Chelsea: A Day of Remembrance

The foreboding entrance to Auschwitz II - Birkenau

The group and our guide in front of the International Memorial at Birkenau

Having now been to both camps, I realize that what I have seen I cannot translate into words. As the saying goes, you literally have to see it to believe it. I realized immediately upon arrival that Birkenau was a much different place than the Auschwitz I camp we saw yesterday. I do not want to discredit or downplay the seriousness and importance of Auschwitz I, but it just does not have the same atmosphere as its "sister" camp Birkenau. Compared to Birkenau, Auschwitz I looks like a village, a populated, "civilized" (if I may use this word loosely) place. What struck me first at the Birkenau camp is its enormity and desolation. The only image I have previously seen of this camp is of the main building at the entrance (pictured above). This building looms over the entire camp, but although there are other buildings around, the land looks so empty. Emptiness and silence. That is how I characterize Birkenau. Yet as I explained about Auschwitz in my last post, the silence is almost soothing, as ironic as that may seem. The camp is surrounded by forest. There are many birch trees: we were told that Brzezinka (the name of the town that the camp is in/near) is named after these trees, and this word in English is translated to Birkenau. The quiet, the mist, the forest, and the deer (we saw some deer running at the edge of the camp) create a very peaceful atmosphere - quite contradictory to the chaos and violence that occurred here in the past. You think it is peaceful until you remember something : you are standing on the graves of so many people. Ashes from the crematoria were spread in many areas across the camp, and there lie the only remains of the Nazi's victims.

Visiting the camp also brought to my mind many questions. Seeing the map of the camp and its size, and hearing about the planning of such atrocities that occurred in the Nazi camps is perhaps one of the most disturbing aspects of the Holocaust. Killing anyone is bad; genocide in any form is an evil thing. However, when something such as this was so meticulously organized it seems to denote some elevated level of depravity and mental sickness. Also, seeing the camps as a testament to the Holocaust led me to wonder how any person could ever DENY the crimes of the Nazis. There is nothing to deny. The camps are still here, the artifacts are still here, some survivors are still here, we have documents, memoirs, and photographs. There is so much disturbing evidence, yet there are people that continue to deny the existence of this event. I just don't understand, and especially after seeing all of this, such attitudes make me angry.

Believe it or not, there were positive outcomes of the Holocaust. Survivors are a great example of this. Today we were fortunate enough to meet a Polish Holocaust survivor: Mr. Krasnokucki. This will be my second opportunity to meet a survivor. It always surprises me to see how happy and optimistic some survivors are. They have been through such difficult times and have faced such persecution and cruelty yet they remain happy people and for the most part have led good lives after the war ended. Mr. Krasnokucki's life seems to have followed a similar pattern. After the war (he was only 20 years old when the war ended) he moved back to Poland and was fortunate enough to meet up again with his surviving brother. He got married and started a family and has lived to see his great-grandchildren. He obtained a PhD and has worked as a chemist. One would think that such a meeting with a survivor would be a sad experience. However, I was able to see the good in the situation and come away admiring the strength and optimism of Mr. Krasnokucki and survivors like him.