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Zane
My day trip to the town of Oswiecem was a shock to the system. This was where the Germans built their genocidal killing factories - Auschwitz (later referred to as Auschwitz I), Birkenau (Auschwitz II) and Monowitz (Auschwitz III). I was expecting to be shocked...
Towering metal gates displaying the hopeful words "Albeit Macht Frei" (Work Makes Freedom) welcomed me to Auschwitz I and sadly not in the same way they did between 1940 to 1945. The buildings are now listed as world heritage and used for museum - a permanent reminder of what atrocities human beings are capable of. Each building displayed something to show the magnitude of people that had lost their lives there. One room displayed two huge walls of shoes, another hair brushes and a third bags that Jews, fooled by the Nazis in to thinking they were moving to a new home, had used to pack their limited possessions. Believe it or not, I was speechless at the sight. Block 11 was probably the most disturbing building. A jail within a jail it was used for torture, human experiments (mainly on identical twins) and murder of prisoners.
Birkenau was developed later by the Nazis as the Final Solution to the Jewish Question... that is, to eradicate all Jews in europe (and the world?). It's hard to imagine how this could happen, both on a humanely and practically. After my walk around the enormous grounds of Birkenau I still couldn't fathom the humanity but the size of the gas chamber facilities and their clockwork precision clearly unveiled how seriously motivated the Germans were to completing their goal. Seeing the sheds, that looked like animal stables, used to house prisoners in cramped and filthy conditions was chilling and walking through a building where thousands of new born children were lethally injected on arrival to the camp because they served no purpose was sickening! It's hard to explain how it felt to walk around the concentration camp in the knowledge that so many had lost their lives there. I was both sad and angry at the same time. The only reassuring thought was that many people were liberated by the Russian Red Army at the end of the war and that "hopefully" we may learn something from this tragic part of history.
I was glad to walk down the tracks in the grounds of Birkenhau and out the front gates to the street. I felt lucky I had the choice to visit (and leave) this place.
Tomorrow I head to Prague which I've been told is a fun and beautiful city that I'm confident will raise my spirits.
Zane
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