Embedded Files
Left: An aerial photograph of Auschwitz; Below: Entrance ticket
TRAVEL TIP: Book a private tour well ahead of your trip. We used a company recommended by Rick Steves in his Poland guidebook and were not disappointed. Unlike others we saw at the concentration camps, our group was small and we were able to ask as many questions as we wanted.
Auschwitz
Auschwitz
We stayed an extra day beyond the Rick Steves tour to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau. We have both cried our way through the Holocaust museums in both DC and Jerusalem and think people should visit a concentration camp so we do not forget this important part of history. Previously, Kristen had the honor of speaking to soldiers who liberated concentration camps. Their experiences and stories were running through her mind as we prepared for this day. We both found the camps haunting with their vast emptiness. You can almost hear the history and people who passed through this place in between the sounds of the high winds.
Some surprising facts we did not know before visiting:
Only those who went through Auschwitz were tattooed and only after the first few years (they were photographed for identification) during which most of those in this camp were political dissidents (read: a good portion were part of the underground resistance). No other concentration camps tattooed identification numbers.
90% of the Polish Jewish population was killed in the concentration camps
The "liberating" Russians kept these open for several years after Germany surrendered for political dissidents who experienced the same work and living conditions, mostly using them as hunger camps where Poles were worked and starved to death.
Half of those who died in concentration camps while Germany was in power were not Jewish. This includes the underground resistance, priests, Roma, people from mental health institutions, those with medical deformities and genetic disorders, homosexuals, etc.
People are given a mere 130 calories a day unless in isolation.
4-5 people per bunk including on the ground
Germany forces increased the killings knowing they were about to lose the war. They used explosives on the ovens to hide evidence of their wrongdoing. These ovens would kill hundreds at a time in under 30 minutes.
The commandant's wife did not want to move away from the concentration camp when given the chance even though she was fully aware what was going on.
A number of the locals made attempts to provide food for those incarcerated, though if caught they would be immediately shot.
Birkenau dwarfs Auschwitz, which was an expansion after Hitler increased his attempts at full genocide. It's so big it's hard to capture in images. Every 2 standing chimneys are the remains of a single bunk house that would hold several hundred people.
If you were between 18 and 45, you likely would make it through the first screening when you entered the camp. If not, you were sent immediately to the gas chambers or ovens.
You can learn more about this location at their official website.
The entry into the concentration camp has buildings that look like any other you would find in this part of the country (upper left) and appear deceptively mundane if it were not for the fencing. The gates (upper right) were constructed by those imprisoned here and the original version had the B installed backward as a way of thumbing their noses at the Germans. While the the words above the entry gate translate to "work can set you free," we all know it did anything but.
Left: A map of the Jewish ghettos that were emptied into Auschwitz-Birkenau from around Europe; Above: The Nazis were not coy about their intentions
Anyone seen as "defective" was automatically condemned to immediate death. These are some of their prosthetics. It is hard not to think of how they were part of a community much like many of the people in our communities or even family members who used prosthetics.
Canisters of the chemical used in the gas chambers
Glasses from those who entered the camp
Some of the many suitcases and baskets used to transport their items to the concentration camps.
The length of this room could not be captured. The wall of shoes is the one thing Kristen remembers so vividly from the Holocaust Museum in D.C. It is no less profoundly sad and moving in Poland.
What most people do not realize is that prisoner number tattoos only occurred at Auschwitz. Anyone who received one was move through this location to others or was incarcerated here. The practice was started as the German soldiers (all volunteers for the concentration camps) could not keep up with the volume of photographs once Hitler started emptying the Jewish ghettos into the concentration camps.
Above: Initially, those incarcerated in concentration camps had identification pictures taken. These are just a few of those. Prisoners were initially political prisoners, a good portion from the Polish Resistance Army and other political dissidents; Right: Diane learning about some of those who died here
Left: Some of the clothing allotted to those imprisoned in Auschwitz. Keep in mind that the winters are bitterly cold.
Every one of these images shows the varying responses to their circumstances through their facial expressions and the look in their eyes. The men above were either Jewish or political dissidents who died in Auschwitz.
The patch/badge designations for the inmate uniforms. Only German inmates did not have the first letter of their last name not written on top of that patch.
We then moved to the "administrative" buildings were people were experimented on or were simply killed without any remorse at the Death Wall.
Administrative buildings including research laboratories and medical facilities where women were forced to have hysterectomies.
Left: The entrance to the Death Wall; Above: The Death Wall
Upper Left: One of the "habitable" areas for those in the concentration camp, these were the sleeping quarters for those who worked in the officer areas; Lower Left: The men's washroom where they unclothed before execution ; Above: The women's washroom where they were forced to remove their clothes before being escorted to the death wall.
There are a number of areas where photography is not allowed out of respect to the people who died there. The basement of the above building's pictures is one of them. This is the location where the first mass killings using Cyclone B took place in September 1941. 600 Soviet prisoners of war and 250 sick Polish prisoners were selected from the camp hospital and died in what was the first of many mass killings at Auschwitz.
Upper Right: These guard towers were heated for the comfort of the German soldiers during the winter. Until coming here, we had not realized that all concentration camp duty stations for German soldiers were ones that they gladly volunteered and wanted to take. There were no soldiers forced into this; Lower Right: Between the perimeter fences. To the right is the warden's house, right by the crematoriums (more on this in the following images).
Diagram of the crematoriums at Auschwitz.
