This is an excerpt from my travel journal that I take with me on the road. I wrote it just after leaving Auschwitz-Birkenau, the emotions still fresh in my mind. Trigger warning: graphic info about concentration camps.
Today I visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. No words… I was either choking back tears or actually crying the entire time. I bought a ticket that included a tour guide who explained everything in great detail. Some of the really big things that stuck out to me were:
More than 1 million people were killed here alone. Imagine all of those individual souls who each had families, friends, dreams, and aspirations that died because of which God they believe in or what nationality they are. 1 million just in Auschwitz, one concentration camp of dozens.
One of the many faces framed on the wall. He lasted 3 weeks at Auschwitz
For every prisoner who attempted to/successfully escaped, Nazis would select other prisoners to starve to death to teach them “collective responsibility.” There was a story of a man (a father, husband) who was chosen to be starved after someone tried to escape, and a man named Maximilian volunteered to take his place instead since he had no family. Wow.The other guy survived through the liberation of the camp and ended up living until his 90’s, all because of the extremely selfless sacrifice of Maximilian.
The prisoners, when they were first being deported to the camps, were told that they were just being relocated “East,” and to pack belongings. They actually had to pay for their ticket to the death camps. Once they got there, a Nazi “medical examiner” once-overed them, and either pointed them left or right, live or die, depending on how able they looked to work at the camps.
Everyone there was completely stripped – the dead and the living – hair was shaved to be sent to Germany to make socks and such (from human hair). Their gold teeth were painfully extracted, their shoes were taken, clothes, hair brushes, cooking utensils – everything, so Nazis could sell or use it for their own benefit.
The Nazis deceived them until the very second they died – those who were sent to the gas chambers were told they were just taking showers, so they had to get undressed and “remember where they left their clothes” like they’d ever see them again. In the gas chambers, Nazis even installed fake shower heads to deceive them further. Then up to 2,000 people could be gassed and killed in under 20 minutes, and then the Nazis sent them to the crematorium to burn. Unbelievable.
Apparently the 3 meals each day that prisoners were given were equivalent to the calories of one Snickers bar. They had to work for 12 hours everyday on that. Most people only lasted 2-4 months in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
…It was just completely unthinkable to get a glimpse of the evil that happened in this place. To see where the prisoners walked, to see their sleeping arrangements, to see photos of their faces. It is unreal how evil humanity can be stretched to become. Today was a totally unforgettable experience. I want to reflect on my immense privilege that I have to not have ever been affected by genocide, war in my home country, persecution for my beliefs, etc. thus far in my lifetime. Why them and not me? Why did I win the genetic lottery to be born into my comfy, privileged life?
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Practical info: I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau as a day trip from Krakow and it was very easy. Go to the MDA bus station (which is located right next to/outside the train station) and there are several buses leaving periodically throughout the day, costing between 10-12 PLN, or around $2.50 USD each way. The bus takes around 1.5-2 hours and drops you off directly outside the entrance to the camp, where you can buy your tickets and arrange a guide. To return to Krakow once you’re done with the visit, simply return to the entrance where you can wait for the next bus back to Krakow and buy your ticket directly from the bus driver.
If you take away any bit of advice from this post, let it be this: pay for the tour guide. They are available in tons of different languages, and it costs around $30 for a 4 hour tour. You can conceivably walk around the complex by yourself without a guide, but you simply would not have as profound of an experience. The guides explain details small and large that you would have missed out on without, and its these small details that will likely stay with you forever – like the sacrifice of Maximilian, which I won’t forget any time soon.
There are actually two separate complexes, Auschwitz I (the original camp) and Auschwitz II-Birkenau (a combination labor-extermination camp which was constructed later on). They are located a couple kilometers apart, so a bus will have to transport you to/from each camp. If you bought the guided tour, this is included in your ticket and is completely organized for you.
There is a small cafe near the entrance where you can get easy food like pizza and sandwiches + water and other drinks. I would suggest to eat a big meal before you arrive, though. Also, you aren’t allowed to bring in any bags larger than a very small purse, so you will have to pay a couple dollars to store them in lockers at the entrance of the camp if you do bring anything with you.
All in all, my visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau was profoundly emotional and eye-opening. I had spoken with others in my hostel back in Krakow who said they weren’t visiting because they couldn’t bare it. It’s definitely a very difficult day, fun by no means, but I’m glad I went. Be prepared to shed some tears and have your mind consistently blown by the pure evil that humanity can become.
