Auschwitz-Birkenau

Hey all -

We went to Auschwitz and Birkenau today. It was a crazy day. Getting there wasn't easy, but being there was way more difficult. It's hard to take. After today we're all pretty beat and we're heading to bed early...we leave Krakow tomorrow night at around 10 on an overnight train to Prague. If I don't get a chance to update you guys before we leave I'll let you know when we're safe in Prague if I can. See you all soon!

~ Mike

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Let me start off this post with a warning that not only will it often ramble because of how hard it is to describe what we saw in words, but much of this may be disturbing to a lot of people.  If you have any reservations about hearing about what Auschwitz was like, please skip this post.  It was hard for us to take when we were there, and just as hard now even as I write this.  Please use your own discretion.  Thank you.

We woke up around 6:50 to a very snowy Krakow to take the minibus to Oswiecim (Auschwitz in German).  We took the 8:30 bus with help about 18 people because the 8:20 bus had been cancelled.  After the 60km ride, we arrived in Auschwitz at around 9:45.  We were dropped off in what appeared to be the middle of no where, by ourselves, in silent snowfall - except for the crows, that is.  We walked to the museum and bought our tour tickets.  The museum was the old administrative offices and is actually outside Auschwitz itself.  For those of you who do not know, Auschwitz was not fully built by the Nazis, as it had been a base for the Polish military before the invasion.  We watched a brief movie on the camps at 10:00, and at 10:30 began the first half of our tour.  After meeting our guide, we set out into the snowy and silent camp, first walking up to the main gate that reads "Arbeit Macht Frei" which translates to "Work Will Free You".  We continued through the gate and past the two barbed-wire fences that make up

the death strip.  The death strip is the space between the two faces that an escaping prisoner would most likely be caught in if they made it past the first fence.  If one prisoner did escape, however, 10 prisoners were executed in his place to discourage people from attempting it (explained later).  

As we began walking through the camp clocks, we had an overwhelming feeling of anger, just knowing what had occurred there.  The first block we entered showed us maps and figures of how many people were brought to Auschwitz, from where, how, and what it was like getting there.  We saw registration papers that the prisoners would fill out, the chambers they lived in, the uniforms they wore, the work they did, and how people were killed immediately. 

The next block became more personal, as it had room filled with hair and shoes, all of which were taken from prisoners upon arrival.  Most prisoners believed that they were going someplace good, and had even 

marked their suitcases individually so they could make sure they would not lose any of their belongings.  In the room filled with hair there was 2 tons of it, all that of which was found at liberation.  In the room with shoes, there were over 40,000 pairs, also all found at liberation.  

The next block showed us how prisoners were registered for work, how they were tracked throughout the day, and how they were able to be relocated.  Most of the uniforms were washed every 6 months, a cycle that meant that many prisoners died before ever washing their uniforms once.  The block also showed the tattoos and pictures that were used to identify prisoners, which eventually turned into just tattoos, as the pictures became too expensive and time consuming.  Showers were unheard of, and most blocks built after the invasion didn't even

have them.  If a shower was granted, it was usually with either freezing cold or scalding hot 

water.  

From here, we continued on to block 11, known as "Death Block".  Block 11 is the only block still in the same condition it was in at the time of liberation.  This block lives up to its name, as no 

one who entered ever came out alive.  There were varying rooms for torture and punishment.  If a prisoner made a mistake, left to go to the bathroom, or did any number of other things, they could be placed in block 11.  There was a room that had no light, one that required four people to stand every night in a space the size of a phone booth, and numerous 

other punishment tactics.  If people were here, they were still required to work everyday, leaving many dead in days.  As previously stated, if one prisoner escaped 10 would be forced to die in his place.  They were all put in a room and left there until they died.  Block 11 was also where the SS first experimented with Zyklon B, the chemical used to kill mass amount of prisoners in the gas chambers.  They didn't use enough the first time, however, and the people suffered dying for two days.  

Outside, between blocks 10 and 11, was the "Death Wall".  The death wall was where entire families would often be executed for their mistakes.  For example, one survivor recalled a woman who made a mistake.  Her family was brought with her to the wall, and forced to face it.  The SS killed two of her children, and then her baby as she was holding it.  They then killed her husband, and left her there to weep until finally killing her as well.  Also between blocks 11 and 10 were hanging posts, upon which had a hook.  The SS would tie a prisoner's hands behind their back, and hook them onto the hook.  This forced their arms up, causing them to struggle to breathe and be in intense pain, eventually resulting in death.  Block 10 had all of the windows blacked out so that no one could see outside onto the death wall because that is where the children being used for

experiments were kept.  

