Auschwitz-Birkenau

7-19-10

It's cool outside, and the sky is overcast. It's drizzling. A perfect day to visit the place where 1.1 million people were murdered.

Honestly, I'm not sure what I can say to do Auschwitz justice- the horror. You can almost feel the terror lingering in the air.

As far as the appearance of the camp, Auschwitz and Birkenau are very different. B is a good bit bigger, and was much more of an "extermination camp" than Auschwitz. The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign (work will set you free)is at the main Auschwitz I area. It is dreary, and it's not just the weather that makes it so.

One of the main exhibits is the belongings of the people. They were given the illusion they'd be able to keep them. In fact, they were lied to until their deaths. Before going into the showers (gas chambers), they hung their clothes on hooks and were told to remember the hook number so they could easily locate their positions after the "showers". There were even shower heads in the gas chambers so as not to cause a panic.

The belongings warrant the questions: "what were they planning?" "What would they have doing with their lives?" They had put their names on their suitcases, which are now forever in a display case in the museum. What were these people's hopes and dreams. Most of them were never to be realized. There were also many children's clothes and shoes. The Nazis were against Jews as a race, and didn't care about age.

The killing was systematic and calculating. There were no accidents and few spontaneous events. Prisoners were tattooed with a number, which became their identity instead of a name, and their bodies were identified by the numbers.

If this happened 65 years ago, it could happen again. We are all still humans, and there are good and bad among us.

One sidenote I'm adding after the visit:
Our tour guide, Agnes, was fabulous. She was very knowledgeable and spoke English well.
Our founder, Vladka Meed (I mentioned her earlier in the blog- Holocaust survivor, participant in the Warsaw ghetto uprising and saved many children and adults), was actually featured in the Auschwitz Museum. When we told Agnes our program's history and Vladka's story, she said, "Ah- you are her children!"
What a wonderful thought, and what an honor to be here to carry on her legacy.