Auschwitz - sensitive material.
Discussion
Derek Smith said:
The pictures really got to me. The shoes, oddly enough, stuck in my mind most of all. I couldn't get to sleep last night and got up to watch a bit of TV but my thoughts just ran on.
The sketches! What must the chap have been thinking as he was drawing them.
It's the sheer scale of the operation that amazes. Consider that during the last few days of the war, the Nazis were trying to get rid of things to cover tracks. The piles of possessions is about a third of a "usual week" according to the signs on display. The sketches! What must the chap have been thinking as he was drawing them.
As a student of history, specialising in 20th Century conflict and the Third Reich - I've always known what happened in these places, but when you're actually there and witness the evidence of these horrible acts that were carried out it always hits home that little bit more.
I was just looking at these photos and reading the comments, and it really got to me - it's a stunning impact that these images have across the internet - I'm not even looking at them in a physical sense, it's just a series of pixels on my screen.
I remember when I was 13, I went on a school trip to a holocaust museum (in London I think) and I met Leon Greenman, a holocaust survivor and I don't think I've ever felt as moved as I did for the 30 minutes he talked to us about his experiences, the way he conveyed what had happened to him, his friends and his families chilled me to my core - never would you experience a group of school kids all shut up, listen so intently and all look so pale when they heard what had happened to this man. As a young person (I'm 21) this is that little bit further away from my time than most people on here, my parents were both post-war babies, and their families were lucky enough not to loose anyone in the war - and to know that there are still people who actively seek out these places to learn what happened and take heed from makes me feel relived in a sense - these events should never be forgotten - because as soon as they are it'll happen again.
To the OP:
This is a wonderful post, your pictures and your words are extremely moving - and I actually agree with you - people should be made to learn about this, it's something that should never be forgotten.
Leon Greenman 1910 - 2008
I was just looking at these photos and reading the comments, and it really got to me - it's a stunning impact that these images have across the internet - I'm not even looking at them in a physical sense, it's just a series of pixels on my screen.
I remember when I was 13, I went on a school trip to a holocaust museum (in London I think) and I met Leon Greenman, a holocaust survivor and I don't think I've ever felt as moved as I did for the 30 minutes he talked to us about his experiences, the way he conveyed what had happened to him, his friends and his families chilled me to my core - never would you experience a group of school kids all shut up, listen so intently and all look so pale when they heard what had happened to this man. As a young person (I'm 21) this is that little bit further away from my time than most people on here, my parents were both post-war babies, and their families were lucky enough not to loose anyone in the war - and to know that there are still people who actively seek out these places to learn what happened and take heed from makes me feel relived in a sense - these events should never be forgotten - because as soon as they are it'll happen again.
To the OP:
This is a wonderful post, your pictures and your words are extremely moving - and I actually agree with you - people should be made to learn about this, it's something that should never be forgotten.
Leon Greenman 1910 - 2008
I just saw this and it brought back some memories so I hope the OP doesn't mind but here are my pics from when I went nearly two years ago:
Very, very moving place, hard to describe how I felt however I feel as many people as possible should travel there and experience it for themselves if only to try and stop it happening again!
They're all here
Very, very moving place, hard to describe how I felt however I feel as many people as possible should travel there and experience it for themselves if only to try and stop it happening again!
They're all here
I spent 3 years in W.Germany during the cold war (1981-1984) during which time I visited many places such as Sennelager, the SS sanitarium at Bad Tolz, the first ever concetration camp at Dachau near Munich & of course Auschwitz.
My first visit to Auschwitz was on a very cold, wet winter, but the silence was one of the things that I mostly noticed. I went back the following summer expecting a completely different scene & experience & although there had been no rainfall there for over a week, it still felt very damp & cold, also the silence once again effected me more than anything else.
At that time I was a member of a German Motorcyle Club & remember how sad & embarrassed my German friends were after they had realised where I had been, it was a while before anyone would or could look me in the eye.
My first visit to Auschwitz was on a very cold, wet winter, but the silence was one of the things that I mostly noticed. I went back the following summer expecting a completely different scene & experience & although there had been no rainfall there for over a week, it still felt very damp & cold, also the silence once again effected me more than anything else.
At that time I was a member of a German Motorcyle Club & remember how sad & embarrassed my German friends were after they had realised where I had been, it was a while before anyone would or could look me in the eye.
Quick silver said:
I spent 3 years in W.Germany during the cold war (1981-1984) during which time I visited many places such as Sennelager, the SS sanitarium at Bad Tolz, the first ever concetration camp at Dachau near Munich & of course Auschwitz.
My first visit to Auschwitz was on a very cold, wet winter, but the silence was one of the things that I mostly noticed. I went back the following summer expecting a completely different scene & experience & although there had been no rainfall there for over a week, it still felt very damp & cold, also the silence once again effected me more than anything else.
At that time I was a member of a German Motorcyle Club & remember how sad & embarrassed my German friends were after they had realised where I had been, it was a while before anyone would or could look me in the eye.
Bit of a shame that, as on the whole Germans are lovely people. Anyone that I've ever met that claims not to like Germans never seems to have met any. In my experience they're warmer and friendlier than most of the rest of the West Europeans.My first visit to Auschwitz was on a very cold, wet winter, but the silence was one of the things that I mostly noticed. I went back the following summer expecting a completely different scene & experience & although there had been no rainfall there for over a week, it still felt very damp & cold, also the silence once again effected me more than anything else.
At that time I was a member of a German Motorcyle Club & remember how sad & embarrassed my German friends were after they had realised where I had been, it was a while before anyone would or could look me in the eye.
BigAlinEmbra said:
Quick silver said:
I spent 3 years in W.Germany during the cold war (1981-1984) during which time I visited many places such as Sennelager, the SS sanitarium at Bad Tolz, the first ever concetration camp at Dachau near Munich & of course Auschwitz.
