NOTE: THIS BLOG AND THE NEXT ARE IN SEQUENCE. SO JUST KEEP READING ONCE YOU FINISH THIS ONE!!!
This weekend we got the chance to visit Krakow Poland. About 65 km to the west is Auschwitz. For any who don't know Auschwitz is the concentration camp in which over 1,000,000 Jews were killed by the Nazi regime during WWII. There are 3 Auschwitz sites and approx. 45 satellites locations. Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II- Birkenau are open for people to tour. Auschwitz I has been turned into a museum and monument to all those murdered at all the locations during the Nazi occupation from 1940-1945.
Disclaimer: This is actually a really hard blog to write. It was an incredibly disheartening place to visit. While taking pictures neither Brent nor I felt like smiling was the "right" choice so some pictures may look funny. I am also going to try and recount some of the things we learned while at the museum.
History: Auschwitz I was the first camp used by the Nazi's. Auschwitz is actually the German translation for the town that the camp is located in Osciecim, Poland. This camp was original military barracks used by the Polish government but quickly became a camp for housing political prisoners working against the Nazi party, and expanded to an extermination camp soon after that.
Our trip began with a movie about the liberation. It was shocking because none of the allied forces truly understood what was going on in these extermination camps until they were actually looking at it. The movie was the only part of the visit that cost anything, and it was totally worth it. It described how doctors (after the liberation) tried to save people who were starving, lost limbs because they were forced to stand in snow for days at a time, and had medical experiments preformed on them.
This is the very famous sign that hangs over the Auschwitz I entrance. It translates to mean "Work is Liberating".
As we walked through the camp, the majority of the 30 barracks were turned into galleries displaying various segments of the use and lifestyle at Auschwitz. One of the things that was re-emphasized over and over again was how the Nazi's were not wasteful. Before and after the killing process, the Nazi's would take from the prisoners anything that was valuable. Through out the museum's there were various rooms filled to the brim with different items, which were found when the red forces liberated the camp in 1945. These things were:
Used Glasses
Used pots, pans, and dishes
Luggage (from those people who had been told they would simply be relocated). Other things (that we didn't get pictures of were hair(cut off the men and woman's heads), shoes, clothes, teeth and basically anything that could be sold or refurbished and used again.
One of the Barracks displayed what it was like to live in the camp, if you weren't murdered right off the train. These beds were slept 4-6 individuals every night. The people were fed from 1400-1700 calories a day and then forced to work 11-12 hour shifts everyday. They would dig ditches, build more barracks, work in factories. Many of those who made it through the sorting ended up starving, freezing or dying of exhaustion. At the end of the day prisoners had to carry back anyone who had died during the work day.
In the early days of the camp anybody who was found trying to escape or have communication with the outside world were punished at this wall. Typically, they were shot, hung or simply left until they died. Another punishment given to those who acted out was standing in a 1x1 meter room with three other people at night. During the day you would work 11-12 hours and then not be able to sleep or sit the entire night. Over 2000 people died at this wall (This is a reconstruction)
This is a tower that was used by the Nazi generals during roll call. During roll call, all prisoners had to stand at attention until everyone was accounted for. If the numbers didn't sound correct, the prisoners remained standing. Sometimes this meant 12 hours of standing regardless of the weather. This tower was used so the general did not have to be cold during the process.
Many people understand that the Nazi's used gas chambers to mass murder. This is the room in which it was developed. This is where the first people died using Zyklone B.
After the first Zyklone B gassing, these are the ovens the bodies were destroyed in.
Experimentation was a big part of Auschwitz. Many prisoners, especially twins, were used in experiments. For instance Dr. Josef Mengele would induce a sickness (such as gangrene) in one twin and then kill the other when the first died, so he could do autopsies on both. There were many sterilization performed on men and women, most of which led to death. After the liberation many women were found to have lost over half their body weight some weighing as little as 25 kg.
We think this sign is original, and it just shows that the barbed wire surrounding the complex was also electrified.
Just on the other side of this fence is where corpses were hung as a warning to all those inside. The corpses could be of those trying to escape or of family members of those who did escape. Either way they were used to incite fear and obedience into the prisoners of Auschwitz.
Overall, this was an incredibly horrific experience, and I just walked through the museum. One thing that really came across throughout the entire visit is how organized, efficient and precise the Nazi's were. They wasted nothing and worked perfectly to accomplish their purpose. It is hard for me to fathom, however, how they got to the point in which mass murder was their final solution. I have studied the superstructure of the holocaust quite a bit, but even now losing your humanity and morality to that degree astounds me. During the whole visit I felt extremely sick to my stomach and overwhelmed.
I can not even communicate how terrible and real the atrocities committed here were. The museum did a wonderful job of giving a full account of how things worked and making it a very real experience. Once we finished at Auschwitz I were ready to go over to Auschwitz- Birkenau, IT IS THE NEXT BLOG SO JUST KEEP READING!
