hawtshtuff
I had b/c it was the largest concentration camp and killed a lot of people but it feels very plain.
The question said "Why is Auschwitz important to research and understand"
I know that it is important but I am having a hard time finding the right words b/c if I just wrote my feelings (which would talk about how terrible and sad it was) it would be opinion and not fact.
Answer
Because it was the largest death factory in History.
It needs to be researched and, if at all possible, visited.
Let me tell you why IMHO
When you visit the original camp (Auschwitz 1) you see rooms filled with human hair and the cloth that was made with it. Rooms filled with suitcases carrying the names of the poor unfortunates who will never collect them. Rooms full of glasses, shoes and, most poignantly, the belongings, toys and clothes of little children.
The worst of it is, this is not the true horror.At the end of the tour of Camp 1 you are taken to the original morgue for the camp. You can skip this building if you wish but I urge people to go inside. This room, next to a small crematorium, was turned into one of the original gas chambers.
I think that it is a necessary evil to go inside to understand the place.
As you leave the crematorium you see the gallows that was erected to hang the commandant of the camp.
I have been a researcher and historian of WW2 for 30 years and hoped to view Auschwitz with dispassionate eyes but I will admit that when I passed that gallows I fervently wished that it had hurt.
When you head for Auschwitz II (Birkenau) you enter into hell.
An area around the size of the small town I live in. Designed for the incarceration, torture and murder of human beings because they do not fit within the racial stereotype dictated by a lunatic and his cronies.
Approximately 1.1 million people died in this place. Romanies, Jehovah`s Witnesses, homosexuals, political prisoners of all races and, of course, in the greatest numbers, the Jews of Europe.
You see a reconstruction of a barracks that was designed to hold 54 German army Horses. The German Authorities considered this a large enough area for, originally, 600 persons and later over a thousand.
You walk alongside the railway track to the platform where thousands of people were unloaded by force of whip and fists to be paraded in front of qualified doctors who would decide who was fit enough to work or who should go direct to the gas chamber and crematorium.
From there you can walk to the destroyed remains of the gas chamber/crematorium complexes and walk behind them to the ash pits where the final remains were placed before being carted away for fertilising the surrounding fields.
All this time you walk on, wonderfully lush, black flood plain soil. This soil is flecked with what look like limestone deposits, it is not limestone. It is the small pieces of bone which went up the chimney unburnt. 65+ years on it is still there.
As we left the complex we passed the gallows again. I am afraid that, by this point, all my dispassion had gone away and, if I had seen the man standing on a stool with a rope about his neck, I would have kicked the stool away without a second thought.
I do hope I have not put anyone off visiting. Please go!!
Standard advice to anyone doing this trip.
Do three things.
Firstly. When you finish the day at Auschwitz go for a good meal, preferably in the Market Square in Krakow, and raise a glass of whatever you drink to the fact that the good guys won.
Secondly, When at KL Auschwitz take as many pictures as possible wherever you can. (there are signs in some places asking you not to take pictures out of respect) Use these and your own memories to tell as many people as possible about your visit to a place deserving of the name "Hell on Earth"
Lastly. (I put this in because my wife warns me to not do it as soon as she hears someone even vaguely allude to the possibility)
If you meet a Holocaust Denier, resist the urge to beat the living bejesus out of them. That war was fought to give them the right to their opinion no matter how wrong.
Arguing the facts and calling them an ******* is perfectly acceptable.
Ray
Because it was the largest death factory in History.
It needs to be researched and, if at all possible, visited.
Let me tell you why IMHO
When you visit the original camp (Auschwitz 1) you see rooms filled with human hair and the cloth that was made with it. Rooms filled with suitcases carrying the names of the poor unfortunates who will never collect them. Rooms full of glasses, shoes and, most poignantly, the belongings, toys and clothes of little children.
The worst of it is, this is not the true horror.At the end of the tour of Camp 1 you are taken to the original morgue for the camp. You can skip this building if you wish but I urge people to go inside. This room, next to a small crematorium, was turned into one of the original gas chambers.
I think that it is a necessary evil to go inside to understand the place.
As you leave the crematorium you see the gallows that was erected to hang the commandant of the camp.
I have been a researcher and historian of WW2 for 30 years and hoped to view Auschwitz with dispassionate eyes but I will admit that when I passed that gallows I fervently wished that it had hurt.
