A touching and somber Auschwitz

One of the must-see items on my list was a tour of Auschwitz. The camp’s grounds are remarkably well preserved, although a few sections were rebuilt after being destroyed in the Nazis’ retreat.

The museum requires tour guides for visitors, and keeps tours on a very hurried timescale. While our guide was excellent and knowledgeable, I think the hurried pace limited the emotional effect of the museum, as there was barely time to consider an exhibit or evidence of tragedy before we were ushered into the next room for yet more descriptions and evidence of tragedies. But the pace was necessary as there were tons and tons of people waiting to see the museum. Although we were hurried as a result, it was good to see the large number of tourists from all over the world, in addition to a number of school groups, all going through the multiple camp complexes and learning about the atrocious history.

I found that the information provided by the guide, while helpful and interesting, to be the least important aspect of the tour; the facts obviously haven’t changed and I was fairly familiar with what had occurred. The most touching and emotional aspect for me was that very little of the grounds, or the views from the grounds, had changed, and markers clearly labeled the spots where certain events occurred. It was eerie to be standing on the same floor where the prisoners had lived, to look out the window at the same view over the horizon that they would have seen, and to stand in the exact same spot where prisoners were executed, called to attention, and “sorted.” Chilling. I was also surprised by how gut-wrenching and legitimately scary it was to see, in person, the infamous entry to Auschwitz II, Birkenau. I’ve seen that archway and tracks in a picture a million times; seeing the distinctive shape in real life and standing on the actual tracks and railroad ties that carried the trains in was frightening, even 60-70 years removed.

Fences and kitchen

The infamous “work sets you free” sign.

Entrance to Birkenau