Auschwitz

In the week leading up to my visit to Poland and Auschwitz, people I told at work would all have the same reaction - "Oh, why on earth would you want to go there? I wouldn't be able to handle the place. It'd be too much for me." But for me, Auschwitz as always been a must-visit destination. The camp played such a pivotal role in the course of 20th century history and changed millions of lives. Places of such significance, I feel, are important to see.

The first thing I was surprised about was that touring the camp was entirely free. While I don't think they should make a profit from such a site, I thought they might have charged a fee that would go towards supporting the surviving victims and their families, or something like that. And I'm pretty sure anyone making a trip to Auschwitz would be more than happy to pay that. But nope, it was free.

To enter the camp, you must pass under the infamous gate with the slogan 'Arbeit macht frei' which translates to 'Work will set you free'. What a lie. After that you've got brick building after brick building arranged in rows around a central pathway. Watchtowers are at either end and double barriers of electrified barbed wire surround the perimeter. There's a gallows to one side of the main path, where public executions were held as a 'lesson' to other inmates. It's incredibly bleak to look at. I was surprised by the size of the place though. For a place where over 1 million jews were murdered, it's not all that big. I later learnt that when a trainload of inmates arrived, over half were sent straight to the gas chambers (they were told they'd be getting a nice warm shower), so I guess that kind of explains it.

Many of the blocks (the buildings each have a block number) have been converted into mini museums with different exhibitions in them. One block was all about the Polish Jews, another was the hospital block which detailed the awful experiments the Nazis performed, another contained photos of the inmates (not all of them, as taking photos of each inmate was only done at the beginning, before it became too much of a chore when the amount of inmates increased). I found it quite hard walking into this block, into the hallway lined with thousands of photos of sad, desolate faces staring out at you. But I also found it really interesting to read the little blurbs under the photos, about what each person's job was before they came to the camp.

The block that had the biggest effect on me, however, was the exhibition entitled "Physical evidence of the Holocaust." When I walked up the stairs and turned right down the hallway I actually gasped at what I saw. Human hair. On a scale I wasn't prepared for. The hallway was probably 100m long, and the entire left hand side was full of human hair (behind glass, obviously). And it wasn't just on the floor. It was a HUGE, high pile, extending the entire length of the corridor. This was when I teared up, just thinking about all the people that this signified. I read a sign that said all the hair was discovered in sacks when the camp was liberated. It had been cut off the heads of all those who had been gassed, and kept by the Nazis who would then use it to fill pillowcases and sell it on for weaving and suchlike. The opposite side of the hallway was just as hard to take, being filled with all the shoes left behind from victims. This exhibition also contained all the suitcases, gold teeth that weren't melted down, jewelry and all the possessions that once belonged to the inmates. It's hard to take.

Aside from that exhibition, the eeriest part of the tour was walking in to the gas chamber that's at one end of the camp. You see the big ovens that the poisonous substances were loaded in to, and the heads that the gas came out of. A sign at the door asks for respectful silence as you walk through. That makes it even eerier. Another part that was really creepy to walk through was the prison in the basement of one of the blocks. The cells were miserably tiny, wet and dark and when I was walking through there was no-one else around and not a sound to be heard. Safe to say I didn't stay down there for long.

I had to go to the bathroom while I was at the camp. There was a public toilet block at the end, near the gas chamber, so I used that. Even that was creepy though, and made me wonder what the building was used for before it was toilets. I hope it was erected afterwards for visitors. So I have been to the toilet at Auschwitz. A weird thing to be able to say.

Auschwitz is the German name for the camp, the Polish name for it being Oswiecim, which is also the name of the town the camp it in. I found it really strange that Auschwitz is right in the middle of the town. I kind of expected it to be on it's own, away from everything. But no, it's right in the middle of shops, houses, schools etc. I was quite shocked to see a school right next door, and to see housing buildings over the barbed-wire fences. I can't imagine how anyone could want to live near such a site. But I guess maybe it's a way to ensure it's never left and forgotten about.

Auschwitz is probably the most interesting place I've ever visited. Definitely worth a visit, and though it's tough, it's so utterly worthwhile. I think the message to be taken away is not one of blame to the Nazis, but of recognition and understanding.

(I didn't get a lot of photos at the camp because you're not allowed to take pictures in most of the exhibitions. Some tourists took them anyway as there's no one around to police it, but I felt it respectful to obey their wishes).

Also, I read this the other day which I found really interesting. An Auschwitz survivor forgives and hugs her captor. There is good in the world. Have a read:
 http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/76143495/auschwitz-survivor-tells-why-she-forgave-and-hugged-her-captor

xx