When you head for Auschwitz II (Birkenau) you enter into hell.
An area around the size of the small town I live in. Designed for the incarceration, torture and murder of human beings because they do not fit within the racial stereotype dictated by a lunatic and his cronies.
Approximately 1.1 million people died in this place. Romanies, Jehovah`s Witnesses, homosexuals, political prisoners of all races and, of course, in the greatest numbers, the Jews of Europe.
You see a reconstruction of a barracks that was designed to hold 54 German army Horses. The German Authorities considered this a large enough area for, originally, 600 persons and later over a thousand.
You walk alongside the railway track to the platform where thousands of people were unloaded by force of whip and fists to be paraded in front of qualified doctors who would decide who was fit enough to work or who should go direct to the gas chamber and crematorium.
From there you can walk to the destroyed remains of the gas chamber/crematorium complexes and walk behind them to the ash pits where the final remains were placed before being carted away for fertilising the surrounding fields.
All this time you walk on, wonderfully lush, black flood plain soil. This soil is flecked with what look like limestone deposits, it is not limestone. It is the small pieces of bone which went up the chimney unburnt. 65+ years on it is still there.
As we left the complex we passed the gallows again. I am afraid that, by this point, all my dispassion had gone away and, if I had seen the man standing on a stool with a rope about his neck, I would have kicked the stool away without a second thought.
I do hope I have not put anyone off visiting. Please go!!
Standard advice to anyone doing this trip.
Do three things.
Firstly. When you finish the day at Auschwitz go for a good meal, preferably in the Market Square in Krakow, and raise a glass of whatever you drink to the fact that the good guys won.
Secondly, When at KL Auschwitz take as many pictures as possible wherever you can. (there are signs in some places asking you not to take pictures out of respect) Use these and your own memories to tell as many people as possible about your visit to a place deserving of the name "Hell on Earth"
Lastly. (I put this in because my wife warns me to not do it as soon as she hears someone even vaguely allude to the possibility)
If you meet a Holocaust Denier, resist the urge to beat the living bejesus out of them. That war was fought to give them the right to their opinion no matter how wrong.
Arguing the facts and calling them an ******* is perfectly acceptable.
Ray
What does it feel like visiting one of the extermination/concentration camps?
We're all
We want to visit Auschwitz but we've been told that it can be pretty traumatic. We're going regardless but what do we expect?
Thanks
Answer
Please do the trip!! I will repeat below an answer I have posted before. Please be aware that you will see horrific images. I urge you to have a look on the net or TV programmes before hand as these can be quite shocking and a little idea of what you may see may be useful.
I hope that I do not put you off your visit in any way.
I am a WW2 historian and have visited the Auschwitz camp.
It is without a doubt one of the most meaningful visits I have made to any place.
If you take the guided tour you will be shown many things in Camp 1 that will appal you.
There are rooms full of hair shaved from the heads of prisoners, rooms full of glasses, baby toys and, most poignantly, a stack of suitcases labelled with their owners names to be collected when they arrive at "their new home in the East".
At the end of the tour of Camp 1 you will be taken to the original morgue for the camp. You can skip this building if you wish but I urge you to go inside. This room, next to a small crematorium, was turned into one of the original gas chambers. There is a notice asking you, out of respect, not to take pictures inside the chamber itself.
Yes it is slightly scary but I think that it is a necessary evil to go inside to understand the place.
As you leave the crematorium you will see the gallows that was erected to hang the commandant of the camp.
I have been a researcher and historian of WW2 for 30 years and hoped to view Auschwitz with dispassionate eyes but I will admit that when I passed that gallows I fervently wished that it had hurt.
Camp 2 is a place to see and wonder at. It covers an area bigger than the medium sized town I live in. Many of the buildings are gone but some remain and some have been reconstructed.
You will be taken into a barrack block designed orignally as a stables for 54 horses. The German Authorities considered this a large enough area for, originally, 600 persons and later over a thousand.
The railway line and platform are still there. Believe me, no film you have ever seen gives you the scale of the place. It is a huge, industrial killing factory.
The blown up remains of the gas chambers are still there and the ash pits where the ashes were thrown before being collected to be used as fertiliser for the surrounding fields.
The memorial to the victims is impressive.
