I didn't know what to expect when I flew to Poland, but it was better than anything I imagined! I flew to Kraków with 3 other girls from my program with the intention of visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oświęcim and exploring the city of Kraków. We arrived late in the evening on Friday, and had an early morning tour scheduled for Auschwitz Saturday morning. We booked through Escape-2-Poland (which I highly recommend if you visit), and they took care of all transportation and hotel reservations. It took a little over an hour to get to Oświęcim, Poland where Auschwitz-Birkenau is located. Walking off the bus, through security, and to the entrance of the museum was a surreal experience. It was difficult for me to register where I was, and what took place here.
The tour began in Auschwitz, the concentration camp, and concluded in Birkenau, the extermination camp. We started at the famous gated entrance that read "Arbeit Macht Frei" (translating into "work makes you free"). Our tour guide explained to us that this was where prisoners would enter and exit the camp when they went to work every morning. We proceeded to enter the camp, and walked among the blocks (the buildings they housed prisoners in). Several of the blocks were used to display typical living conditions and held display cases filled with original items from the prisoners and things used by the German soldiers. How I felt walking through the blocks is hard to describe. I felt disgust, anger, shock, sadness, horrified, sick, and it was all simply unbelievable. There were display cases with empty Zyklon B cans (the pesticide used in the gas chambers), with the hair the Nazis removed from women's heads, a room of shoes (both adult shoes and children's shoes), their suitcases, their glasses, fabric made out of human hair, etc. It was unbelievably horrific to witness the proof of their actions and think about the inhuman things the Nazis did to their prisoners. The camp was eerily, yet respectfully, quiet. I saw the metal post used for public hangings, and stood in the main area Jews gathered to be counted every morning and evening. We visited Block 11, an area known as "the Death Block," where prisoners were shot to death as punishment. The original wall within "the Death Block" where the shootings took place had been torn down before Soviet soldiers liberated the camp because the Germans wanted to destroy evidence. A replica is now in it's place, and there are flowers and candles in front to honor the numerous lives that were taken there. We left the camp, and saw a replica of the crematories used by the soldiers. I walked the Jews' tragic journey from the undressing room to the gas chamber. I saw the holes in the ceiling that Zyklon B was dropped through, and I saw the next room filled with two ovens used to cremate the bodies. Awful. It was awful.
After a quick bus ride, we arrived in Birkenau, the extermination camp. I walked alongside the train tracks that brought the prisoners into the camp, and stood on the unloading platform. I looked at a picture on display from around 70 years ago that showed the selection process that took place right where I was standing: would they be sent to the chambers or registered as a worker in the camp? I happened to be standing exactly where the women and children lined up (on the right side), and stood exactly where the doctor in a uniform waved his hands to indicate what would happen to each precious life. You see the pictures, and you can see that's where you are, but it still doesn't seem real. Your mind literally cannot fathom the atrocities happened in that exact spot. Our tour guide told us we were going to walk the same path the Jews walked to the gas chambers at the far end of the camp. We walked in complete silence, and I couldn't help but feel overwhelming emotions. I couldn't imagine how anyone would let this happen to innocent people. When we made it to the far end, we took in the memorial in honor of all those murdered in the Holocaust. There were plaques on the ground in the 23 different language spoken by the individuals who perished at the hands of the Nazis. We made our way over to the remains of the original Crematory #2. The Nazis blew the building up when they worried about the liberation of the camp, so what we saw was virtually the same thing the Soviets saw during the liberation. Naturally, it was just rubble. We saw pools of water with four tombstones placed in front where the Nazis threw the ashes (their ashes are still within the pool today). We went inside one of the original brick bunkers that are still standing, and walked around the original bunks. It was crazy to imagine 9 people were crammed into a 3 tiered bunk that had lumpy wood, stone walls, no ventilation, and a leaky roof with hundreds of other people. Afterwards, we walked to the original latrines which were nothing but three rows of nearly 40 holes in stone that everyone was using at the same time. No privacy, and no space. The living conditions were atrocious and inhumane. Although it was an extremely tough thing to experience, I'm glad I was able to witness everything firsthand.
