Riyad and Sarah's Travels

Oswiecim, Poland

After invading Poland, Nazi forces took over the Polish army barracks in Oswiecim, turning it into a prison and renaming the city Auschwitz.  In 1942, it was converted into a concentration camp, and along with the purposely built Birkenau camp nearby, became the sites of the largest number of deaths during the holocaust.  By the time the camps were liberated by Soviet troops in January 1945, over a million Jews and a hundred thousand other people had been systematically killed.  Two years after the war, the Polish government decided not to raze the camps, instead keeping them open as museums for future generations to witness the atrocities committed.

It was crowded when I arrived in the morning; tours were being offered in many languages.  The English group was the largest, but felt much smaller because each of us were given headsets to listen to our guide speak softly into her microphone.  She took us through the grounds and several buildings that described the camps history.

The first camp, known as Auschwitz I, had a sign over the main gate reading “Arbeit Macht Frei” work brings freedom – deceiving the prisoners as they arrived.  Prisoners never left, instead remaining at the camp until they died of overwork, malnutrition, or summary execution. 

Initial inmates had pictures in three poses taken: facing the camera, looking to the side, and off at an angle.  Because of the large number of deaths and difficulty identifying bodies, Nazis eventually scrapped taking pictures and instead tattooed all inmates – no other death camp did so. 

Each day, the entire prison was emptied for roll call where inmates were sometimes required to stand for hours.  During the winter, poorly dressed prisoners often succumbed to frostbite or hypothermia.  A few pictures showed children who had lost limbs due to exposure.  Even though I was there in October it was already very cold – even with three layers on, without gloves I found it hard to tie my shoes.

Auschwitz eventually became the central death camp used in the holocaust, with Jews sent in from all over Europe.  None thought they were being sent to be killed, instead bringing personal belongings with some even being tricked into purchasing their tickets.

One of the buildings just displayed personal items found when the camp was liberated.  Suitcases were meticulously labeled with each owner’s name and address.

One display showed a stack of eyeglasses…

…another had shoes.

Bags and bags of human hair were left behind, shaved from women’s heads for various purposes.  These were emptied and displayed in a huge stack that filled a room.  This was one of the few areas in camps where photos were not allowed – our guide said out of respect for the dead.

The first gas chamber was built at Auschwitz 1.  This chamber was the prototype for the larger ones at Birkenau.

Nazis experimented with different gases before choosing the pesticide Zyklon B, which killed in twenty minutes. 

After our guide took us through Auschwitz 1, we boarded a bus to take us the two miles to Birkenau, or Auschwitz 2.  Here is where the vast majority of killings were done.  The camp was huge, with rows after rows of buildings, brick on one side, wood on another.  Train tracks led directly in, and 75% of Jews arriving were separated by gender and sent to the gas chambers disguised as showers.

As the war was ending, fleeing SS soldiers attempted to hide their tracks, destroying the gas chambers and cremation pits, and removing as many prisoners as possible to Germany. A few thousand prisoners were found alive.  Eventually only about 10% of SS soldiers who worked at the camps were put on trial.

The end of the train tracks leads to a memorial in each of the different languages of those killed stating: “For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity where the Nazis murdered about one and half million men, women, and children, mainly Jews from the countries of Europe.”

Our bus dropped us off in Poland’s capital Warsaw before dawn.  The city slowly came to life as the sun rose – people appeared on the streets on their way to work, passing trams were more crowded, and the giant Palace of Culture and Science building, a stated “gift” from Stalin to Poland, emerged alone and out of place over the rest of the skyline.  After finding a place to drop our bags we went to its observation deck for a panoramic view of the city.

Although almost every place we have been – from Myanmar to Finland – had been touched by World War 2, no country’s history was as affected by it as much as Poland’s.  It was here that the opening shots of the war were fired.  Warsaw was almost completely leveled during the war; everywhere we looked were monuments, memorials, or before-and-after pictures of neighborhoods and architecture. 

Warsaw’s Old City isn’t actually that old considering it was rebuilt during the 70s. 

Its Royal Castle was home to the Polish monarchy for three hundred years and now has been reconstructed and decorated with furniture and artwork saved from the war.  We walked through the Castle with about a hundred elementary school children on a field trip.

Warsaw’s most famous resident was piano composer Frederick Chopin, who despite leaving for Paris at age 21 never to return, remains the city’s most popular historical figure.  The airport is named after him, and he has a large statue in Lazienki Park where concerts are held during the summer. 

Last year Warsaw celebrated his 200th birthday by unveiling a new museum and benches that supposedly played his music (we couldn’t figure out how they worked).  Having played piano in another life, I was excited to see the museum, but was disappointed as it wasn’t curated well – displays were in no particular order and electronic key cards to activate audio exhibits weren’t working.

The Warsaw Rising Museum, on the other hand, was one of the better museums we have seen, commemorating Warsaw’s unsuccessful attempt to fight against the Nazis occupation in the last year of the War.  It displayed video and life size photos chronologically detailing the city in the run up to WW2, life under the Nazis, and the rebellion.  As in the Baltic States, anger towards the Soviet Union was as strong as towards the Nazis, blaming the Soviets for reneging on their agreement to help.

Before we left the city we set off to see the remaining part of the Warsaw Ghetto, the walled off area where Nazis forced the city’s Jews to live. The street address we had led to a nondescript apartment building.  We thought were in the wrong place until a passing resident saw us and said, “Oh you’re looking for the wall – its right in here” and held the gate open for us.  All that remained were a few sections of the wall that had been incorporated into the apartment’s perimeter.  

Krakow was a four hour train ride from Warsaw.  The two cities were very different – Warsaw felt like a capital city while Krakow felt like a city people went to unwind.  Krakow had a historic old city and impressive architecture, but it was the restaurants and nightlife that attracted most.  Hotels were everywhere, but it took us three tries to find one that had space.  After our somber day in Warsaw we broke from sightseeing and spent our time in Krakow relaxing and eating a few too many pierogis.

We did make it out to the Wieliczka Salt Mines. Located just outside Krakow, the mines were built in the thirteenth century and used up through the 90s, and are now open as a UNESCO world heritage site.  A never ending series of stairs took us deep down.  Everything was carved from salt – even the walls we tasted when no one was looking.  We were shown the mining conditions and techniques, but the highlight of everyone’s visit was the salt chapel miners carved for religious services. 

The chapel is still used, featuring several crucifixions, a bas relief of the Last Supper… 

…and Pope John Paul II.

While miners didn’t have the benefit of electricity or modern technology, we did – and took a high speed double decker elevator to the surface to catch a bus back to Krakow.