog showed me that you had the maturity to handle all the complex emotions that went with your adventure. I k
now I could not have done that. Thank you for sharing that piece of your life and how important it was to you. It was very special, and in its memorial, very respectful and even beautiful to honor all of those who gave their lives. Hope your vacation continues to bring knowledge and joy.