Auschwitz.

Tuesday 19^th April

It has taken me a long time to finish this Blog. It is a difficult subject and while I’m not sure my words can do it justice, I think I should at least try. Today we visited Auschwitz.

The bus from Krakow took around ninety minutes and cost a few pounds each. The journey was unexpectedly scenic and surprisingly beautiful. It struck me that while we weren’t following the train tracks, seventy five years ago millions of people saw the same countryside, the same towering trees and eventually, the same gate which reads “Arbeit Macht Frei” – Work Brings Freedom.

Originally constructed to hold Polish political prisoners, the first exterminations began in September 1941, and it wasn’t long before Auschwitz-Birkenhau became an integral part of the Final Solution to the Jewish Question. From 1942-1944 trains transported Jews from across Europe to the camps and around 1.1 million prisoners died here. Around 90 percent were Jewish and the remainder were Poles, Romani, Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals and thousands more from a diverse range of nationalities and affiliations.  

While Auschwitz is the most well known concentration camp, I wasn’t prepared for the sheer size of the place. It’s so large that it’s divided in to the main camp, also known Auschwitz I and Birkenhau which is sometimes called Auschwitz II. The “main camp” was a pre-war Polish barracks and was used for administrative purposes and now acts as a museum. In order to visit the museum you have to book a time slot online where you can opt for a self-guided or educator accompanied tour. After reading some reviews we decided on a self-guided time slot and as we had left it so late to book, we went for the only time available – 4pm entry.

In an attempt to make the most of the day we arrived at around noon and after collecting our tickets, made the fifteen minute bus journey to Birkenhau. Construction began in October 1941, and by March 1942, the first gas chamber was fully operational. I wasn’t sure what to expect but one of the first things you see are the train tracks leading directly in to the camp. From here we broke away from the groups and began exploring the camp. Our first stop was a bunk house where hundreds of people lived. It was strange to think that people had to live while surrounded by death but of course, Auschwitz-Birkenhau was also a work camp. I thought of the children who would have, for however brief a time, lived in the bunk houses and I wondered if, despite the exhaustion, the hunger and the fear, they played the way little children do. 

We followed the fences, past the shells of former bunk houses and to the crematoriums. In 1944, with the Red Army approaching, Hitler ordered gassing operations to cease and in an attempt to hide their crimes, the Nazis dismantled the crematoriums. While the twisted metal and broken bricks remain, there are some new additions too. Commemorative stones are found next to places of mass extermination and where the ashes of the murdered are located. These commemorative stones are often adorned with candles brought from all over the world and the stones bear the inscription “To the memory of the men, woman and children who fell victim to the Nazi genocide. Here lie their ashes. May their souls rest in peace.” 

The information plaques that are dotted around the site are exceptional. They give a real insight in to what life was like at the camps and some of them even feature photographs of the prisoners and the camp buildings. To be standing in the exact spot where a photograph was taken seventy five years ago, knowing that the landscape is the only thing that has remained the same, is very surreal. I also found it difficult to reconcile the beauty of the place with the horror of what happened here. At the beginning of the day when we got off the bus I was unbelievably cold and I was prepared for the absence of life but what I experienced was somewhat different. The sun came out and I noticed that songbird were singing and frogs were hopping in and out of the shallow ponds. 

We ended up spending over three hours just walking around, reading the signs and letting it all sink in. As we walked through the “laundry building” we came across an exhibit which focused on some of the people who ended up in Auschwitz-Birkenhau. As I read their stories I was struck by just how ordinary these people were. Some were doctors and teachers; there was even a family of chocolatiers who owned their own factory. Whole families ended up here and more often than not, whole families died together. There were stories of survivors and one such story, of a girl and her mother who were separated upon entering the camp but who were reunited seventeen years after the war, really stuck with me. 

I think people are tempted to rush Birkenhau in favour of Auschwitz I but I would really advise against this. There is something undisturbed about Birkenhau. It is vast and bleak but at times, quite beautiful. It is too important to rush and I really think time needs to be dedicated to seeing where so many people lived and died.  As we left, through a simple gate, I thought of the vastness of the ever present fences and how all that separated these people from the beautiful Polish countryside was a fence. How unnecessary and preventable their deaths were.

From Birkenhau we made the short journey back to the main camp and entered the museum. As it was late in the day the crowds had mostly subsided and we were able to take our time at each exhibit. We did notice a few groups who were accompanied by an educator being walked briskly past most of the exhibits so we were glad we opted to go alone and take our time. 

One of the first things we saw after passing though the infamous gates was the original gas chamber. The small, dimly lit building was full of significance. A man sang quietly in Hebrew and there wasn’t a sound from the people who were taking the time to pay their respects. 

The original Crematorium

While all the buildings in the museum were special and thought provoking, there are a few rooms dedicated to the possessions of the prisoners that really struck a chord with me. They feature suitcases, hairbrushes, prosthetic limbs, items of clothing, shoes and finally, canisters of Zyklon B; the cyanide based pesticide used to kill over a million people at Auschwitz. The soldiers who liberated the camp discovered the extent of its use when they tested the hair of deceased prisoners. The hair, which was collected and eventually sold for manufacturing purposes, contained traces of the chemical and further incriminated the Nazis.

The sheer scale of the possessions highlights just how many people lost their lives in this sleepy Polish town. Thinking of the stories behind the items and the people who lost the very things they treasured enough to bring on the long journey from their homes across Europe, was completely heartbreaking. It is a feeling I will never forget and today was a day I hope I will always remember.

We left the museum shortly before closing time, when the last of the visitors had left. We caught a late bus back to town and set about finding somewhere for dinner. Finishing the evening in comfort, warmth, with food, security and safety all guaranteed felt particularly special given the day we had just had and I hope we will always feel this thankful. If you are considering visiting Krakow and Auschwitz, I would absolutely encourage you to do so. It might seem like morbid curiosity but I think that revisiting the past is essential if we are to continue moving forward and towards a future built on tolerance, understanding and the safeguarding of the most vulnerable in our society.