Those condemned to death entered the crematorium by way of the door shown on the bottom left. It was the last daylight they would see and the door looks so unsuspecting. Nobody would guess the horrors underneath unless told ahead of time. Upon entering the gas chamber (below right), the group could sense that many had died here without our guide saying a word. This was one of the gas chambers. The doorway to the right of Diane in the image is where the crematorium is located.
The warden who oversaw the camp for a number of years was transferred to another location. His wife refused to leave saying that she was in paradise. She knew exactly what was going on in the building to my back (the crematorium) and did not want to leave the location.
Just on the other side of the fence (see a few pictures back before the crematorium) is this tower. It is adjacent to the warden's quarters.
Birkenau
Birkenau
With Germany turning its focus on genocide of the Jewish people, they created a second camp: Birkenau. This is where people would enter on railcars and be sent to the left into the camp or to the right into the ovens and gas chambers. If not between the ages of 18 and 45, it was unlikely you would be sent to the camps; the simple point of the finger one direction or the other was either an immediate death sentence or a delayed one for most who entered this concentration camp. When they realized they lost the war, the German soldiers bombed the ovens in an attempt to destroy evidence. These ovens were efficient killing mechanisms at 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. Approximately 2,000 people would die in them in 20 minutes.
You can see in the aerial photograph below (taken by the Allies in 1944) how much Auschwitz was expanded form the original camp (A in the image) to include Birkenau (B), Monowitz (C), and the Buna-Werke synthetic rubber and petrol factory (D) built during the war by the German firm IG Farbenindustrie. The labor force included slave laborers from Auschwitz.
The entrance to Birkenau. This concentration camp was a monumental expansion of Auschwitz in response to Hitler's order to clear out of the Jewish ghettos and move them into the camps. The camp spans further than the eye can see and its vast empty space while knowing how many people were present leave a haunting, hollow feel only amplified by the steady, cool winds.
The tracks led right up to the sorting area, one of many ways in which the Nazis distorted German efficiency to commit atrocities. This concentration camp was broken into three areas: BI (women's barracks), BII (men's barracks), and BIII (those that were hired out for local business labor). To the left is the women's barracks. To the right, BII and BIII.
The sorting building is feet away from the tracks. As people disembarked from the cattle cars, they were put into lines. Those that were sent to the left immediately went into the camps (generally, people between 16-40 years-old). Everyone else was sent to the right with the swipe of an arm; this group was sent directly to the crematoriums.
Entrance into the camp. This was often the last time they saw the world from outside of these fences.
Those who went to the left went into the camps straight from the trains that pass by the entry. Those who went to the right were directed straight to the gas chambers and ovens.
After sorting the people who were transported on the trains into the concentration camps
The barbed wire is still wrapped around these posts you see with white knobs to secure the ends.
As time went on and they expanded into Birkenau, the Nazis became very efficient at killing. These crematoriums held 1,200 people and they would be reduced to ashes within 20 minutes. When the Allied troops were approaching, the German soldiers were ordered to destroy as much evidence as they could, including the crematoriums. This is the one that is still standing above ground to any extent. The others are mere piles of rubble in holes.
Barracks/Bunk Houses
Barracks/Bunk Houses
Next onto the brick barracks for those incarcerated here. The bricks were made and the building constructed by those held here against their will. They survived on 300 calories a day, often starving to death in the midst of great caloric need for all of the work. The brick-style bunk houses were a short-lived style as the need to house the massive influx of Jews required faster construction and a movement to brick for two chimneys per barracks and wood for the rest.
Above: Those that were stronger or had been in the camp longer slept on the upper and middle bunks instead on the brick floor at the bottom that would leech the warmth out of their bodies at night. They slept six to each level (the upper level is above this image); Below: The vast sea of people housed here any time is mindboggling. You can see the depth of the length, but what is not seen is the other half of the bunkhouse; a mirror image to what you see here.
Right: You can see the graffiti of those who were housed in this building along with those who decided to add to it over the years. Below: Looking out to BII and BIII, you can see the ravages of the weather and time have decimated the wood barrack structures. Most of the chimneys standing hauntingly show just how many buildings were present, how many people suffered under the terror of the Nazis. A vast majority in this camp were Jewish, but some were not. Regardless, they did not deserve the evil unleashed on them.
Above: The washroom for the entire bunkhouse; Below: The two stoves to heat the entire bunkhouse. To say that it is small and would not put off much heat is an understatement.
Last Look at Kraków
Last Look at Kraków
We went on to walk around on our last night. It is a charming city that was spared the worst of the bombs and became the epicenter of Poland's higher education after the destruction of Warsaw and Gdańsk. There is a lovely old Europe feel mixed with a university town. We decided to have a taste of home in the form of cheeseburgers for dinner, saw a few street musicians, stumbled across a market night, and Kristen turned in early given her 0600 flight the next day.
Kristen's paternal great-grandmother was named Mieczysława and we were thrilled to see this street name. When she transferred from the Polish school system to an English speaking one at the age of 16, she legally changed her first name without her immigrant parents' knowledge to one that she felt was more American. We still have a sentimental place in our hearts for her deep Polish roots.
We loved walking through the market and seeing the creativity of the artisans displayed whether textiles, pottery, artwork, culinary goods, or jewelry.
Main Market Square
Main Market Square
Kristen suspects that Kraków's Main Market Square will overshadow most others in her future travels. It is a lovely location that is not only enormous in in scale, but has a charm unique to its own. From the entrance to the square giving you a teasing peak into what is in store to St. Mary's Basilica where a live trumpet is played from one of its towers on the hour (a good reason to book a hotel away from this area if you are a light sleeper) to the mountain in the middle to the feeling of contentment amongst those present.
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