Reflecting on my Experience in Auschwitz

  
                 On the second day in Oswiecim, I found myself feeling very nervous to start walking towards the Auschwitz one. I had been trying to prepare myself for what I was about to witness, and I continuously tried visualizing how the camps will look like in my mind but reality is nothing can really prepare you for Auschwitz. It is humanly impossible to even start to imagine the pain, the hunger, emptiness, and the suffering of all the prisoners. Each prisoner was different from one another however, they all shared the same faith, and entered the camps with the same hope, and that was to survive.

Entrance of Auschwitz 1

                    The first thing I saw once I entered Auschwitz one was the sign that says” Arbet Mach Frei” which means “Work will set you free”. A sign that all of the prisoner saw once they entered the camps. The gate where millions of prisoners walked through and where later murdered. When prisoners were brought to Auschwitz they believe they were there to work, never where they told they soon will be identified by a number and would be separated from their families. The prisoners had no idea, many of their family members would be send directly to the gas chambers upon arrival, and they would never encounter each other again. Prisoners worked enormous amounts of hours, and only given a small portion of food per day.  A picture I saw during my tour, was of prisoners coming back to their bookracks and many of them where being carried by other prisoners since they no longer had the strength to do so on their own.

Belongings taken from the prisoners

 There are no words to fully describe my experience, as well as what I saw. No matter how many book, documentaries and movies I had watched on the Shoah prior to my visit, I was not expecting what I actually saw. My mind was filled with so many thoughts and question, yet I knew they would never be answered. I questioned myself what if this was me? Would I have survived? What if this was my family? Being able to look at real evidence left me with no words to really describe what I was witnessing.  For the majority of time I had no emotions Prisoner lost there dignity, their faith and their families.Prior to this experience, I was a student with an interest in the Shoah yet since my participation on this trip, I have become a secondary witness.  Overall this was an experience I would reflect on for the rest of my life and I am beyond grateful to have had this opportunity that has changed my views on many different things in my personal life.