Terezin and Auschwitz

Note: All of my blogs are now completely out of order because we’ve been so busy. I haven’t really had time to sit down and write about everything except for the things that are necessary for my blogging class. This blog is due today so I have to get it done, but I hope to go back and write about my spring break trip and other things I’ve been up to recently! The order of posts will be confusing but bear with me!

As a part of our study abroad program to the Czech, we have gotten the privilege of going on school field trips to different concentration camps in the hope of being able to fully grasp the concept of the Holocaust. We have had several lectures about the Holocaust, and everywhere we go we learn about how World War II has affected that area. The aftermath of the war has touched every aspect of European culture and lifestyle. We’ve seen it everywhere, and I think it will be a very long time before it’s affects have faded to where they aren’t even completely obvious at first glance. I have learned so much from these field trips, and I think that it’s awesome that we’re able to learn about something in the classroom and then get the opportunity to experience it for ourselves. I’ve learned so much this way, and am so grateful for this program and our field trips.

Terezín

Our first concentration camp that we went to was Terezín, which is located near Prague in the Czech Republic. The Nazis transformed what was formerly a military fortress into a center of torture and slave labor in the early 1940’s during World War II. Though it wasn’t an actual extermination camp, thousands died due to the extremely horrible living conditions in the camp. Malnutrition, hard labor, disease, sadistic punishments, and overpopulation resulted in the deaths of many innocent victims. Terezín was mostly used as a holding place for the Jews and other “undesirables” where the Nazis could get labor out of them before sending them off to death camps such as Auschwitz. We got to have a tour throughout the camp, and it was so hard to imagine how people living in an advanced society could inflict such pain on others with no remorse. We went into small cement rooms where hundreds of Jews were packed into standing rooms where sitting was not an option. Without toilets, beds, or any other basic living essentials, these Jews suffered in ways we can’t even imagine.

The entry into Terezin meaning "Work makes you free"

Terezín was also used as a propaganda tool by the Nazis to trick the Red Cross into believing that the camp was suitable for human life. Knowing months in advance that the Red Cross was visiting, the Nazis transformed the camp and created a video of the prisoners enjoying themselves in a vibrant, diverse community.  We watched portions of the video that the Nazis had made, and it was so disturbing to see that they had made the prisoners to play soccer, knit, and hang out with their friends as if everything was perfect. I can’t imagine having to force a smile in front of the camera, acting like I’m happy when really I’m suffering greatly. The Nazis even went as far as to construct a fake barber shop and washroom to trick the Red Cross, which was never even seen by the prisoners.  It truly is amazing what the human race is capable of, and how far they will go to cover up their crimes.

Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkenau

On the fifth of May, we headed to the extermination camp, Auschwitz, near Krakow, Poland. This was the field trip that I was most anxious and nervous about. I think it is so incredibly important that everyone at least attempt to fully understand what the Holocaust is all about, and to try to comprehend what the victims felt and went through. I think that from the very beginning everyone’s defense mechanisms kicked in. The heinous crimes that were committed there and the terror that was experienced by the prisoners are just too much for the human brain to fathom. I tried to let my guard down while walking through the camp and force myself to be completely open to what the victims must have felt. I don’t think it’s fair to the ones that were murdered for us as visitors to just walk through the camp and try to be emotionless. I think to get the full effect of what occurred at Auschwitz, everyone needs to be okay with showing their emotions and putting themselves in the shoes of the victim.

The wall of death where thousands were shot and killed

We first went through Auschwitz I, and everyone was quiet throughout the entire tour. We walked through some barracks and were able to see some of the remainders of what the Soviets found after liberating the camp. I felt sick to my stomach from the very beginning of the tour, but no words can fully express what I felt when I walked into a room where thousands of pounds of human hair were located that the Nazis had shaved off of their victims after they had gassed them. It was the sickest and saddest thing I’ve ever seen, and it was hard not to hyperventilate when I saw a pile of small girls’ braids that were used by the Nazi’s to make cloth in order to make money. Even now writing about this experience makes me feel sick. You can’t see something like that and walk away from it unchanged. Another room in the building that really got to me was the room that was full of pots and pans. Most people walked by this exhibition quickly, but when I stood there and stared at the dishes, I couldn’t help but picture the women who had hurriedly rummaged through their kitchens trying to pick out what supplies they would need in order to selflessly feed their families. At the time that they were packing, they had simply believed that they were just being relocated by the Nazis. Never in their wildest dreams would they have known what was in store for them; that their pots and pans would never be of use not only because the Nazis immediately stole them, but because of the incredible lack of food and starvation that they would soon face.

         After we went through Auschwitz I some more, and saw pictures of the prisoners, pictures of the victims of the medical experiments, and piles of other belongings that the Jews had, we headed to Auschwitz II – Birkenau. Birkenau is about thirty times larger than Auschwitz I and was literally created to be a killing factory. Our tour guide took us through this part of the camp somewhat quickly, and I wish I would have had more time to reflect and walk through the camp alone. As a group, we walked down the road that thousands of women, children, and others that were ‘unfit’ to work walked down on the way to their death. We stood in the gas chamber where millions of people took their last breaths and where you could see claw marks in the concrete where they had attempted to climb up the wall to save themselves. We went through a brick barrack and a wooden barrack that the prisoners were forced to live in, and got to see the remains of the crematoriums that the Nazis had tried to destroy to get rid of evidence. I apologize for not giving too much description on these parts, but really it is so hard to explain. There is so much emotion that can’t really be put into words, and the only word I can think of to describe how I felt is empty. Sick and completely empty.

The railway that led the victims into Birkenau in cattle cars

Though I can’t say that I would ever want to go back to Auschwitz again, it’s just something that I truly believe everyone should experience. The quote on the memorial located in Birkenau said it perfectly: “Forever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity…” It is so important that everyone learns about the Holocaust and experiences where it was located so it can serve as a reminder of the heinous crimes that the Nazis committed and to prevent history from repeating itself.