My first visit to Auschwitz was on a very cold, wet winter, but the silence was one of the things that I mostly noticed. I went back the following summer expecting a completely different scene & experience & although there had been no rainfall there for over a week, it still felt very damp & cold, also the silence once again effected me more than anything else.
At that time I was a member of a German Motorcyle Club & remember how sad & embarrassed my German friends were after they had realised where I had been, it was a while before anyone would or could look me in the eye.
Bit of a shame that, as on the whole Germans are lovely people. Anyone that I've ever met that claims not to like Germans never seems to have met any. In my experience they're warmer and friendlier than most of the rest of the West Europeans.My first visit to Auschwitz was on a very cold, wet winter, but the silence was one of the things that I mostly noticed. I went back the following summer expecting a completely different scene & experience & although there had been no rainfall there for over a week, it still felt very damp & cold, also the silence once again effected me more than anything else.
At that time I was a member of a German Motorcyle Club & remember how sad & embarrassed my German friends were after they had realised where I had been, it was a while before anyone would or could look me in the eye.
I once went to Bergen Belsen. I found the experience intensely moving and very disturbing. The compound is covered with mounds. On each mound is a plaque that simply records how many hundreds are buried within. The place was eerily quiet - so quiet I found it quite unsettling. It took me a while to understand what was wrong - there was no birdsong. We were in the countryside but there was no hint of birds calling at all.
Pvapour said:
[
when we first entered Auschwitz 1 there was something that didn't quite fit with what we were expecting , then we realised, it was how new it all looked, this then bought it home how recently it had all taken place, my Grandads war stories were suddenly a little more real
I find this whole sentiment very prescient - I'm only thirty, but as I get older, I realise more and more how 'short' history is. In a way I grew up with its consequences (I'm Jewish - my grandfather was a German refugee in Shanghai/Japan during WWII and after; much of his family were killed in the Holocaust), but it still seemed ancient history. There was I, young, naive, thinking that this great blackness in the human heart had been long excised -replaced instead with enlightened liberalism that was immovable, unbreakable.when we first entered Auschwitz 1 there was something that didn't quite fit with what we were expecting , then we realised, it was how new it all looked, this then bought it home how recently it had all taken place, my Grandads war stories were suddenly a little more real
I now feel I know better. Auschwitz is a necessary reminder of that blackness that still lurks: I would love to say that I don't believe we (collectively, as humanity) are any longer capable of this kind of attrocity, but the truth is otherwise. I would not be in the slightest bit surprised to see a repeat today, tomorrow, or at any time in the future, anywhere in the world (not just Africa or the Balkans).
It is in humanity's nature to hate, and in his means to kill.
Edited by urban_alchemist on Saturday 29th August 09:07
urban_alchemist said:
Pvapour said:
[
when we first entered Auschwitz 1 there was something that didn't quite fit with what we were expecting , then we realised, it was how new it all looked, this then bought it home how recently it had all taken place, my Grandads war stories were suddenly a little more real
I find this whole sentiment very prescient - I'm only thirty, but as I get older, I realise more and more how 'short' history is. In a way I grew up with its consequences (I'm Jewish - my grandfather was a German refugee in Shanghai/Japan during WWII and after; much of his family were killed in the Holocaust), but it still seemed ancient history. There was I, young, naive, thinking that this great blackness in the human heart had been long excised -replaced instead with enlightened liberalism that was immovable, unbreakable.when we first entered Auschwitz 1 there was something that didn't quite fit with what we were expecting , then we realised, it was how new it all looked, this then bought it home how recently it had all taken place, my Grandads war stories were suddenly a little more real
I now feel I know better. Auschwitz is a necessary reminder of that blackness that still lurks: I would love to say that I don't believe we (collectively, as humanity) are any longer capable of this kind of attrocity, but the truth is otherwise. I would not be in the slightest bit surprised to see a repeat today, tomorrow, or at any time in the future, anywhere in the world (not just Africa or the Balkans).
It is in humanity's nature to hate, and in his means to kill.
Edited by urban_alchemist on Saturday 29th August 09:07
Thanks for keeping this thread going everyone & your comments, it all helps!
Marcus - glad you having fun with it
We went last summer & it is a sobering place. Needs to be seen, but very hard to imagine the sheer terror & horror of the place. There are some good books out there about the place & I would thoroughly recommend reading some background preferably from survivors with their descriptions.
This has brought back memories of my visit last summer - it was a very worthwhile visit , I can't say I enjoyed it but I was glad I went . The surrounding countryside is beautiful - my visit was made all the more poignant by the sweltering heat and the presence of thunder rumbling away in the distance the whole time we were touring the larger camp . The scale beggars belief and only being there can convey the true horror .
0a said:
I was considering whether or not to go to Auschwitz next week, and the photos and comments on this thread have convinced me I must go.
Delayed response - but thank you for the photos.
I was the same, we went 2 years ago and glad I did. No words I can put here will suffice, you have to visit and see it for yourself. Certain things will stay in my head forever, the silence, the scale and for me especially the entrance to Birkenau.Delayed response - but thank you for the photos.
I walked in, and out, so many didn't
Krakow is a fantastic city if you are staying there.
I went a few years back. The things that stayed with me were the sheer industrial scale of birkenhau ( apparently a second section was being planned but never built ) - a true factory of death. The ash pools in a peaceful forested area seem so innocuous until you realise what they are. The wall of prisoner photos in auschwitz 1, to look at the faces of those poor people and wonder who, if anyone, survived and also the implied level of organisation. Never regretted going! The only thing that jarred for me were the senseless/ tasteless fools taking selfies at the various well known "sights" pouting and grinning for the camera.
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