As I mentioned in my last post I just got back from a trip to Eastern Europe ... one of my favourite parts of the world. One of the things that sold us when choosing the itinerary was that, rather uniquely for a tour company aimed at 20-35 year olds, it included a trip to the concentration camps at Auschwitz. I'd always wanted to visit Poland and, with it being such a large part of Europe's recent history, visiting Auschwitz was something I'd always wanted to experience.
So we got on our bus and drove from Olomouc (Czech Republic) to Auschwitz (Poland). Our bus broke down along the way and we had to hang around at a service station for a couple of hours whilst we waited for a replacement but despite that thanks to our very organised Busabout crew we got to Auschwitz on schedule. Word of advice: I don't recommend you listen to upbeat dance tunes as you drive towards the camp (or phat beats as they were known on the bus). It means that arriving at such a sombre place is a bit of a shock to the system.
Auschwitz is very humbling but be warned its a fairly depressing place from the word go ... at the end of the day its a Nazi death camp and the horror stories of the stuff that went on there send shivers down your spine. But its in our recent history, it happened and its not something that should be forgotten easily.
We had a guided tour and spent an afternoon there. First we went to Auschwitz I, the entrance of which was surrounded by watch towers, halt signs and barbed wire. We then proceeded to walk around the buildings in the camp, most of which have been turned into museums. Now its hard to explain this, but most of the group felt like Auschwitz wasn't what they expected at this point. I don't know if its because it was around 33 degrees and the trees were in full bloom and it was full of tour groups but in my head I imagined it to be bleak and grey and not red brick buildings surrounded by grass and trees. Once inside the museum buildings it was a different story though and the bleakness came through by the bucketload. Some of the most impacting things that almost brought tears to my eye were the room full of hair that women had to have cut off by Nazi soldiers, room after room of luggage, shoes, combs and other personal possessions, photos of some of the prisoners at the camp with dates of how long they were at the camp before they died, the execution wall, the cramped stable-like beds the prisoners slept in, and most of all the standing cells - a one metre squared prison cell were 3-5 prisoners were locked into standing up and where ultimately most of them died of suffocation or starvation. We then went on to see the gas chambers and moved on to Auschwitz II - the Birkenau camp.
Birkenau was more what we expected - the camp that appears in all the films and history books with the train platforms and wooden shelters. It was scorching hot as I mentioned before so at this point between the emotional impact of what we had seen/heard and being physically drained by the heat the mood was quiet and sombre and we were all struggling. We got to the Holocaust memorial and all reflected on how something this horrible could have happened in our grandparents' lifetime. Our tour guide was very knowlegable and gave us a lot of history and insight into life (if you could call it that) in Auschwitz.
It was a humbling experience that puts life into perspective and makes you realise how lucky you are to live in a country that isn't gripped by war and where something this horrible would never be allowed. I can't even begin to imagine the fear the prisoners had when they were living in these conditions, ripped away from their families and possessions, and for many millions of them ultimately died under the Nazi regime. It really is quite shocking stuff and visiting the camps only gives you a small insight into what it would have been like - that alone is a difficult experience and although I didn't cry I was close to it a few times. It really is an emotional experience and worth going to to see for yourself.
There was a particular plaque in one of the museum walls that really summarised the experience for me. “The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.” - George Santayana
So we got on our bus and drove from Olomouc (Czech Republic) to Auschwitz (Poland). Our bus broke down along the way and we had to hang around at a service station for a couple of hours whilst we waited for a replacement but despite that thanks to our very organised Busabout crew we got to Auschwitz on schedule. Word of advice: I don't recommend you listen to upbeat dance tunes as you drive towards the camp (or phat beats as they were known on the bus). It means that arriving at such a sombre place is a bit of a shock to the system.
Auschwitz is very humbling but be warned its a fairly depressing place from the word go ... at the end of the day its a Nazi death camp and the horror stories of the stuff that went on there send shivers down your spine. But its in our recent history, it happened and its not something that should be forgotten easily.
We had a guided tour and spent an afternoon there. First we went to Auschwitz I, the entrance of which was surrounded by watch towers, halt signs and barbed wire. We then proceeded to walk around the buildings in the camp, most of which have been turned into museums. Now its hard to explain this, but most of the group felt like Auschwitz wasn't what they expected at this point. I don't know if its because it was around 33 degrees and the trees were in full bloom and it was full of tour groups but in my head I imagined it to be bleak and grey and not red brick buildings surrounded by grass and trees. Once inside the museum buildings it was a different story though and the bleakness came through by the bucketload. Some of the most impacting things that almost brought tears to my eye were the room full of hair that women had to have cut off by Nazi soldiers, room after room of luggage, shoes, combs and other personal possessions, photos of some of the prisoners at the camp with dates of how long they were at the camp before they died, the execution wall, the cramped stable-like beds the prisoners slept in, and most of all the standing cells - a one metre squared prison cell were 3-5 prisoners were locked into standing up and where ultimately most of them died of suffocation or starvation. We then went on to see the gas chambers and moved on to Auschwitz II - the Birkenau camp.
Birkenau was more what we expected - the camp that appears in all the films and history books with the train platforms and wooden shelters. It was scorching hot as I mentioned before so at this point between the emotional impact of what we had seen/heard and being physically drained by the heat the mood was quiet and sombre and we were all struggling. We got to the Holocaust memorial and all reflected on how something this horrible could have happened in our grandparents' lifetime. Our tour guide was very knowlegable and gave us a lot of history and insight into life (if you could call it that) in Auschwitz.
It was a humbling experience that puts life into perspective and makes you realise how lucky you are to live in a country that isn't gripped by war and where something this horrible would never be allowed. I can't even begin to imagine the fear the prisoners had when they were living in these conditions, ripped away from their families and possessions, and for many millions of them ultimately died under the Nazi regime. It really is quite shocking stuff and visiting the camps only gives you a small insight into what it would have been like - that alone is a difficult experience and although I didn't cry I was close to it a few times. It really is an emotional experience and worth going to to see for yourself.
There was a particular plaque in one of the museum walls that really summarised the experience for me. “The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.” - George Santayana
#131 - ACHEIVED
- Difficulty: 4/10 (Not for the senstive soul - its a really emotional day)
- Thrill factor: 1/10 (Really quite sobering experience)
- Sense of acheivement/fulfilment: 7/10 (experiencing history first hand)
- Recommend to a friend: 7/10 (very sad, not quite what I expected, but we should never forget it happened)
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