Auschwitz - A Visit from Krakow

Well this was a depressing day. Having learned extensively about the Holocaust, hearing stories from survivors while growing up, and seeing videos and images of the horror of the camps, nothing prepared us for the profoundly moving and troubling experience of visiting Auschwitz. It was as if the suffering and evil there seeped into the ground and walls, where it was felt all around us as we walked. It took me a few days to recover from what we saw there. (The following contains some upsetting and graphic descriptions and pictures.)

Less than an hour drive from Krakow, we started at Auschwitz I. The entrance bears the sign "Arbeit Mache Frei" ... "Work Makes You Free", an ironic message to those arriving to the camp, though Auschwitz I started as a work camp for political prisoners. With a tour guide we walked through the preserved camp and prison blocks, where some have been turned into small museums holding everything from eyeglasses, hairbrushes, clothing, shoes, and hair. Yes, real human hair that the guards shaved from the dead later to be turned into blankets, clothing, and other textiles.

Eyeglasses

Suitcases confiscated from the prisoners

Thousands of shoes

We also saw many photographs that gave us a human connection to the empty rooms and barracks that we saw. Our guide said that less than an hour after the following picture was taken all of these people were dead. I don't know why, but I haven't been able to get this particular picture out of my head. Did they know what was about to happen to them, or were they still hopeful at this point?

Our guide took us to other parts of the camp and we saw the places where prisoners slept, one of the gas chambers, and one of the crematoria. It was hard to be in a place where so many people had died.

Gas chamber

Crematorium

A lot of people were crammed in here to sleep.

Birkenau (Auschwitz II) was where the majority of Jews died. In fact, 90% of the people on the trains were killed in the gas chambers (and then put in the crematorium) within one hour of arriving at Auschwitz. A selection process determined whether you would become a forced laborer or would be killed. Those who could not work, looked like they couldn't work, the elderly, pregnant women, young children, infants, and many others were sent to the gas chambers straight away, although these were disguised as shower installations to mislead the victims. The others endured immense suffering with long hours, little to no food, unsanitary conditions, disease, torture, and horrific medical experiments.

The train came right into the camp

A train car that was used to transport Jews

A destroyed gas chamber and crematorium

Prisoner barracks

Inside the barracks where they slept

A memorial with inscriptions in the 22 languages spoken by the captive

Auschwitz Concentration Camp was the largest of its kind, and although there aren't definite numbers, it is generally agreed upon that about 1.3 million people died at Auschwitz with 90% of them being Jewish. Though upsetting, we're glad that we had the chance to see a part of history that should never be forgotten. The world needs to remember the atrocities that happened here and at other camps. To quote Elie Wiesel, author of Night and a Holocaust survivor, "To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time". Never forget.

Krakow, Poland

Krakow is a city that was on our original list of places to see while living in Europe, and even though Jon had been there before, he was more than happy to explore this vibrant city once again. I didn't really know what to expect when planning our trip to Krakow, and one of the main reasons we wanted to visit it was because of its close proximity to Auschwitz, which I also wanted to see. We didn't include our visit to Auschwitz in this blog post - it deserves a post of its own and the nature of the visit is obviously vastly different than the time we had in Krakow.

We planned this trip with our friends Charlie and Ayessa (they used to live in Naples, but now live in Lisbon). We met up in Munich airport during our layovers and made our way to snowy Krakow. We were welcomed right away with coffee and tea at our lovely B&B in the heart of the city. With snow gathering on our clothing we walked to Rynek Glowny, the main market square in the center of the city. A large Renaissance building named Cloth Hall dominates part of the square where merchants sell a variety of Polish arts and products.

Cloth Hall

Daytime shot of Cloth Hall

Jon and I in the square.

Just outside of the building stands the Adam Mickiewicz statue, erected for Poland's national poet.

It was snowing!

St. Mary's Church commands the square with its presence and was built by the citizens of Krakow starting in 1355. We attempted to go inside, but when regular services are being held one cannot go in during these times unless you are going to pray.

Throughout the weekend we continued to walk the streets of Krakow, eventually coming to Wawel Castle, which stands about 150 feet above Krakow and was built in the 10th century.

View from the castle

We also made our way to the old Jewish quarter known as Kazimierz. Before the start of World War II there were about 65,000 Jews living in Krakow (about 30% of the population) and most of them lived in this area. The Jewish population of this thriving district was destroyed by the Holocaust, but traces of this community can still be seen. Small synagogues dot the streets, serving as a silent evidence of what this area used to be and the importance of the Jews here. Holocaust memorials and plaques are abundant here with family and friends hoping to keep alive the memories of those who perished during that time. We appreciated the history of the Jewish Quarter and reflected on the unimaginable events that took place here during the war.

This used to be a house for Torah study. 

Holocaust Memorial

Remu Synagogue

Old Jewish Cemetery 

Aside from walking around the city we spent a lot of time eating! We ate so much that the four of us joked that we were having two dinners every night. Polish food is extremely tasty and we jumped right in and ordered some specialties like beetroot soup, pierogis, anything with mushrooms in it, cabbage, and a lot of meat dishes.

Pierogis filled with mushrooms and cabbage

Jon's flaming meat dish

We also went to a vodka bar that has over 100 different flavors of vodka. We tried flavors such as hazelnut, caramel, mojito, apple, black currant, raspberry, and honey. You should have seen our faces when we received the bill... 12 shots of vodka set us back only 10 euros! We debated staying for another round, but we had second dinner reservations that we had to get to.

Our vodka shots

Team Roth and Team Toler!

All in all we were very impressed with the city of Krakow. We didn't realize how vibrant the city is, and how its effortless beauty would be around every corner. Combining these features with good friends led to a fantastic weekend!