Auschwitz

I learned more than I think I ever wanted to know about the concentration camp experience by visiting the Auschwitz complex. The concentration camps were built in Poland because of the close location to Germany. The Auschwitz camp consisted of three main camps and forty-nine sub camps. I went to Auschwitz I and Birkenau. I did not have the opportunity to go to Monowitz (the third camp). Auschwitz I was the processing center and where the SS lived (right beyond the barracks). Birkenau was the death machine; it had huge gas chambers and ovens that killed thousands of people daily. Before the end of the war, the Nazis destroyed all of the deth chambers in Birkenau. In fact, many of the buildings at Birkenau were destroyed. After the war, the Auschwitz complex was turned into a memorial.

Auschwitz was the first camp built in Poland. It first housed political prisoners. It wasn’t until 1942 that the crematoria were built. Six million poles died during WWII. At the time was broke out, 3.3 million Jews lived in Poland; only ten percent survived. Seeing the main gate to the camp with the inscription “Work Makes You Free” in German, the rooms full of prisoner’s personal belongings (hair, brushes, suitcases, artificial limbs, glasses, shoes, and bowls), the Death Wall, the barracks were prisoners slept, the cans left over from gas that was dropped into the gas chambers, the gallows, and the ovens was incredibly overwhelming. My heart aches that man has the capacity to so cruel to his fellow man.

With that said, there are stories of hope that come from Auschwitz. I had the opportunity to see where St. Maxamillian was detained and killed. His martyrdom allowed another individual to survive and raise a family. I think the best way to sum up what I took away from Auschwitz is as follows: “a small gesture can yield irreversible consequences; it can either save a life, or burn it”(copied from a plaque at the Oscar Schlinder factory).

In touring the camp, one is allowed to only take pictures outdoors. I did purchase a wonderful book that details all of the exhibits within the camp. Auschwitz is an amazing place that everyone should visit at one point in their lives. It will leave you with mixed emotions that are difficult to process and articulate I leave you with some pictures from the largest cemetary in the world.

Auschwitz (part 1) on PhotoPeach



Auschwitz (part 2) on PhotoPeach