It was late March so all of the Polish exchanges students were still in school. As a matter of fact, the seniors were taking their final exams in a month. These exams were the most important test of theirs lives. This test would determine where they went to college ( very similar to the SAT). Kasia however, wanted to study in the United States. She applied to Cornell, Notre Dame and many other elite schools that happen to be in the United States.
That morning we went our separate ways, Kasia went to school, while I got on a bus ready for our next adventure. It just happens to be snowing that day. I kept thinking about how my Mom told me to bring my heavy winter coat. I told her right before getting on the bus to leave, that I didn't need it. I hate to say it, but my Mom is always right, she knows best. In my defense, it was late March, who would have thought that it would have been snowing and thirty degrees? The weather in Europe was a little different than I expected, actually a lot different.
That day we were headed to Auschwitz. If you have ever seen any Holocaust movie you are bound to see an image from this camp. It just happens to be probably the most famous and well-known camp there was in Nazi Germany during the time. The camp was the largest one in Europe and killed about 1.5 million innocent people there.
At this point, we had seen a few camps, and after what I saw at Majdanek I truly didn't think any camp could be much worse. When we were arrived the place was packed. We then had to grab our headphones. As you walk around the camp they make you listen to the guide over a radio, this way the guide doesn't have to yell and it's much easier to hear. The famous Albeit Macht Free (work sets you free) sign covered the entrance of the camp. The camp was separated into three parts, but only two of the parts of the camp were still standing due to the fact that the Nazi boomed the third part of the camp in attempts to cover up what they did. Clearly that didn't work. We first entered the museum part of the camp which was in one of the many barracks. Inside the Museum were the remains of many of the items that those who lost their lives brought to the camps. For example in one room there were hundreds of thousands of glasses. There were suitcases, shoes and babies clothes. Then the worst part of it all, there was tons of hair all behind a glass case. I felt sick to my stomach at this point, all that hair was from millions of innocent men women and children. I had to leave the museum and I did just that and met my classmates outside.
Next we visited the crematoriums, every time I stepped into one I just couldn't comprehend the fact that millions of people had died in that room. Many would think by now I would be prepared to see what was inside since I had been in many at other camps, but no the tears fell again. As we stepped outside the building I witnessed something that I would never forget in my life. There was a young group of kids from some European School probably about sixteen and seventeen years old taking a selfie in front of the garbed wire and one of the barracks. I was absolutely disgusted, I felt sick and everyone of my classmates was appalled. How could they ever in their right mind be able to take a selfie at a place where millions of people lost their lives. After all, all my classmates were crying while these kids were smiling and laughing while taking this photo. They just didn't get it my teacher explained and it was truly sickening to watch.
We had to take a bus to the second part of the camp. This part happens to be the most famous, there was a huge watch tower, hundreds of barracks, and train with tracks that went right through the camp. We walked throughout the camps, but the thing was that the Nazi tried to get hide the camps by bombing them they missed terribly and there was still chimneys and many barracks left. The barracks were absolutely horrible. The guide told us that thousands were crammed into them, causing many to die of a disease. Once we left the barracks we went over to the far end of the camp where in every single language on a brick that read, "forever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity where the Nazis murdered about one and half million men, women and children mainly Jews from various countries of Europe, Auschwitz Birkenali 1940-1945". This was one of the most powerful quotes I had ever seen. The fact that it was translated in about twenty languages was so powerful. Those who created this memorial wanted everyone from every country around the world that this event that took place in Europe can never happen again.
Last we went up into the tower that looked over the whole camp. From there you could see all the barracks, the train, the train car, and the crematoriums that the nazi attempted to destroy. Looking over the whole camp, was a moment in my life that I'll never forget. I remember getting the chills, all I could think about was how less than 100 years ago, Nazi guards were standing where I was making sure that none of the "prisoners" escaped. It was amazing to me how the Nazi's tried to cover this whole atrocity up by bombing the whole camp. They knew what they did was disgusting and that's why they tried to cover it up, but yet they still managed to murder millions of people.
No comments:
Post a Comment