Alex and I took a half day to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau. We were there about 5 days ago and just looking back at these photos makes my heart sink into the pit of my stomach. It is an experience neither of us will ever forget.
The entry gate reads “Arbeit Macht Frei.” Work Makes You Free.
A somber day for a somber tour that led us through a number of the brick buildings on the Auschwitz site. I have seen pictures of the piles of shoes before but seeing them in person literally made me feel sick. Other rooms showed piles of suitcases, combs, fake limbs, and children's clothing. Seeing some item like combs in such an enormous quantity...focusing on just one...thinking that someone bought that from a store in peaceful times...and then they packed it with their prized possessions for what would be a train to their death. Its just heartbreaking. Heart wrenching actually. The room that really overwhelmed me featured a display case filled with piles of human hair. Some still braided. Nazi's were cutting the hair of murdered Jews and selling it to mattress manufacturers in Germany. Sickening. Utterly sickening.
Birkenau was just a few kilometers away and was easily 10 times the size of Auschwitz. Over 1,000,000 Jews, Roma, homosexuals and handicapped people were killed here. Its hard to fathom.
As the Red Army approached and the Nazi's began to flea they tried to cover up some of the atrocities by blowing up the majority of gas chambers and crematorium. This is what remains at Birkenau.
And the classic scene from Birkenau. We've all seen it in films. Seeing the tracks that led directly into the concentration camp just really took our breath away.
All in all an extremely emotional day. I'm glad we went. Its a hard thing to gear up for but it is great this history is preserved for future generations.
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