auschwitz

[Bobwirtz]

...

[Bcarver]

btt

It is hard to imagine all those miliions upon millions being kept there and killed. Do they show the pits where they burned the corpses after gassing? I read where they would throw 10,000 at a time in burning pits and the fat kept the fires going. That has got to be a very moving place to visit.

[snap551]

Bobs correct.If you are going to spend that kind of money on a trip like that,you want to study months ahead and see all you can in the short time you're there.
Dave, When you book a tour of the ghetto they all go by the factory.You also see the only remains of the wall,and tour the square where countless people were murdered.A lot of the buildings have'nt changed since the war.I recommend seeing Poland soon, before the prices catch up with the rest of Europe.
The most solemn moment of my life came at Birkenau.I was sitting at the end of the tracks by the monument.Gas chambers on both sides within sight.It was late in the afternoon,snow falling,the wind had stopped,nobody else there.The only sounds you could hear was the echo of dogs barking from the surrounding area.That was one of the sounds the people heard constantly.That is a very powerful place.
snap5551

[PHILBROWN]

horror

when i went 2 years ago i was horrified to see a burger van within the ground near the entrance, not only this ,but on entering to watch the film reels [before your tour] there were school children eating crisps as though they were at the cinema, i was not amused, total lack of respect, it was a chilling place, ,,,,, good camera youve got there dave phil

[behblc]

To tourist(ey)

I would agree , the tours are very whistle stop - granted they probably have to be but nothing beats being able to walk off on your own - and to do so you need to know where to go and the context of what you are looking at.

The lack of respect I noticed out side the main entrance some " unofficial" car park people trying to get you to "park here" , operating in competition to the Auschwitz staff.

One thing I didn't really like and I am not being anti-jewish here - some folks went a little over the top , teenagers walking around with flags wrapped round them as if they were at a football match.
( I can understyand the national significance of the camp in the nations history but a little OTT and perhaps excusable).

The most solemn moment of my life came at Birkenau.I was sitting at the end of the tracks by the monument.Gas chambers on both sides within sight.It was late in the afternoon,snow falling,the wind had stopped,nobody else there.

Yes I can agree with you - the sound of the wind moving through the birch trees did it for me - like the spirit , as if trapped forever as on lookers at that terrible place.
It certainly does have an atmosphere which in part our own understanding of the place makes for us - perhaps no different from other sites , but in itself unique to Auschtitz -Birkenau.

[rev]

When I was there

I was there in the early 60's and I remember a few disturbing things that I will never forget. I remember that at that time we could see into the ovens and there were still bones and ash there to be seen. I remember the films we watched about an experiment that Dr. M had performed on twins and pregnant women. I also saw a movie with a man who I worked with he was in it and his name was Joseph.
Joseph was a person in an experiment the SS had done to create a group of people who did nothing but work, no interest in sex, talking, anything but work. They cut of his genitailia and cut out his tongue and did surgery on his brain which curbed his interest and made him grow abnormally large. Joseph was a good man and a hard worker but unfortunately was on powerfulll medications back then and if he came off them he went out of control. The camp itself was not cleaned up as it is today, nor was it looked after as it is now, I do remember the deafening silence and the smell that was there it was a terrible, horrifying and saddnening experience I will never forget and to this day I get emotional when I see it on tv or hear about it. I must say that I still to this day cannot understand how man can be so cruel towards one another and what was done was not done from hate or for the sole purpose or extermination, but was done to satisfy the hunger of a pure evil entity. The SS could have just simply exterminated them by just gassing them or shooting them or blowing them up but they could not do anything without first tormenting
them or torturing them physically and mentally in the manner they did before hand so you can see that extermination was not the simple fact here I believe pure unadulterated evil was.
Just my observations and opinion and to get some off my chest.

Ps I know I was long winded Thanks for the space and your time
Joe

[kennethc]

Those SS Prison Guards were bad ....

Thx for sharing. Looking forward to visit this place

[sscrooge]

auschwitz

did any1 see the ss barracks outside the camp in birkenau? we passed them on way, the locals are living in them now ,but they look probably as the ss left them all them years ago unmodernised and grim looking,

[BILL]

The Israelis were having an entirely different experience I think.

[barryG]

I went there in December 2004, it was cold but dry and it really had a better impact than you could get in the summer as the ground was cold and huts freezing. I thought the Auschwitz camp too clinical and touristy, but Birkenau was chilling, especially as so few visitors were there at the time. Ill never forget though, in one of the displays at Aushwitz, there was a Polish guide showing some Americans around, they were stood looking at a model of the gas chambers when an American lady said, "how could they do that to people?" The Polish lady replied, "because Germans ARE like that!" Not were but are, I was taken aback by that, but I suppose if you had freinds etc that went there then you dont forgive.

[VonLuck]

What surprised me the most was how peaceful of a place it is now. Its so hard to imagine all the horrors that went on in there. You get slapped back to reality however when they take you down to the punishment cells, the fire-squad wall and the gas chamber. My Polish hosts very graciously took me there but opted not to set foot in the place. I don't blame them. I found that even some of the young Poles still have a certain resentment toward Germans. They might welcome them as tourists and even try to go work in Germany for better wages, but Germans are certainly not their favorite people.
I even got a couple of dirty looks for playing Rammstein at one time.