When we left Auschwitz-Birkenau, we were all in a somber mood. However, this was our only full day in Poland, so we wanted to make the most of it. We freshened up at the hotel before making our way to the main square in Kraków. We stopped at a stand to get a pretzel, then decided we should probably get real lunch. I ate pierogies for the first time, and they were delicious! When we finished lunch, we made it to Rynek Główny (the main square). We heard a trumpet player playing a song at the top of the hour from St. Mary's Basilica. I found out later that the trumpet player plays a song every hour that gets cut short to commemorate a military trumpeter who was struck in the throat during his battle call. We wandered the beautiful square filled with fresh flowers that were for sale, and saw The Cloth Hall. We heard Wawel Royal Castle was really pretty a sunset because it overlooks the Vistula River. Boy, were they right! We saw the most beautiful sunset over Kraków!
On our way back to the main square, we passed a potato pancake stand. Well, obviously I got one, and it was amazing! Polish people really know how to make food! We sat in the dark square in silence and just soaked in quiet Kraków around us. It was a good time to reflect on how lucky I am to be sitting in Europe living my dream of being a world traveler. After having my moment, we made our way back to the hotel to rest for a little bit. The friend I was sharing a room with plugged in her phone, and blew a fuse -the entire 3rd floor of our hotel had no power (granted, there were only like 4 rooms on our floor). The two other girls we went with were in our room when it happened, and we were laughing for a solid five minutes. Don't worry, the front desk got it back on before too long! When we knew the hotel had electricity, we made our way to the main square for a late night dinner. Kraków is beautiful at all hours of the day!
The next day, we woke up super early to walk around the Jewish Quarter before our shuttle took us to the airport. It was pretty quiet because it was early on a Sunday morning. The best part was when we found an adorable cafe that sold bagels! Europeans don't really eat bagels, so the idea of eating a bagel with cream cheese sounded like heaven! Apparently, it was the only store in Kraków to sell bagels! They were perfect, and it was nice to have a little taste of home. We were exhausted from our lack of sleep, so we headed back to the hotel and rested until the shuttle picked us up. I wish we would've had more time to explore because Poland is a such a beautiful place. I'll be adding Poland to the list of countries I need to revisit!
The tour began in Auschwitz, the concentration camp, and concluded in Birkenau, the extermination camp. We started at the famous gated entrance that read "Arbeit Macht Frei" (translating into "work makes you free"). Our tour guide explained to us that this was where prisoners would enter and exit the camp when they went to work every morning. We proceeded to enter the camp, and walked among the blocks (the buildings they housed prisoners in). Several of the blocks were used to display typical living conditions and held display cases filled with original items from the prisoners and things used by the German soldiers. How I felt walking through the blocks is hard to describe. I felt disgust, anger, shock, sadness, horrified, sick, and it was all simply unbelievable. There were display cases with empty Zyklon B cans (the pesticide used in the gas chambers), with the hair the Nazis removed from women's heads, a room of shoes (both adult shoes and children's shoes), their suitcases, their glasses, fabric made out of human hair, etc. It was unbelievably horrific to witness the proof of their actions and think about the inhuman things the Nazis did to their prisoners. The camp was eerily, yet respectfully, quiet. I saw the metal post used for public hangings, and stood in the main area Jews gathered to be counted every morning and evening. We visited Block 11, an area known as "the Death Block," where prisoners were shot to death as punishment. The original wall within "the Death Block" where the shootings took place had been torn down before Soviet soldiers liberated the camp because the Germans wanted to destroy evidence. A replica is now in it's place, and there are flowers and candles in front to honor the numerous lives that were taken there. We left the camp, and saw a replica of the crematories used by the soldiers. I walked the Jews' tragic journey from the undressing room to the gas chamber. I saw the holes in the ceiling that Zyklon B was dropped through, and I saw the next room filled with two ovens used to cremate the bodies. Awful. It was awful.
