A TRAVELOGUE BY BROCK AND TANJ
  • Blog
  • Where We've Been
    • Travels Together
    • His Travels
    • Her Travels
  • Our Camper
    • U.S. Road Trips Photography
  • About
  • Contact
    • Press
    • Work With Us
    • Contact Us

COMMEMORATING LIBERATION OF NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMPS: 70TH ANNIVERSARY (Oswiecim, Poland) 

1/27/2015

6 Comments

 
Someday I will understand Auschwitz. This was a brave statement but innocently absurd. No one will ever understand Auschwitz. What I might have set down with more accuracy would have been: Someday I will write about Sophie's life and death, and thereby help demonstrate how absolute evil is never extinguished from the world. Auschwitz itself remains inexplicable. The most profound statement yet made about Auschwitz was not a statement at all, but a response. The query: "At Auschwitz, tell me, where was God?" And the answer: "Where was man?” 
- WIlliam Styron | Sophie's Choice
Picture
Auschwitz Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland
Just in time for the 70th year anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp, I want to finally post and share our moving and emotional visit of Auschwitz last September 2014. We have heard stories about the Nazi concentration camps from survivors, studied it in school, watched documentaries and read books regarding this atrocity that happened in human history. Sometimes, there are no words or explanation how you feel about certain places. "Let us remember that we are on the site of the most gigantic cemetery in the world, a cemetery where there are no graves, no stones, but where the ashes of more than one million people lie." (Waldemar Dabrowski) 

We extended our Balkan road trip to Poland mainly because we wanted to experience and see this place first hand. We know its a horrible place to see but we are very interested in World War II and the Holocaust. It was a gloomy day when we visited, even the weather seems to know and feel what has yet to come, a very emotional journey of reliving the past. Despite watching documentaries and prior knowledge of what to expect here, nothing could really prepare anyone on this poignant experience - of actually seeing this place and witnessing where it actually happened.

We do not want to expound in full detail why this happened, what actually happened here and who are the victims or the perpetrators, because it would take us more than this blog post to explain something this sensitive and this big. That being said, we would like to share one most notable and overwhelming experience we had here. As soon as we stepped in, and walked inside the crematorium, it is such a powerful and moving experience - you can feel the melancholic atmosphere as soon as you enter, and you can't help but imagine the cruelty and monstrosity of what happened. We silently prayed for the souls, while we were inside (out of outmost respect of the victims, we do not have pictures of the gas chamber or the crematorium).
Picture
Picture
The cattle car that brought prisoners to Birkenau.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Before liberation, the Nazis bombed the gas chambers and crematoriums to destroy the evidence of the "Final Solution".
Picture
The entrance to Auschwitz I and II. The sign that greeted the doomed souls, it says Arbeit Macht Frei or work sets you free. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Death Wall
Picture
Picture
Picture
Zyklon B gas used in the gas chambers. Below is a picture of the prisoners hanged on the wall, as well as their belongings. One of the most heartbreaking and somewhat disturbing experience was to see a room full of hair, shaved from thousands of women. I did not have the heart to take picture of this. Some of the hair was used as stuffing for mattresses, used to weave rugs and other industrial purposes. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
“The past is history written in stone that can't be altered. 
The future is transitory and never guaranteed. 
Today is the only thing you can alter for certain. 
Make the most of it.” 
- Sherrilyn Kenyon | Born of Silence
Auschwitz, to date, is the most horrible and eerie but unforgettable place we have ever been. Knowing it from watching documentaries and from reading books is not merely enough to know what happened. This is one of the few places in the world that leaves an indelible mark on you. Anyone who visits can tell you that you will learn so much more, a lesson that transcends beyond knowledge. It’s a constant and physical reminder that we should never ever forget.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Categories: Europe, Poland
6 Comments
Jennifer Griffin link
1/27/2015 02:44:26 pm

Thanks for sharing this. You described the experience perfectly, and it makes me sick to my stomach to revisit through your photos. Even in the midst of such a horrible place, I'm so glad we were able to visit with you two!

Reply
Tanj
1/29/2015 09:06:11 am

It was very hard for me to write and post about this and it was just in time for the 70th year anniversary, and thought that this would be the best way to share the experience. Glad to have shared it with you too and to have met you guys in Poland.

Reply
ElaineJ.Masters link
2/16/2015 09:26:07 am

I admire you sharing this. It's important to not forget especially with the violent tragedies still happening around the world. I'm not as strong as you.

Reply
Tanj
5/8/2015 07:12:37 pm

Thank you and its something thats very hard to share.

Reply
Jolanta aka Casual Traveler link
3/14/2015 10:01:09 am

Great photos with interesting angles. I understand your experience at seeing the mound of hair. The thing that choked me was the mound of toothbrushes, each representing a person who fully intended to continue his or her oral hygiene, not knowing they are being sent to death. Visiting Auschwitz is not a pleasant experience, but it's important to do it at least once, if you can, to remember and honor those who lost their lives there.

Reply
Tanj link
3/14/2015 11:19:31 am

Yes and that too, especially seeing the luggages - thinking they are led to believe this is another place they could live at. I agree with you, you have to actually see it, at least once.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

follow us on instagram @a_Travelogue

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR 
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Get destination guides + tips + giveaways and more.​

SEARCH 

   other categories

+ balkan road trip
+ scandinavia and baltic cruise
+ food adventures

+ living in south korea
+ living in usa
+ marriage and wedding
+ our story
+ pets
+ travel reviews
+ travel tips

+ videos

HELLO WORLD!

Picture
We are husband + wife, adventurers + visual storytellers, who love to see the world together. Our goal is to see 100 countries in our lifetime and we are halfway there.

let's connect

Join our travel forum here!

AS SEEN ON

Picture
Copyright © 2014-2020. All photos, design, and content belong to Wandering Hearts - A Travelogue by Brock and Tanj unless stated otherwise.