Auschwitz and Birkenau

When thinking of dark tourism this is one of the attractions that comes to the forefront of peoples minds, this maybe because of how many people faced the unthinkable. From visiting this places it exceeded my expectations in getting a greater understanding of what took place their, It is not just the facts that you are informed of, but the aura of the place that gives you a feeling of being connected to the people who lost their life’s their.

We stayed in the town of Krakow, which most tourists stay when visiting the death camp, it is very picturesque town, Auschwits is about 1 hour west of Krawkow. We booked our tour package on the market square in the centre or Krakow, we was picked up early with other people, we took the bus, while on the bus journey you are told number of informal facts. Through the guide and a DVD, little history now, as we did before arriving.

Auschwitz and Birkenau is considered the biggest concentration camp, it is estimated over 960,000 died of the 1.3 million who was their, according to US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

When arriving at Auschwits you arrive in a car park with a number of other tourists, you are taken through security similar to when going through airport security. It is not to you get through security and and arrive at the gates with the famous words of “ARBEIT MACHT FREI” (work sets you free) that it sinks in were you are. Looking at these words and thinking of what the Jews may have been through when arriving gives you a sense, of confusion and scared, I got this feeling from thinking about the Jews seeing guards and the words above the gate, some people may have been scared wondering what they maybe facing, after already taking a long journey to arriving at Auschwits. Looking at these words above the gate would maybe given the impression they will need to do some work to be allowed free of everything.

You are taking through a few refurbished building, these first buildings giving you a number of facts through informal displays and pictures, such as where some of the Jews came from, some coming as far as Greece. This is a very important part of the tour as it sets the seen and gives you a background into the people who arrived at Auschwitzs

The next part of the tour you are firstly told by your tour guide that some sections you are not allowed to take photos of and some you can, he does state that you maybe overwelled by particular areas. You are taken through a number of rooms, which are divided in half with massive glass screens, each room holding different item, It is what is behind these that is eye shocking and moving. These being the suitcases that Jews arrived with, prosthetic legs, shoes and the most moving room which does not allow photos is of Jews peoples hair as they had their heads shaved, this is real people hair that was shaved of and put in sacks, it gives of a sense of grievance as it makes you think that this hair is people who have died here.

After this you are taken through the living complex which you walk through buildings with rooms on there right and left, looking through glass doorways you get to see the standing of living while the tour guide explaining what it was like to live in these conditions, some rooms would just had straw and other rooms having bunk beds, you are also taking through buildings with photos of the people who lost their life’s, each person wearing the blue and white trousers and shirt and heads shaved.

you are taken for a walk around the camp, being told information about the camp, When walking around I took a number of pictures of the fences as just shocked me how they had two fences next to each other with short walkways in-between each fence, thinking of people who was on each side of the fence seeing possible loved once in different areas having fences dividing you and cutting you of from holding your loved once.

The last part of your journey on Auschwitz camp is one of the Gas chambers, you are taken into what looks like a concrete bunker, which is very dark the main lighting coming in through the hole where Germans would have put gas through, you can still see scrapes a long the walls that look like nail marks, you are then taken into another room which holds two fire burners which would have been used to cremate the dead.

Be going to the Birkenau camp you are given a short break of 30 minutes. You take a short drive from Auschwits to Birkenau which takes about 20 minutes, you are informed that this is the similar route a number of Jews would have walked each day between the camps.

I have to say now that these two camps are very different camps, Auschwitz is more of a museum feel informing you of facts where at Birkenau is more of a place locked in time, it was not to after we finished the tour that we realised that it was eerily quite and their was not any birds or anything insight.

the last bit of the tour you are taken through the famous rail entrance, opening up to a massive field with small builds which would have been where Jews would have lived, you are taken to a remodelled wooden hut which is filled with bunk beds and explained what it have would been like to live in these huts, you then take the walk along the tracks to the back of the camp, seeing along the way one of the carts that people arrived in, then taken to the back of the camp where a memorial to the Jews who have lost their life’s their, you are taking over to the left of the memorial to where 2 gas chambers would have sat, these have been destroyed from when the camp was liberated but you can still get a understanding how big and deep they was, getting an understanding how many people would have been killed at one time.

Looking back our trip we very much rate the tour operator that we went with as they did not just give a number of facts but give you an experience of what it would have felt like being a Jew arriving their, it is very unique attraction as their is nothing else like it in the world, it is an eye opening experience and something I would highly recommending anyone to visit.