One thing I noticed as we walked around is the quality of the soil. Deep dark loam characteristic of drained flood plain with heavy deposits of what look like lime fertiliser grains.
The guide pointed out that these were, in fact, unburnt pieces of bone that had escaped from the chimneys of the furnaces.
As we left the complex we passed the gallows again. I am afraid that, by this point, all my dispassion had gone away and, if I had seen the man standing on a stool with a rope about his neck, I would have kicked the stool away without a second thought
Standard advice to anyone doing this trip.
Do three things.
Firstly. When you finish the day at Auschwitz go for a good meal, preferably in the Market Square in Krakow, and raise a glass of whatever you drink to the fact that the good guys won.
Secondly, When at KL Auschwitz take as many pictures as possible wherever you can. (there are signs in some places asking you not to take pictures out of respect) Use these and your own memories to tell as many people as possible about your visit to a place deserving of the name "Hell on Earth"
Lastly. (I put this in because my wife warns me to not do it as soon as she hears someone even vaguely allude to the possibility)
If you meet a Holocaust Denier, resist the urge to beat the living bejesus out of them. That war was fought to give them the right to their opinion no matter how wrong.
Arguing the facts and calling them an ******* is perfectly acceptable.
Ray.
Please do the trip!! I will repeat below an answer I have posted before. Please be aware that you will see horrific images. I urge you to have a look on the net or TV programmes before hand as these can be quite shocking and a little idea of what you may see may be useful.
I hope that I do not put you off your visit in any way.
I am a WW2 historian and have visited the Auschwitz camp.
It is without a doubt one of the most meaningful visits I have made to any place.
If you take the guided tour you will be shown many things in Camp 1 that will appal you.
There are rooms full of hair shaved from the heads of prisoners, rooms full of glasses, baby toys and, most poignantly, a stack of suitcases labelled with their owners names to be collected when they arrive at "their new home in the East".
At the end of the tour of Camp 1 you will be taken to the original morgue for the camp. You can skip this building if you wish but I urge you to go inside. This room, next to a small crematorium, was turned into one of the original gas chambers. There is a notice asking you, out of respect, not to take pictures inside the chamber itself.
Yes it is slightly scary but I think that it is a necessary evil to go inside to understand the place.
As you leave the crematorium you will see the gallows that was erected to hang the commandant of the camp.
I have been a researcher and historian of WW2 for 30 years and hoped to view Auschwitz with dispassionate eyes but I will admit that when I passed that gallows I fervently wished that it had hurt.
Camp 2 is a place to see and wonder at. It covers an area bigger than the medium sized town I live in. Many of the buildings are gone but some remain and some have been reconstructed.
You will be taken into a barrack block designed orignally as a stables for 54 horses. The German Authorities considered this a large enough area for, originally, 600 persons and later over a thousand.
The railway line and platform are still there. Believe me, no film you have ever seen gives you the scale of the place. It is a huge, industrial killing factory.
The blown up remains of the gas chambers are still there and the ash pits where the ashes were thrown before being collected to be used as fertiliser for the surrounding fields.
The memorial to the victims is impressive.
One thing I noticed as we walked around is the quality of the soil. Deep dark loam characteristic of drained flood plain with heavy deposits of what look like lime fertiliser grains.
The guide pointed out that these were, in fact, unburnt pieces of bone that had escaped from the chimneys of the furnaces.
As we left the complex we passed the gallows again. I am afraid that, by this point, all my dispassion had gone away and, if I had seen the man standing on a stool with a rope about his neck, I would have kicked the stool away without a second thought
Standard advice to anyone doing this trip.
Do three things.
Firstly. When you finish the day at Auschwitz go for a good meal, preferably in the Market Square in Krakow, and raise a glass of whatever you drink to the fact that the good guys won.
Secondly, When at KL Auschwitz take as many pictures as possible wherever you can. (there are signs in some places asking you not to take pictures out of respect) Use these and your own memories to tell as many people as possible about your visit to a place deserving of the name "Hell on Earth"
Lastly. (I put this in because my wife warns me to not do it as soon as she hears someone even vaguely allude to the possibility)
If you meet a Holocaust Denier, resist the urge to beat the living bejesus out of them. That war was fought to give them the right to their opinion no matter how wrong.
Arguing the facts and calling them an ******* is perfectly acceptable.
Ray.
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
No comments:
Post a Comment