Auschwitz, Poland: Auschwitz was the largest concentration and extermination camp built by the Nazis. Located in Oswiecim, Poland, over one million European Jews were killed within the perimeters of its barbed-wire fences. Established in 1940, the multifaceted camp includes several sub-camps, including Birkenau, and the IG Farben facility in which prisoners were forced to work. After 1942, the gas chambers and crematoria were expanded, being reconfigured to most effectively kill and cremate Jews and other “undesirables”. At the end of the war, much of the camp was destroyed by the Nazis in an attempt to cover up the atrocities but many of the camp buildings remain intact to this day. The Auschwitz-Birkenau museum and memorial was first opened in 1947 and has steadily expanded since then. A memorial museum dedicated to those killed was constructed in 1967. The museum includes an immense amount of archival material, consisting primarily of records and death certificates, much of which was collected by the Nazis themselves as part of their larger project to document the genocide. A collections section of the museum features material objects which poignantly reflect the immensity and gravity of the Holocaust: thousands of shoes taken from murdered Jews, over two tons of human hair, eye glasses, and clothing. Auschwitz has become a major tourist attraction, and the interpretation of the site has remained controversial, with many objecting to what they perceive to be a commercialization of the Holocaust.
I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau (Oswiecim) on a trip to Poland with my parents and grandmother about ten years ago. I don’t talk about it or like to think about it often as it is the most disturbing place I have ever been. I felt like I waned to vomit the entire time I was there and thinking about it, remembering that visit, makes me want to cry. I didn’t want to go, never wanted to, never felt the need to go to visit a place where so much horror took place. But I was there with my family and it was inevitable. I guess I could have chosen to not go in, but I questioned the extremity of my initial aversion. I should have listened to my gut. It was completely overwhelming and horrifying. I hated being there and never want to go back to a place like that again. I mean, over a million people were deprived of their humanity in that one place. how does one reconcile that?
I visited Auschwitz & Birkenau as a college kid. I had an emotional experience of a high school-type level. I didn’t know/was not educated well enough to be moved toward victims. I think many of were moved toward the perpetrators. Isn’t if easier that way? Isn’t it ignorant? Memory sites are for us to move toward victims, but depending on how we have resolved our wounds, will depend on how much our compassion & passion flow away from us. I visited a site where I was abused—a field. What about personal sites?
My husband and I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau this past summer. We went to Poland as part of a long trip, and had two days to spend in the Krakow area, so we felt that this was something we ought to do. No one looks forward to going to such a place, I think, or at least we didn’t; but we felt morally compelled to, as though to be in the region and *not* go would be turning our backs on those who had been murdered, and on what that history means for humanity.
We visited Birkenau first. We saw a tour group there from Israel, mostly young people, on this raised platform not far from the entrance to the camp. Someone was leading a prayer. A lot of people were crying. We walked around for an hour or two, talking softly. The grounds are an eerily peaceful place. I saw a four-leaf clover growing there, of all things. It didn’t seem right to pluck it, but I took a picture.
We visited Auschwitz next. It may have been a mistake to do this second; we were weary of walking and thinking of death and evil, and Auschwitz was crowded with people and images. At some point my husband just couldn’t take it anymore, so we left.
I’m not sure what I took away from the visit — I didn’t need to go there to know that the Holocaust was evil — but I’m not sure it’s about that. I think maybe it’s a ritual, more meaningful to society than to the individual; that visiting such a monument acknowledges my human link to both the victims and the murderers; that visiting makes the place and the people who died there more real to me, by building memories in my brain that are tied to a physical experience — in a small way, keeping alive those who died before their time.
I visited Auschwitz- Birkenau as a sophomore in high school. I spent a semster in Israel and one of our trip was to Prauge and Poland to learn about the events of the Holocaust. The day we spent at the concentration camp will be engrained in my memory forever. I have never felt so much anger and saddness before in my life. One of my most vivid memories is in the room with all the hair. I actually wrote a portion of my college essay on the emotion I felt while standing in that room and how I wanted to dedicate my life to social justice. We visited the camps about two months into my program. The trip renewed my appreciation for Israel. I believe everyone should visit Auschwitz once in their life, but I never want to experience the emotions I felt that day again.