This weekend we got the chance to visit Krakow Poland. About 65 km to the west is Auschwitz. For any who don't know Auschwitz is the concentration camp in which over 1,000,000 Jews were killed by the Nazi regime during WWII. There are 3 Auschwitz sites and approx. 45 satellites locations. Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II- Birkenau are open for people to tour. Auschwitz I has been turned into a museum and monument to all those murdered at all the locations during the Nazi occupation from 1940-1945.
Disclaimer: This is actually a really hard blog to write. It was an incredibly disheartening place to visit. While taking pictures neither Brent nor I felt like smiling was the "right" choice so some pictures may look funny. I am also going to try and recount some of the things we learned while at the museum.
History: Auschwitz I was the first camp used by the Nazi's. Auschwitz is actually the German translation for the town that the camp is located in Osciecim, Poland. This camp was original military barracks used by the Polish government but quickly became a camp for housing political prisoners working against the Nazi party, and expanded to an extermination camp soon after that.
Our trip began with a movie about the liberation. It was shocking because none of the allied forces truly understood what was going on in these extermination camps until they were actually looking at it. The movie was the only part of the visit that cost anything, and it was totally worth it. It described how doctors (after the liberation) tried to save people who were starving, lost limbs because they were forced to stand in snow for days at a time, and had medical experiments preformed on them.
This is the very famous sign that hangs over the Auschwitz I entrance. It translates to mean "Work is Liberating".
As we walked through the camp, the majority of the 30 barracks were turned into galleries displaying various segments of the use and lifestyle at Auschwitz. One of the things that was re-emphasized over and over again was how the Nazi's were not wasteful. Before and after the killing process, the Nazi's would take from the prisoners anything that was valuable. Through out the museum's there were various rooms filled to the brim with different items, which were found when the red forces liberated the camp in 1945. These things were:Used Glasses
Used pots, pans, and dishes
Luggage (from those people who had been told they would simply be relocated). Other things (that we didn't get pictures of were hair(cut off the men and woman's heads), shoes, clothes, teeth and basically anything that could be sold or refurbished and used again.
One of the Barracks displayed what it was like to live in the camp, if you weren't murdered right off the train. These beds were slept 4-6 individuals every night. The people were fed from 1400-1700 calories a day and then forced to work 11-12 hour shifts everyday. They would dig ditches, build more barracks, work in factories. Many of those who made it through the sorting ended up starving, freezing or dying of exhaustion. At the end of the day prisoners had to carry back anyone who had died during the work day.
In the early days of the camp anybody who was found trying to escape or have communication with the outside world were punished at this wall. Typically, they were shot, hung or simply left until they died. Another punishment given to those who acted out was standing in a 1x1 meter room with three other people at night. During the day you would work 11-12 hours and then not be able to sleep or sit the entire night. Over 2000 people died at this wall (This is a reconstruction)
This is a tower that was used by the Nazi generals during roll call. During roll call, all prisoners had to stand at attention until everyone was accounted for. If the numbers didn't sound correct, the prisoners remained standing. Sometimes this meant 12 hours of standing regardless of the weather. This tower was used so the general did not have to be cold during the process.
Many people understand that the Nazi's used gas chambers to mass murder. This is the room in which it was developed. This is where the first people died using Zyklone B.
After the first Zyklone B gassing, these are the ovens the bodies were destroyed in.
Experimentation was a big part of Auschwitz. Many prisoners, especially twins, were used in experiments. For instance Dr. Josef Mengele would induce a sickness (such as gangrene) in one twin and then kill the other when the first died, so he could do autopsies on both. There were many sterilization performed on men and women, most of which led to death. After the liberation many women were found to have lost over half their body weight some weighing as little as 25 kg.We think this sign is original, and it just shows that the barbed wire surrounding the complex was also electrified.
Just on the other side of this fence is where corpses were hung as a warning to all those inside. The corpses could be of those trying to escape or of family members of those who did escape. Either way they were used to incite fear and obedience into the prisoners of Auschwitz.
Overall, this was an incredibly horrific experience, and I just walked through the museum. One thing that really came across throughout the entire visit is how organized, efficient and precise the Nazi's were. They wasted nothing and worked perfectly to accomplish their purpose. It is hard for me to fathom, however, how they got to the point in which mass murder was their final solution. I have studied the superstructure of the holocaust quite a bit, but even now losing your humanity and morality to that degree astounds me. During the whole visit I felt extremely sick to my stomach and overwhelmed.
I can not even communicate how terrible and real the atrocities committed here were. The museum did a wonderful job of giving a full account of how things worked and making it a very real experience. Once we finished at Auschwitz I were ready to go over to Auschwitz- Birkenau, IT IS THE NEXT BLOG SO JUST KEEP READING!
2 comments:
I went to the Anne Frank museum in D.C. and yeah, when you walk around and come out everything is so quiet, I understand how you guys felt! On a happy note, you are very photogenic and all of your pictures have looked so great! Oh, and about the babysitting - you want kids because they come one at a time and you train them! :) Plus they don't do much of anything until about 6 months old so it's not a total change of life!
wow mallory. What an experience.
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