Near Krakow, in the place Oswiecim, is the former concentration camp of Auschwitz. During the Second World War, this camp consisted of different parts, Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau and Auschwitz III-Monowitz, the labor camp of IG Farben. We visit Auschwitz with a guide, the visit focuses on the first two former camps.
We realize during our visit that even today people are still hated and persecuted for being “different”.
Auschwitz I (Oswiecim)
This is where the history of the German concentration camps in World War II began. At the start of the war, mainly Russian prisoners of war and Polish (rebellious) civilians were imprisoned here. Later this became an extermination camp for Jews, Gypsies, Poles and other ethnic groups from all over Europe. Of the 1.3 million people deported to Auschwitz, a total of 1.1 million people died in Auschwitz.
This is also where the excellent guided tour of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz Birkenau begins. We visit Auschwitz with the help of a good English speaking guide. Our guide takes us through the history of the camps. We walk past the well-preserved remains of buildings and other impressive items on display.
We stand and dwell on the memories of this history of the “extermination” of hundreds of thousands of people, our fellow citizens in pre-1940 Europe.
Auschwitz Birkenau
What an exceptional place, this is a part of our European history that we must not forget. When you walk here you realize how our environment affects us as people and can force us to extreme actions. Goosebumps when you walk here and imagine what happened to all those hundreds of thousands of people.
We realize that even today people are still hated and persecuted for being “different”.