I described my initial love for Krakow last night; the large, open square, quaintness, and how safe it feels, however, Poland, and particularly Krakow, has a very recent devastating history.
This morning we had a tour of the old town, castle, and Jewish quarter. We were able to climb up the clock tour to see a rain and cloud obstructed view of the city below. We visited a cemetery and a synagogue that had been used as a dump during World War II. Most of the headstones before that time were destroyed, so when the cemetery was restored to its rightful use, the broken headstones were used to make a memorial wall.
The morning tour and the persistent rain/cold temperature (10* C) set the mood for our afternoon. Today I visited the Auschwitz Concentration camp. I don't really know how to describe my experience there. I felt angry, confused, a little scared, but mostly extremely sad. I just don't understand how a person can lead so many people to do such horrible, horrible deeds. I just don't get it. Auschwitz 1 was not destroyed during the Nazi retreat, and has been kept in its original exterior form, while the insides of certain structures are used to display photos, examples of living quarters, and belongings of the people that were brought to the camp. The aspects that were the most heartbreaking to me were the pictures of the children clinging to their mothers and waiting to be sorted into the productive and unproductive, (about 75% of the people brought to Auschwitz were sent directly to the gas chambers), the tiny baby clothes and shoes from innocent, perfect children that were never given a chance at life, and the huge mound of hair (only a small fraction - the hair of 50,000 people) that is on display.
Auschwitz 2, also known as Birkenau, was a labor camp for men, situated about 3 kilometers from Auschwitz 1, and about 20 times the size. Unlike Auschwitz 1, Birkenau was partially destroyed by fires set by the Nazis during their retreat in January 1945. The four gas chambers are among the destroyed buildings. However, the general outline of the camp is still observable, and a couple buildings are currently used to display the living situation. The camp was built on the site of a destroyed village, and built from the rubble and remains of the village homes by the camp laborers. When materials were exhausted, horse stables in Germany were deconstructed and transported to Birkenau to be rebuilt as living quarters. Stables that had previously been used for 55 horses were transformed into housing for over 400 men.
The statistics and tragic stories go on and on, and I'm sure I will need to continue to tell them as I process what I saw today. Being a sensitive and empathetic person made this an extremely emotional and challenging day. The tragedies that took place in the concentration camp are more real and apparent to me than ever before, yet I don't think it will ever be possible to truly understand what happened and what the victims went through.
The night ended at a traditional Jewish restaurant, with a private concert by a violin, double-bass, accordion trio. The music was beautiful, emotional, and creative. It felt like an approriate ending to the day.
And with that, I say good night, and I am so grateful for all of my friends and family. I love you all!
Amalia, I have never been to Auschwitz. Your blog brought tears to my eyes. Grandpa and I toured the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. some years ago. That was a hard museum to tour! Especially hard was the area called "Remember the children: Daniel's story." It is difficult to believe the evilness of such a horrible time in recent history. But we know it is true and there is still much evil in the world today. I am thankful that our family has lived in peace and freedom here in the USA. Love you!
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