Every Person Has A Name. Kelly McGovern

March 17, 2014

It is our third day in Poland, and today we visited Auschwitz 1. An overwhelming feeling of sorrow, anger and guilt overcame me when I was standing at the front gate looking up at the words, Arbeit Macht Frei (work makes you free). 

The gate at Auschwitz 1 

From the front gate I could see many brick buildings. One very long building with many chimneys was in the front. Our tour guide told us that this was the kitchen. She stated that if you worked in the kitchen you were considered one of the lucky ones because you would not starve to death. It is hard to believe that anyone could be considered lucky at such a horrible place.

Kitchen block in Auschwitz 1 

The very first building we went into contained maps, pictures and facts about those who were brought to Auschwitz. One of the plaques said, “Auschwitz was the largest Nazi German concentration camp and death camp. In the years 1940-1945, the Nazis deported at least 1,300,000 people to Auschwitz.” Seeing this number literally made my jaw drop. It is so hard to believe how many innocent lives were lost during this time. 90% of those who were in Auschwitz were Jewish. I am in shock that someone would want to kill a group of people because of their beliefs. Throughout the Shoah, Jewish was said to be a race, which to this day I can’t understand because it is not a race, but a religion. These people were murdered over something that was not even true.

In this building, there were numerous pictures of individuals getting off the train, not knowing anything that was going to happen. Seeing the newly arrived list of prisoners deported from various countries to Auschwitz was astonishing.  

List of newly arrived visitors at Auschwitz 1 

Within the building there was an urn of ashes from those who perished at the hands of the Nazis. Our tour guide stated that there was so many ashes the Nazis did not know what to do with them. They would dump them in rivers, and eventually spread them as fertilizer around the camp. A main point that was constantly brought up today was how Auschwitz is the largest graveyard with no tombstones.

The urn which holds the ashes of the prisoners 

A huge part of weather someone lived or died in Auschwitz 1 was the selection process. Those who decided who died right away, or who got to live and work studied to be doctors. Our tour guide brought up a great point, which was, when an individual decides to become a doctor he or she usually pursues the profession to help people. At Auschwitz the doctors who selected the fate of innocent people was not doing what a doctor is suppose to do, help people. They were in fact killing people no matter which way they pointed for them to go. Personally, I was baffled by how someone who vowed to help people could do this. Studying to be a social worker, I can’t imagine knowingly doing something to put someone else’s life in such grave danger. 

A picture taken by an SS officer of the selection process 

There was one picture where I just became engulfed with sadness, anger and tears. It was a picture of children with who looks to be their mother, as well as others in the background. The caption of this picture is, on the way to death. These three young children in the front holding one another’s hands had no idea that their life was about to end. These three young children were completely innocent but put to death because of their beliefs. It is extremely hard to comprehend something to this magnitude. 

Prisoners on the way to death 

Learning about the gas chambers within Auschwitz 1, and seeing how the Nazis wanted to construct it and the fact that they actually followed through with it was a true eye opener. This was one of the main sources of how those who were prisoners in Auschwitz were killed. The gas chambers were constructed underground, so that those who were awaiting this tragic fate had no idea what they were going into. These innocent people thought they were simply going to take a shower, and instead cyclone B was poured onto them and they were killed. This truly shows the loss of innocent life. Standing there in the gas chamber I even felt a sense of betrayal, and complete distress for those whose lives were lost in these chambers.

      

Front of the gas chamber at Auschwitz 1 

Opening in the ceiling of the gas chamber in Auschwitz 1 

Within the next block, there were numerous displays that helped me visually understand how many people were murdered in Auschwitz 1. There were displays of eyeglasses, prosthetics of individuals, shawls, pots and pans, hairbrushes, makeup, and so many more things. There was one room that was specifically designated for people’s shoes. Walking into this room left me wide eyed. There were shoes filled from the floor to the ceiling. Knowing that someone wore those shoes walking to their death made chills run up and down my spine.  