After a quick bus ride, we arrived in Birkenau, the extermination camp. I walked alongside the train tracks that brought the prisoners into the camp, and stood on the unloading platform. I looked at a picture on display from around 70 years ago that showed the selection process that took place right where I was standing: would they be sent to the chambers or registered as a worker in the camp? I happened to be standing exactly where the women and children lined up (on the right side), and stood exactly where the doctor in a uniform waved his hands to indicate what would happen to each precious life. You see the pictures, and you can see that's where you are, but it still doesn't seem real. Your mind literally cannot fathom the atrocities happened in that exact spot. Our tour guide told us we were going to walk the same path the Jews walked to the gas chambers at the far end of the camp. We walked in complete silence, and I couldn't help but feel overwhelming emotions. I couldn't imagine how anyone would let this happen to innocent people. When we made it to the far end, we took in the memorial in honor of all those murdered in the Holocaust. There were plaques on the ground in the 23 different language spoken by the individuals who perished at the hands of the Nazis. We made our way over to the remains of the original Crematory #2. The Nazis blew the building up when they worried about the liberation of the camp, so what we saw was virtually the same thing the Soviets saw during the liberation. Naturally, it was just rubble. We saw pools of water with four tombstones placed in front where the Nazis threw the ashes (their ashes are still within the pool today). We went inside one of the original brick bunkers that are still standing, and walked around the original bunks. It was crazy to imagine 9 people were crammed into a 3 tiered bunk that had lumpy wood, stone walls, no ventilation, and a leaky roof with hundreds of other people. Afterwards, we walked to the original latrines which were nothing but three rows of nearly 40 holes in stone that everyone was using at the same time. No privacy, and no space. The living conditions were atrocious and inhumane. Although it was an extremely tough thing to experience, I'm glad I was able to witness everything firsthand.
When we left Auschwitz-Birkenau, we were all in a somber mood. However, this was our only full day in Poland, so we wanted to make the most of it. We freshened up at the hotel before making our way to the main square in Kraków. We stopped at a stand to get a pretzel, then decided we should probably get real lunch. I ate pierogies for the first time, and they were delicious! When we finished lunch, we made it to Rynek Główny (the main square). We heard a trumpet player playing a song at the top of the hour from St. Mary's Basilica. I found out later that the trumpet player plays a song every hour that gets cut short to commemorate a military trumpeter who was struck in the throat during his battle call. We wandered the beautiful square filled with fresh flowers that were for sale, and saw The Cloth Hall. We heard Wawel Royal Castle was really pretty a sunset because it overlooks the Vistula River. Boy, were they right! We saw the most beautiful sunset over Kraków!
On our way back to the main square, we passed a potato pancake stand. Well, obviously I got one, and it was amazing! Polish people really know how to make food! We sat in the dark square in silence and just soaked in quiet Kraków around us. It was a good time to reflect on how lucky I am to be sitting in Europe living my dream of being a world traveler. After having my moment, we made our way back to the hotel to rest for a little bit. The friend I was sharing a room with plugged in her phone, and blew a fuse -the entire 3rd floor of our hotel had no power (granted, there were only like 4 rooms on our floor). The two other girls we went with were in our room when it happened, and we were laughing for a solid five minutes. Don't worry, the front desk got it back on before too long! When we knew the hotel had electricity, we made our way to the main square for a late night dinner. Kraków is beautiful at all hours of the day!
The next day, we woke up super early to walk around the Jewish Quarter before our shuttle took us to the airport. It was pretty quiet because it was early on a Sunday morning. The best part was when we found an adorable cafe that sold bagels! Europeans don't really eat bagels, so the idea of eating a bagel with cream cheese sounded like heaven! Apparently, it was the only store in Kraków to sell bagels! They were perfect, and it was nice to have a little taste of home. We were exhausted from our lack of sleep, so we headed back to the hotel and rested until the shuttle picked us up. I wish we would've had more time to explore because Poland is a such a beautiful place. I'll be adding Poland to the list of countries I need to revisit!