Auschwitz

Today we made our way to the Auschwitz extermination camp in a group tour and as you can imagine it was an emotionally draining day. Having read about the Holocaust for many years, I wasn’t surprised at what I was told, but being there and being able to visualise what I had previously read about was powerful. The room filled with the hair cut from Nazi victims is something I will struggle to forget.

I was amazed to see how packed the camp was with tourists. I must admit that I struggle with the idea of an extermination camp as a tourist attraction (which I admit is ironic considering I came to the camps as a tourist). It’s good that people do come so they can learn and never forget what happened, but on the other side, seeing masses of people queue up to walk through a gas chamber and crematorium was a little difficult for me to watch. While Tessa and I did walk through the gas chamber in Auschwitz I camp, Tessa in particular struggled with being in a room where so many people had been murdered and felt compelled to leave as quickly as possible. In retrospect I wonder whether I should have gone through the rooms at all.

The memorial near the gas chambers at the Auschwitz II – Birkenau reads along the lines of, ‘let this be a cry of despair and a warning.’ Tessa broke down.Read more