80,000 single shoes of prisoners from Auschwitz 1 

A quote that I saw towards the end of my visit to Auschwitz 1 really moved me, it was titled every person has a name. That one specific title really stuck out to me in the sense that there were so many people murdered that it is hard to fathom who everyone was. Something that has been said to me even before coming on this trip was that one Jewish person died 6 million times. 6 million is the final number of Jewish individuals who died in the Shoah. Even though so many people passed away, it is extremely important to remember that every single person had a life, purpose and name that was horrifically taken away from them. 

"Every Person Has a Name"

Kelly McGovern 

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The Courage of Experiences by Thamara Diogo

Ill start off by re-stating Eleanor Roosevelt's infamous quote. “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience" (Roosevelt). As a senior at Iona College, this quote validates my reasons for signing up for this class in an effort to study the Holocaust. My major and passion as an undergraduate student is History. I realized that studying the Holocaust first hand in Auschwitz, Poland  would greatly contribute to my  knowledge as a credible historian.

 Today, Mach 17, 2014, I visited Auschwitz I concentration camp. Before actually going into the camp I felt a mix of emotions, from sadness to anxiousness as well as fear and worry. Upon entering Auschwitz my heart was racing, but I still felt a sense of courage. I believe the origin of my courage came from my passion for learning as much as I could about the history of the world. My peers who embarked on this journey with me also gave me courage because I knew that they would be experiencing first hand the same exact mix of emotions I would be feeling. The person who gave me the most courage was Professor Procario- Foley. If shes not the definition of bravery than I do not know what is. I first spoke to her on the phone about my interest in taking a religion class this semester a few months back. I did not know about this class on the Holocaust until she began to tell me over the phone. We must have stayed on the phone together for about thirty minutes.

As she told me more and more about this class and our trip to Poland it occurred to me that there was a reason why I called her that day seeking enrollment in a religion class. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. That reason, I believe,  was that I was destined to witness for myself what occurred in Auschwitz concentration camp. I also realized that I was destined to enter into a journey of understanding. The reason I say understanding is because people know about the Holocaust and about the horrors of it, but do they really understand it? I knew this opportunity would answer all my questions about this horrific event in human history.


The courage Professor Procario-Foley gave me came through to me that day from the passion in her voice over the phone. Her passion in explaining to me what this class consisted of, her passion in her patience while explaining this and her passion in her words and knowledge.  Lastly, Professor Procario- Foley gave me courage when I had learned about how this would be the fifth time she would be journeying to Auschwitz. I just could not wrap my head around the thought of why anyone would witness the scenes of a concentration camp more than once. But than I realized why she did it. Her determination to teach her students about the Holocaust and have them experience first hand how it was to be in a concentration camp was greater and more important to her than any fear or uneasiness.

The reason why I titled this blog, "The Courage of Experiences" is because sometimes in life you need courage to try out and explore experiences. With that being said, I came on this trip with courage but also with fear. I do believe my courage is much more greater than my fear. And I finally realized tonight that its okay to have fear as long as your courage is greater.

Lastly, since I started my blog with a quote about experiences, I'll end my blog with a quote about courage. As Ambrose Redmoon once said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear (Redmoon)". This quotes proves true that pursuing experiences is much more important than being anguished with fear.

This picture shows experience. Experience into a world of death and of horror. It is important to remember the history of millions on lives taken.

This picture demonstrates courage. Courage of survivors who proceeded in going back to Auschwitz after they were held as prisoners at the camp and tortured by the SS.

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No Words. - Kara Pacewicz

Auschwitz I

I’ve been starring at a blank page for minutes on end now. The day I had today cannot be put into words; the emotions one feels when experiencing such a day are indescribable. Today started out as any other day. Woke up, had breakfast, packed my bags and took off. Who would have thought that today, just like any other day, would be the most life-changing day of my life?

