Auschwitz
II - Birkenau was the largest camp on Auschwitz’s compound, which we visited
the day after our first visit to Auschwitz I.
The sun was shinning and we started the day by climbing to the top of
the main watchtower at the entrance of the camp. The entire complex, which could occupy up to
900,000 people at any given time, wasn’t visible from this jaw dropping
view. Since almost all of the original
bunkers had been dissembled before, during or after liberation, it is almost
impossible to imagine what Auschwitz II - Birkenau looked like during the peak
of occupation.
View from the
watchtower
Soon after Bart, our tour guide
brought the group to a place that had an old transportation train cart. It was uncanny standing in front of one of
the many train cars that transported over 500,000 people to this camp. In each car, 70-80 people were crammed for
days with no fresh air, food or water and lacked a place to relieve themselves
of their bodily fluids. Yet, I couldn’t
wait to get off of our 6-hour flight that had meals, refreshments, restrooms,
legroom and space for me to walk around.
Transportation car
As we walked through the colossal camp, Bart
shared some insight about a typical day in a prisoner’s life. Each day around 4AM, the prisoners were woken
up from their overcrowded barracks and were forced to participated in roll
call. Although each building was home to
about 400-600 people, each structure was originally designed to hold only 50
horses. Despite their 12-hour working
day, prisoners consumed approximately 103 calories and were only allowed to use
the camp restrooms twice a day. From the
perspective of someone who slept in their own bed the night before, was given
bathroom breaks during our four hour tour, had a full stomach and was wearing
layers of cozy clothing, the prisoner’s living conditions are
inconceivable. Each new nugget of
information about life in the camp deepened my respect and admiration for those
who inhabited there, whether they survived or not.
A rose on the train tracks with main watchtower in the distance
After a very lengthy walk through the camp, we were brought to
the remains of one of the four gas chambers at Auschwitz II – Birkenau. Since the SS guards and prisoners destroyed
all of the gas chambers at this camp, only the dissembled materials from the
building and the outline of the original chamber were intact. Standing in front of the remains of a
building that had the sole purpose of simultaneously killing 2,000 people, is a
feeling that cannot properly be transcribed onto paper. Before me, was where so many people had their
last thoughts, feelings and breaths.
After
visiting the gas chamber, we spent a few minutes at the memorial site with the boulders
to symbolize caskets. I spent my time remembering
everything I learned from the past few days and began to pray for all of those
who were victims or somehow effected negatively by this unfortunate time in
history. Gilbert Martin says he prefers
“the silence and wide open spaces of Auschwitz- Birkenau, which is such a vast
place that it is possible to mediate and wander for hours…It is an important
point: at a memorial site, remembrance (usually in an outdoor setting) and
education (in the sense of museum exhibits and information panels usually in an
indoor setting) are in practice hard to combine at the same place.” (Ambrosewicz-Jacobs). Auschwitz II – Birkenau is unlike any other
place I’ve ever visited, because it stands for a place that was unpleasant and
dismal, yet when I visited, the sun was shining and birds were chirping.
It is impossible to fully put oneself into the shoes of the
guards and the victims. Being at this camp made me feel closer to this
historical event and reaffirmed how real this was for the many people involved.
It is hard not to feel so small in a
place with such significance in human history.
Remains of gas chamber
Where victims waited to be gassed
WORK CITED
Ambrosewicz-Jacobs, Jolanta. The Holocaust: Voices of
Scholars. Cracow: Centre for Holocaust Studies, Jagiellonian U, 2009. Print.
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