From here we walked to the hospital, in which many prisoners who were sick would be experimented on and often times killed.  We then continued walking to where roll-call was done every morning and evening.  Many people died during roll everyday due to the brutal conditions, and the longest roll recorded at Auschwitz was 19 hours when someone went missing.  Once caught, the prisoner was brought back and hung in front of all of the other prisoners.  

From here we walked to the gas chambers, which were outside the gated walls of the camp.  The chamber was next to the hospital for the SS officers, and because of that, a truck was often running outside so the officers wouldn't hear the people screaming as they were killed.  Inside the chambers, people were jammed in naked until it was full.  The SS officers would go on the roof and dump Zyklon B in, killing 1,500 people at a time.  They would then wait 30 minutes after the screaming stopped to vent the chamber, and then send prisoners in to burn the bodies and dump the ashes in the river.  

We were given a small break to rest after Auschwitz, and then boarded a free shuttle bus to Birkenau, which was 3km away.  Birkenau is 25 times larger than Auschwitz, and had 3 train lines inside the walls so that people could be brought in faster.  The blocks were large enough to hold about 40 horses (comparison we were given) and usually held about 1,000 prisoners each.  There was no floor, and a fireplace in the middle that was rarely used.  On hot days people were forced inside the blocks so they would die, and on cold days they were forced to stand outside for the same reason.  

From here we continued to the bathrooms.  Each prisoner was only allowed to take a few seconds to go, otherwise they risked being killed.  There was room for hundreds of prisoners in each bathroom.  Cleaning the

bathroom, we were told, was the best job at the 

camps.  The SS were so afraid of infection and disease that they never went in there, so

prisoners working there had a much easier time.  There were no showers or running water in these bathrooms.

We walked up the tracks to see the selection house and process.  As people would get off the train, an officer would point them to the left or the right.  Left meant you were going to work, and right meant you were going straight to the gas chambers.  People were told that they were going to shower, and to bring their stuff with them.  Because it was a long walk, they were told that an ambulance would follow the group in case anyone got hurt - the ambulance was carrying the Zyklon B that 

would kill them.  Once they got to the chambers, they were given a bar of soap every 5 people, and were told to change in the changing room and go in.  They were even given tickets marking where they left their belongings so they could get it when they got out.  

We then continued walking up the tracks to the former gas chambers which were blown up by the SS 7 days before liberation.  After they were blown up, the SS walked all of the prisoners able to move on a 3-day long walk to Germany.  Shortly before this happened, prisoners got wind that liberation was coming.  450 of them tried to escape, but all of them were caught in a field.  The SS put all of them in a barn and burned them alive as punishment. 

 

Next, we saw the memorial marking the largest gas chamber.  On it they have a plaque in every language of people that were killed there, as well as English (no one killed spoke English as their native language).  The plaque read "Forever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity, where the Nazis murdered about

one and a half million men, women, and children, mainly Jews, from varying countries of Europe.  Auschwitz-Birkenau, 1940-1945".  All of the other chambers were kept as they were after being destroyed as a sign of respect and remembrance for those killed there.  Next to it there was a memorial where ashes had been found of many people that had been killed.  

We began making our way back down the tacks to the front of the camp, and it hit us how large Birkenau really is.  125 acres takes about 20 minutes to walk across, and it seems like you never get closer to your destination.  We got back to the front and climbed the old guard tower to see the overall size of the camp.  Of the 8,000 SS employed, only 800 were ever convicted of their crimes.  A few years ago they held a 

60-year liberation reunion, and over 3,000 survivors from Auschwitz-Birkenau were in attendance.  

We took the shuttle back to Auschwitz and then the 3:05 bus back to Krakow.  Once we arrived in Krakow at 5, we forced ourselves to eat dinner, despite our loss of appetite.  We walked around

 for a bit, but were too tired from the day to accomplish anything, so we went back to our room and slept.  This was by far one of the most emotional days of our lives.

See more of my photos from Auschwitz-Birkenau here.