Day 4

Seeing Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkenau was not something I could prepare myself to see.  To know that I stood on the ground where hundreds of thousands of innocent people died in some of the most inhuman ways imaginable is haunting.  Worse is knowing how few of the SS guards and Nazi doctors faced judgement for what they did.  I knew Mengele escaped and lived a long life afterward, and I am quite frankly, glad to know that he had a stroke and drowned, because his last moments were probably filled with fear and anxiety, just as many of his victims had been.  However, to know that only ten percent of the guilty were brought to trial angers me.

I’ve heard it said that the sign at the entrance to Auschwitz I, “Arbeit Macht Frei,” or “Work Sets You Free,” was cast by Jewish prisoners under SS orders, and the B in ‘Arbeit’ was deliberately put upside down as a subtle way of defiance.  I was a little disappointed our guide did not point that out, but she did give quite a bit of information elsewhere in the camp, like the stripped flag outside the death wall.  I liked how she explained the significance of the Jewish rememberance bunker before we went inside, so that we could appreciate the Jewish music and sounds of every day family life better, though I definitely wish she did the the same before we went into the crematorium, particularly since the sign at the entrance requests silence and respect.

The two places that hit me hardest were the rooms with the hair, and the rooms with the shoes.  I’ve been to the United States Holocaust Museum before, and have seen their collection of shoes (donated from Auschwitz, as I recall,) but the amount of shows in D.C. as compared to here is staggering.  And to see the hair, actual human remains really hit hard.  While most of the hair was brown, I did see several blonde hairs, which puts yet another hole in Hitler’s Master Race = blonde hair, blue eyes criteria.  Of course, the man himself did not have blonde hair, and was clearly insane throughout most of his life.  Sadly, people believed the things he said to the point where places like Auschwitz still stand.

I’ve known that Hoess was tried and executed for his crimes, but I do not recall anything I’ve read before saying just how close his execution site was to Auschwitz.  He was hung next to the crematorium, and on the other side was his house.  That is the best example of poetic justice I have ever seen.

I was unprepared for just how big Birkenau was.  I knew it was set on a field, but I did not think of how big the field was, and how much stood there.  More than once as we walked through I struggled to understand why sites like this could exist and yet people would deny the Holocaust, and say things like the 1.3 million deaths were an exaggeration, there were never gas chambers, etc.  If that were so, why then would the Nazis destroy them?

Seeing the large book with the names of all the Jewish prisoners who died, as well as the pictures of the shaved prisoners also had an impact.  So many lives were lost and cruelty taken, and for what?

While I saw some people being a bit disrespectful at the camp today, I admit that I am relieved that the shops sell only books and documentaries.  While Krakow heavily advertises Auschwitz as a tourist spot, the camp itself is done respectfully, as it should be.