We went to the Auschwitz 1 site which is synonymous with the horrors of genocide caused by the Nazis. The emotions and feelings of sadness go beyond words.

The main gate of the Auschwitz 1 concentration camp displays the inscription “Arbeit Macht frei” (work will make you free)

Walking through the gate at Auschwitz was surreal, trying to imagine how it must have felt for the thousands of Jews and others who were sent here. We walked through the rows of brick buildings that were surrounded by double rows of electrified barbwire fences.

There were cases of some prisoners who were so distraught by the camp horrors that they would throw themselves “on the wire”.

Each building was identified by a block number.

We walked through several of the brick buildings and explored the inside.

One building we entered had on display hundreds of photos that were taken of the prisoners by the Nazis. Each prisoner was photographed, cataloged and identified by a unique number. It was quite sad seeing the fear and trauma visible on the faces of the prisoners.

We went into another building which displayed some of the evidence and photos of the horrible atrocities done by the German Nazis.  There where remains of clothing, shoes and other personal belongings which the Nazis gathered from the prisoners to use for the German war effort. Even the hair of the prisoners was kept and used for mattresses or made into blankets for the German soldiers.

We went to another building, identified as block 11. This particular building was used for several functions. The Nazi SS imprisoned camp prisoners suspected of clandestine activities or prisoners who had attempted to escape. Prisoners in this block were sentenced to death in numerous cruel ways, including starvation or by firing squad.

We then walked to the far end of the camp to a small unassuming building. This building was the first building used by the Nazis as a gas chamber and a crematorium.

This crematorium was used from August 1940 to July 1943. It was calculated that 340 corpses per day could be cremated in this building.

By the time we finished walking through the Auschwitz 1 concentration camp we were emotionally drained. It was hard to imagine the atrocities that happened here and how one human could be so cruel to another human.

“do widzenia i dobry dzień”