day 2- Aushwitz

It was an hour and a half-ish ride to Aushwitz-Birkneau.

We got there at 1230, just in time for the tour at 1. First we say a movie with very graphic imagery. Then the tour started. It was very intense. It lasted about 4 hours with breaks!

This is the entrance to the camp. The words read, "Work sets you free." Note the first B was welded backwards by the prisoners.

A Halt sign.

The original ground where the prisoners walked on.

The buildings had some of the most horrifying exhibits in them. We were not allowed to take pictures in the buildings. Many people did but I wanted to respect the rules. One example is a whole room filled with 50,000+ heads of human hair! The Nazis used it to make rugs and such. There were also rooms with eyeglasses, shoes, and luggages- they believed they were being moved to a new settlement, not a concentration camp.


A memorial.

A guard tower where a Nazi would stand during the long roll calls during inclement weather.

Electrocuted barbed wire.

Gas chamber #1 where the Nazis led prisoners in, made them strip, and told them they would be taking showers. Instead in the dropped Zyklon B and murdered hundreds of thousands of innocents this way. They couldn't burn the bodies fast enough.

Looking into Birkneau. It is just a few miles away from Aushwitz, and is a much bigger campus.



Train tracks leading into Birkneau.

Rows and rows of barracks.

This is the spot where Nazi doctors would play God. If they deemed you healthy enough, they pointed to the right, and you would survive. If he pointed to the left, it was off to the gas chambers, immediate death, and there would probably be even no further existence of yourself.

A memorial. This is where the tour guide told us about the 'beast in the heart of all of us', and how we should remember all the tragedies that happen in the world, not just Aushwitz. Fortunately we cannot process this suffering or our hearts would cry all the time.

When the Russians were coming, the Nazis blew up the gas chambers. It is very difficult to keep ruins as they are.

More ruins.

Another memorial.

Ruins of gas chambers. Gas Chamber #1 is the only surviving one.

This is where the prisoners lived. About 6 to a bunk.

This experience was the most heart-wrenching experience I have ever had in my life. I will never forget it.

I go to Prague soon. So much traveling, I am behind in posts. But I will catch up one day.