Auschwitz-Birkenau (June 1)

Allow me to preface and say that I will be splitting this post into two. This first one will deal primarily with the choirs visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp.  Every member knew where we were going today. Everyone was preparing in their own way. I am sure some people were expecting a highly emotional experience, others a spiritual one, and others would not be sure how they were going to feel. Prior to leaving and after we left the concentration camp, I realized that I approached the experience from an impartial view point. I did not get emotional nor did I have a spiritual experience. I simply tried to take in the information and the experience and think about it later. I did not go into this experience trying to think that I could discover the motivations for the camps. But I just completed a semester of Civil War Literature and we discussed the problem of slavery. In that class we discussed how slavery, although it was a cruel practice in many cases, economically made sense in the context of the south. At Auschwitz-Birkenau is the famous "work will set you free" phrase. The fact of the matter is that work only set you free by killing you. People were literally worked to death. To me it makes sense to use people to complete labor projects, but then one must provide enough food and supplies to supplement that work. These concentration camps did not do that. People went to Auschwitz to die. When they got off the train, they were separated into those that would go to the gas chambers and those that would work and then go to the chambers later. I do not claim to find the motivations for such acts against human beings. I accept that it happened, but I also agree that it is important for places like this to exist so that this type of thing never happens again.

Whenever someone talked about going to a concentration camp they often uses the adjective "sobering" to describe the experience. I am inclined to agree although I got tired of people all saying it was "sobering." I am not sure what other word one could us. It was also fitting that the day we were there the weather was overcast and rainy.

When we arrived, we were given headsets so that our translators (Natalia our guide was the interpreter for our group). First off, our tour guide was very good. He did not speak any English which was why we needed an interpreter. But he was very good and had lots to say. In fact, groups kept passing us on the tour because he had lots that he wanted to say. He was authentically passionate about what he was telling us. Secondly, Auschwitz was split into three campuses: Auschwitz, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and the third one I cannot recall the name. Auschwitz is where we started our tour. It was a former military base, so very little had to be done to make it suitable as concentration camp. It had barracks and barbed wire already in place. Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was a few km away, was the place where the largest number of inmates were killed. Our guide told us that the reason people of Germany and Poland were not aware of the camps was that they were kept a secret. Everybody for miles around the camps were forced to leave and entrance into the area around the camps was heavily guarded. We were also told that people that were being admitted to the camps came with suitcases and their belongings thinking that they were being displaced to be kept safe from the war. Little did they know that they were being led to their death. This was to preserve the peace. Difficulties would arise if the people being led into the camp knew that it was a death camp.

As we were led through the Arbeit Mach Frei gate, we were directed past and into the brick buildings. We were told the function of each of those buildings. We were led through hallways and rooms with pictures of the inmates with the dates of their arrival and death. Most people only lasted months, some even weeks, and very few lasted more than a year. It really puts it into perspective when you see all of the faces of those imprisoned there. There was no hope in their eyes.

We were also led into rooms that told the beginning story of the camp, including maps that showed how far people travelled to be forced into the camp. These rooms were very educational, but clearly not the most emotional. These rooms merely set up the scene which was going to become very real very soon.

We then entered probably the most shocking, sobering, and most disturbing building I have every seen. There were times where we were not allowed to take pictures. This was one of them. But this was also a place where the scene needs to be experienced and reflected upon. Some rooms don't need pictures taken. These rooms spoke volumes. The picture below is the singular picture that we were allowed to take. These are a small number of cans of Zyklon-B. These cans were filled with pellets that created clouds of death. Millions of lives were stifled by these cans. In the shower rooms (which I will show later), these pellets were dropped from the ceiling and mixing with the moist air the pellets became gas. it would be a matter of minutes before everyone would be killed. The sad part of this is that people were led to the showers, given a number and a hook to leave their clothes. This was just the last trick that was played on them. The sad truth is that they were never going to retrieve their clothes.

The next room was unimaginable. My words cannot do it justice. These rooms were filled with the belongings of the dead. One window had an immense hallway full of shoes. All kinds of shoes. Another small closet was filled with peoples glasses. A larger room was filled with suitcases, each with the name of the person who the suitcase belong to. There was also a space reserved for children's shoes and belongings. But the most disturbing was the room filled with human hair. The amount of hair was unfathomable. However, this is probably only a small number of people that were killed here. The hair of the prisoners were used to make clothes, rope, and other textiles. I can only relay what the rooms were filled with. I cannot describe exactly how they were like. This is something that people need to see, but only if they are ready to see what they will experience. Rooms such as these make the numbers of those killed real. Hearing the number 12 million is not very convincing or personal in my opinion. A number is not personal. Seeing these personal items really puts it into perspective and makes it real.

We were then led  to a space between two buildings. The windows were boarded up or bricked up to hide the fact that people were killed her. Inmates were led into this space, lined up along the wall and shot. To be here and know that you are standing where hundreds, thousands, even millions may have stood and died.

As we journeyed on towards the showers/gas chambers, this is what i saw.

Showers and Crematorium

We then walked back towards the visitor center where we boarded our buses and bused to Auschwitz-Birkenau. This section of the camp was much larger and fitted to house millions of people. Every person who arrived at the camp was led through this gate by means of train. This was the point of no return. This part of the camp consisted of wooden and brick barracks, many of which are no longer standing. Our guide brought us into a barrack where we saw the bunks where people slept 4-6 people across. If you wanted to turn, all of the people had to turn with you. There was a central heating (cement) tube in the center of the room but the prisoners were allowed very little wood or coal to keep it warm. These barracks were very poorly insulated and sanitation was poor. So if the work did not kill you, disease would surely find you. For the several million people interred at this camp, they only had one or two barracks for bathrooms and showers. Inmates were allowed 30 minutes to use the bathroom before going to work. The conditions were very poor to say the least. The question I have, is "why even bother building a camp and forcing people to live in filth if they were there to die anyway? What's the point?" None of what I witnessed made any sense.

This is where prisoners were taken off the train and selected for either work or the gas chambers. After a several day journey locked in a train car, people were expected to jump out of the car without assistance. If someone struggled to get out, fell, or required assistance to get out, they were immediately sent to the chambers. 

Gate in Barracks

Watch Tower and Barracks

Seeing the sheer size of this camp was impressive. It was building after building. It was difficult to see the end of the camp from where I stood. It's hard to imagine how many people walked these grounds and to imagine what they might have been thinking.

There is not much that I can say about my experience. I have not fully comprehended it yet. It was an experience that I am thankful for. I have seen a concentration camp. I truly feel that places like this need to exist and people need to go to these places to learn and reflect on what happened there. As a purist as it comes to historical sites, I appreciate that there were not displays everywhere or that the museum tries to make it look like it did. They preserve what was already there which makes it the most real and disturbing. I appreciated the austere quality of the camp. It is a truly powerful experience, but the rest of the day was not negative. Rather it became very fun. So what started off as a sobering day would become much more light hearted.