Krakow Part I, Auschwitz-Birkenau

My recent trip to Krakow was organized by CIEE (my program) and outsourced to a local student travel organization. Included in the price of the trip was admission to all of the different sights, a 2 night stay in a hotel and breakfast every morning at the hotel. Most of my other friends from the dorm were heading to Rome that weekend so I was more or less going it alone. Still, I was looking forward to hanging out with a different group of people and seeing Krakow.

The trip was scheduled to depart from the Prague bus station at midnight, which meant that I had to sit in my room and kill 5 hours after dinner while the entire dorm was empty. I considered doing school work but I was in that situation where you're too bored and apathetic to even get up and do something. Finally getting on the bus I settled in for the 6 hour bus ride to Poland. The trip wasn't too large and most people had a side to themselves but I ended up with my friend Emily from the dorms. I brought some medicine to help me sleep but all it did was put me in a sort of daze throughout the trip. I "woke up" in Krakow feeling tired with my neck hurting.

The first stop on the trip was Auschwitz. Our tour guide, Eva, was in charge of basic logistics of the trip, but at historical sites we had a local Polish guide take us through the various Krakow sights. I had seen a bunch of shows on the history channel about Auschwitz and the holocaust so I had some background information going in. It had been snowing continuously since we arrived in Poland the entire camp was covered in snow which gave the place a quiet, eerie feeling. 

My experience at Auschwitz was very interesting. As a big fan of World War II history I found it hard to believe that I was actually standing in one of the most notorious death camps of the holocaust. Still, being there, it was hard to fathom the atrocities that took place. Standing in the snow more than 70 years later I felt somehow detached, almost with disbelief. The exhibits were powerful and included massive collections of human hair, piles of shoes and walls of photos of victims. We continued the tour and then headed off to Birkenau. 

Apparently, the camp complex at Auschwitz was divided into three camps. The first, Auschwitz proper, was originally a labour camp and did not have the capacity to meet the needs of the Final Solution. While many Jews were murdered there, a much larger camp, Birkenau, was built to increase capacity. Compared to Birkenau, Auschwitz proper was fairly small and even unimpressive. The reason why tours are given at Auschwitz is because most of Birkenau was destroyed by the Nazi's before the war's end. 

The camp at Birkenau was mainly destroyed with only a few remaining buildings standing. The gas chambers had been destroyed and were just snow covered ruins of brick and rebar. Still, the fences and guard towers were still in place. I was immediately struck by immenseness of the camp. The walk from one end to the other took a total of 15 minutes at a decent pace and the outlying woods were obscured by the falling snow. Seeing the train tracks through the middle of the camp I once again found it hard to believe that I was standing at the point where the trains were unloaded and SS doctors decided who lived and died. 

The sheer amount of murder that took place at Birkenau was staggering, I thought it was better that most of the camp had been destroyed. While Auschwitz had fully standing buildings it felt like a model or reenactment. The desolation and ruin at Birkenau felt appropriate for the acts that took place there and, for me, made the experience all the more real.