”Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

– George Santayana –

I don’t know how to start to tell you about Day 3. The word, which describes it the most would be ”upsetting”. Our main purpose of this roadtrip was to visit the site of Auschwitz-Birkenau also known as the Nazi death camp during the second world war. This camp has become a symbol of the Holocaust, the violation of basic human rights. This is the worst possible scenario what racism and intolerance can lead to. We should never forget our past and let the history to repeat itself. Visit to Auschwits-Birkenau should be compulsory for every human being in this planet.

Maybe the best way to visit the site of Auschwitz-Birkenau would be a day tour from Krakow. We had booked the ticket online beforehand, which was a good thing, because there was a long line in front of the ticket sale. It takes approx. 1 hour by car from Krakow to Oswiecim where the concentration camp is situated. There are two different sites; the Main camp (Auschwitz I) and Birkenau (Auschwitz II). The main camp is the oldest part of Auschwitz. It consists of several buildings ”blocks” where the prisoners were held. We had a guided tour and it was so shocking to hear how the prisoners were treated. No words can describe the misery and despair of the prisoners, just ordinary people, men and women from different nationalities and cultures. Most of them died as a result of starvation, torture, disease, medical experiments and collective executions. It was a systematic destruction of human beings.

The second part of the concentration camp is Birkenau, also known as Auschwitz II, which is situated in the village of Brzezinka, three kilometers from the main camp. It was the largest concentration camp and the place where the most people died, the place where the mass extermination of the Jews was executed. Approximately one million of Jews were murdered in Birkenau. There were four buildings containing gas chambers and furnaces for burning the corpses of the victims. You can see from the pictures below that the Nazis built the railroad to improve the efficiency of the mass extermination, the victims were unloaded from the freight wagons to the platform where the selection was made. SS physicians made the selections and maybe the best known physician was Doctor Josef Mengele , known as the angel of death, who conducted also deadly human experiments on prisoners. They picked out those who were capable of labor and useful for the moment. The sick, the elderly, pregnant women, children and other regarded as ”useless” were led to the gas chamber and killed.

”After the selection process on the railway platform those who were to be murdered in the gas chambers were assured that they were going to take a shower. Fake showerheads were fixed to the ceiling of the gas chambers. Beaten and intimidated by SS dogs, 2000 victims were crammed into the chamber, an area of approximately 210 square meters. The chamber door was locked and zyclon B was poured in. The bodies were stripped of gold teeth and jewellery, their hair was cut off, then bodies were burnt in the crematorium. Victims’ personal documents were destroyed.”

There are some pictures of the belongings of the victims. It was devastating to see the tons of shoes which once belonged to someone, the clothes of children, tons of hair and other personal belongings. No words can describe the cruelty and evil what have been the destiny of these people.

We coudn’t leave the site of Auschwitz – Birkenau without any tears. It was a very emotional and shocking visit at the same time. May all the victims of Auschwitz – Birkenau rest in peace. We should all try to make the effort to build this world to be better place where people can live in peace, respecting and accepting others.

This place is really worth of seeing and visiting.