Arbeit Macht Frei - Work Sets You Free

 When entering Auschwitz 1, thoughts, emotions, and sights filled my head. What I thought I was going to see, the emotions I thought I was going to feel were completely and utterly different. I remember sitting in the car with my father the day before the trip as he explained how powerful and heavy the material I am going to learn and see will, and he asked if I was ready. I explained to him that the Shoah, most commonly known as the Holocaust, is a sad and horrific event but I knew I could handle it, and I knew I was able to face it. I don’t think I have ever been so wrong in my life, what I thought I knew about the Holocaust, and what I thought I would feel, was the opposite. The emotions and sensations that filled my body was like someone light something inside of me. It felt as if I was hit with a ton of bricks, it felt like someone pulled me back as I walked into the barracks. As I looked up, and saw the words that were melded into the gated entrance, Arbeit Macht Frei, Work Sets You Free, shivers went up my spine. Gazing at this entrance made what I was about to see so completely real.

The Holocaust is an event in history that will forever be remembered, it’s an event that will always hold as much emotions as it did 75 years ago. Today, as I spent my morning in Auschwitz 1, I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears. We were blessed to have such a passionate tour guide. The tone, the look she gave as she told us facts and stories made the moment even more stimulating. We were given headsets so we could hear our guide through the camp; this helped more than I thought it would. I was able to block out everything around me and just focus on the moment. Agnieszka, our tour guide, took us through the camp, entering and leaving buildings.

There are a few moments I would like to touch upon and reflect upon.

A moment that became so real to me was when we saw the hair. The hair from all the prisoners was cut off and pilled almost as high as the ceiling along the entire room. Seeing human parts of those who suffered on the grounds I was walking on made the moment become realistic.

Another moment that touched me in a very powerful way was the piles of pots and pans, shoe cleaner, and make up. This all proves that those who were being deported to the concentration camps actually believed they were being deported into a better life, that work actually does set you free. They had no idea that their tomorrow brought death, horror, and torture. Seeing pictures of children and adults smiling with their suitcases as if they were as happy as could be was heartbreaking. Children are children, they are sweet and innocent, and no one deserved what happened to them during the war, especially the poor children.

The pots and pans from the prisoners.

A picture hanging in a barrack with smiling children.

Along with pots and pans, shoe cleaner, and make-up, there was also another room completely devoted to the shoes of the prisoners. One full room was all shoes, piles, and piles of shoes.  There were 80,000 shoes in that one room. These shoes were personal possessions that were on their very feet as they were told to strip naked and to strip of their identity. It was the last shoes many ever wore, and to be surrounded by that thought is a very overpowering feeling.

A tiny part of the room filled with the 80,000 shoes.

 There were two more moments during the last barrack that left me in a moment of awe. As we entered the second to last room in the last barrack for that day, I saw white walls with nothing in it. That’s when I noticed the small drawings done in pencil surrounding the room. They were at eye level for children, that’s when Agnieszka explained that each one of these drawings were replicas of children’s drawings during the war.  To see such depressing and scary drawings of people being shot at, hung, and carried on a stretcher, showed to me that these children actually understood what was going on in the camps. The fact that poor innocent children were forced to see and experience such horrific sights that adults shouldn’t even have to see or experience is beyond heartbreaking. Along with these shocking drawings, there were also sweet drawings that broke my heart just as much. Seeing drawings of birds, trees, flowers, and family’s, broke my heart because this also shows that even though the children were going through a horrible event and understood it in some ways they were still being children, they were still being positive and still being ignorant.

Replica of a child's drawing of people being hung

Replica of a child's drawing of a dead body being carried.

 Directly after this room, came the room with the names listed in alphabetical order. My family is from Poland, but we are not sure of what town or city. Seeing two Pacewicz’s who were killed in Poland really touched me deeply. Even though these two women are most likely not related to me, knowing that there is even a tiny minuscule percentage of a chance they could be family, made all the emotions I’ve felt through out the day hit me all together and in a harder and more powerful way.

In memory of Tzvia Pacewicz.

In memory of Brakha Pacewicz.

Today was the beginning of a journey that will forever be apart of my life and will forever have a place in my heart.

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