Auschwitz

I still remember the first time I heard about the Holocaust. It was in history class in high school in the late 1980s, and the teacher showed us a shocking film that had original footage of people who were skin and bones, with hollow eyes, staring at the soldiers who had arrived at a concentration camp.

Since that day I have learned more, about the war and about the genocide.

 It was not a possibility for me to travel to Poland without paying my respects to those who were murdered by the Nazi regime.

Boarding a bus from central Krakow, I travelled to the small town of Oswiecem - called Auschwitz in German. Our guide took us first to Auschwitz One where indoor exhibits have been set up in camp buildings.

Our guide reminded us that Auschwitz is not simply a museum, but a mass grave, asking for respect.

Walking down a long concrete walkway from the visitor's centre, we heard the names of some of the camp's inmates read aloud. We were told that the recording includes 1,500 names - one every 5 to10 seconds -  while over one million people were killed here.

We passed under the famous gate that promised that hard work would set you free. 

Entering one of several buildings, our guide shared some of the history. Soviet prisoners of war were held here, political prisoners, Roma, homosexuals and of course, Jews. 

The Nazi plan for a "final solution" to the "Jewish question" was highlighted by a large map of Europe marked with lines drawn from towns across the continent to Auschwitz that showed the scope of the genocide - France, the Baltics, Greece and Italy.

We were shown an enormous glass urn, filled with ashes from the crematorium. We walked past piles of human hair, in braids and plaits, and hear how it was used to weave cloth that was used for many things including German military uniforms.

In another building we were shown personal items taken from new arrivals. Piled eyeglasses, tangled together. Suitcases labelled with family names. Heaps of shoes. Children's shoes and clothing. The canes, crutches and braces of those who were viewed as the moat expendable of all - people with disabilities.

I did not photograph these things. I had seen photos in books - they do not prepare you. The scale, the sheer enormity if the crimes committed here just can't be captured.

We walked on to the block where prisoners were punished - those who broke a rule or tried to escape. We saw the Death Wall where executions were held. 

We heard about the horrific experiments performed on women, on children.

We walked out of the area where prisoners were held and were shown the villa where the Kommandant and his family lived happy lives, the children playing in the garden and inhaling the smoke from the crematorium.

Then we walked through the gas chamber and past the ovens of the crematorium.

Boarding our bus once again we drove to Auschwitz-Birenkau. 

We trekked past the Death Gate, along the train track, and stood on the spot where "selection" took place. It was the last place most people saw their loved ones.

With a turn of his thumb left or right, the Kommandant determined who died immediately and who were able to undertake slave labour. 

Then we walked the path of the condemned to the ruins of the gas chamber and crematorium here - built on an industrial scale and able to murder 1,400 people each day.

The camp was enormous and stretched out as far as the eye could see.

At the end of our tour, we gathered and our guide reminded us that history repeats itself and that everyone has a responsibility to speak up against evil.