Auschwitz - Poland

Two electric fences with dogs in the middle

All the prisoners arrived in cattle cars by train

We left Prague with our rental car around 1 PM - and drove 280 miles to Oswiecim in Poland. It took about 7 hours. Much of the ride was on super highways - but a lot was also on 2 lane roads - with construction. The roads were in excellent shape with exception of the 2 lane construction that slowed us down. We parked under our Hampton Inn - got our room - and went to the town square to just walk a little. 

Out hotel again has an excellent breakfast - I had way too many Polish sausages. We also had scratch waffles - eggs - and lots of fresh fruit cut up. The Auschwitz Concentration Camp was about a mile away but we took the car to save our legs. 

The concentration camp started out as a Polish Army training base. All of the building were solid brick - and quite attractive - even though they later witnessed all these terrible acts. When the Nazis arrived in 1939 - they took over the camp - and forced out all the Polish people and soldiers. The Nazis named the camp - Auschwitz. I do not know how to rank terrible things - but Auschwitz is supposed to be the worst of the worst. Roughly 1.5 million people were killed here. 1.1 million Jews - by far the largest amount were killed here. Many were shot by firing squad. then later - they found gas chambers were more efficient. Finally - the bodies were carted to the crematorium ovens - and burned to ash. The ashes were dumped on site. 

Heinrich Himmler was the man in charge of "The Final Solution" - getting rid of the Jews. This was his camp. When he was finally captured - he took the easy way out - poison. If there is a hell - he is there.

You cannot mention Auschwitz without telling about Birkinau - it was an additional wooden concentration camp less than a mile away. The living conditions were even worse there. Trains were brought into camp from the west - and many of the people were killed within a day of arriving. At first - it seemed the plan was to use the people for free labor - thus the acres of long wooden buildings. But their goal was to kill all Jews in Europe - and the trains kept coming. 

The local people claimed they knew nothing about what was going on. But that is impossible with all the trains - all the people - all the shooting - and all of the acrid sweet smoke. That had to know what was going on. Also slaves were rented out to local companies. Slaves built the wooden buildings. At Birkinau - there was a separate camp for women - bricks for women - wood for men. This went on from 1940 - 1945.

This is a tragic place. They are horrible memories. 1.5 million people died here - for no real reason. It was madness. I do not know how they got the German people to buy into all this. Jokes pop up in your head - just to restore your sanity. But none will be told here - this is just too terrible a place. 

It was not crowded at all. We were on a guided tour for 4 hours. It was for English speakers. There were in 17 our group. I felt a bit like a prisoner here - wearing a tag on my chest that said English. I saw Polish - French - German - Italian - French - and Yiddish. We took a bus back and forth from Auschwitz to Birkinau. After 4 PM you were allowed to walk anywhere you wanted in the camp - we were exhausted - physically and mentally. 

We took our car back to the hotel. We walked to the town square - found a very nice Polish restaurant - and had a nice supper. We each had a pint of local beer - and each had a plate of homemade scratch pirogies - 8 each. I had pork filled - and Lulu has cheese filled. The bill for everything was $12. The menu was loaded with Polish dishes. I absolutely love the Polish sausages here. 

We are back in our hotel - trying to digest both our dinner - and everything that happened today. You wonder why these terrible acts occur through history. Why did Hitler start this war? Why did he pick on the Jews? Why did the condo in Miami Beach just fall over? Why are all the forests burning in the Western USA? Why is covid attacking us - why are certain people making fun of those trying to solve the plague? The more you learn - the more you realize how little you know. 

Tomorrow we will drive to Krakow - to the famous salt mine. It's gonna be hard sleeping tonight. 

The world's biggest lie -
"Arbeit Macht Frei"
Work will make you free. 

This building is the archives now

Roll call was made daily on this street

Toilets at Auschwitz - 
this used to be Polish Army Base

Doctors experimented on women here

Women patients were upstairs

Machine gun guard house

Bunks in Auschwitz

Prisoner were at first lined up
and shot

Firing squad

Medical aids taken from prisoners

Artificial leg

Prisoners brought personal effects

Prisoners brought suitcases

This was a pile of shoes.

Our Polish guide

They got off the train - and were
triaged - some went straight to
gas chamber

Gas chamber below - crematorium above
Gas chamber underground to reduce noise

Zyclon B - the gas

Some were tried and hung

The door to the gas chamber

Inside the gas chamber

Gas chamber

The ovens

This picture is Birkinau

Wooden barracks made by slaves

Poured concrete toilets

Replica bunks - 6 to each layer on the bunk

Replica building in front - 
one real building in back

A crematorium in rubble

Memorial pond with ashes. Guide said at certain times
of year you can see small fragments of bone.

Cattle cars brought them in -
standing room only