Tag Archives: WWII Cemetery

Poland

Birkenau death camp

We went to the Birkenau death camp after seeing Auschwitz  1 concentration camp. It was also a very emotional and somber place for us.

Ray and Shelley at the main gate of Birkenau Death Camp

Another part of the Auschwitz concentration camp was the expansion of the camp to create the Birkenau death camp. The Nazis began erecting this camp in the fall of 1941 in a village of Brzezinski, three kilometers from the Auschwitz concentration camp. The Nazis expelled the villagers and destroyed their homes to build the Birkenau death camp. This camp was designed for the mass murder of prisoners most of which were Jews.

The gate to the Birkenau death camp.

There is a railway spur which went directly through the gate into the camp. Prisoners referred to the Birkenau gate as “The Gate of Death”.

Railway spurs in Birkenau Death camp where prisoners were unloaded.

Prisoners would exit the train cars and this is where the Nazi SS physicians carried out their selection of the jews.  They determined which were for work, or sent for medical experiments and the remainder were sent immediately to the gas chambers. This included pregnant women and children.

We walked through the death camp looking at the train tracks and just couldn’t imagine the horror of what happened here. As we walked alongside the tracks, we came to a cattle car which was used to transport Jews and other prisoners here.

A cattle car used to transport prisoners to the death camp
Railway car used to transport Jews and other Prisoners to Birkenau Death Camp

At the rear of the train car was a small raised lookout which was used by a Nazi guard.

A train car used to transport prisoners to the death camp.

The size of the Birkenau death camp was much bigger than we expected. There were rows upon rows of chimneys and ruins from the prisoner barracks on one side of the main road.

The remains of prisoner barracks at Birkenau Death Camp
Area where prisoners where kept in wooden barracks

There were some wooden barracks that remained in part of the Birkenau death camp.

Prisoner barracks in Birkenau death camp.

We went into some of the existing prisoner barracks. The conditions were very harsh. It was hard to imagine the living conditions they had to endure.

Latrine used by the prisoners.
Bunks for the prisoners, eight prisoners to a single bunk.

We walked long the main road towards the back of the camp. As we approached the rear of the camp we could see a monument and some building ruins.

Monument at rear of the Birkenau Death Camp.

There were plaques in different languages which read

“For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity, where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women, and children mainly Jews from various countries of Europe”

The Nazis transported jews from many european countries to be murdered here in Birkenau.

Map showing the movement of Jews transported to Birkenau to be murdered.

After viewing the monument we went to an area with ruins at the far end of the camp. These ruins are all that is left of the gas chambers and crematorium used to kill approximately one and half million people, primarily Jews.

The entrance way which Jews and other prisoners would be lead to believe were showers.

They would walk down the long corridor to an area where they would disrobe and then enter a second room, which was disguised as a shower room. There they would be gassed to death and then moved to a crematorium room to be burned.

Remains of the gas chambers and crematorium at Birkenau death camp
Remains at Birkenau death camp
Gas chamber and crematorium remains at Birkenau death camp.

The size of the ruins showed the magnitude of the horrors that occurred here. After pausing to reflect on the site we were looking at, we began our long walk back to the main gate of Birkenau.

There were flowers placed on the train tracks close to where the gas chambers were. When you look down the tracks you can barely see the main gate of Birkenau in the distance.

Train tracks that stop at the gas chamber and crematorium area of Birkenau death camp.

We walked slowly back to the main gate contemplating the horrors and atrocities that occurred here. A very emotional day for us, but it is one time in history that no one should ever forget.

“do widzenia i dobry dzień”

Poland

Auschwitz 1 Concentration Camp

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)

Inscription above the main gate of Auschwitz 1

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.

Double row of electrified barbwire fence in Auschwitz 1

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.

Photos of the prisoners at Auschwitz 1 concentration camp.

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.

Thousands of shoes of murdered prisoners

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.

Block 11, where prisoners were routinely sentenced to death.
Wall used by firing squad between Block 10 and Block 11 buildings.

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.

The building that contained the first crematorium and gas chamber at Auschwitz 1.

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

The crematorium furnaces in the building containing the first gas chamber and crematorium.

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”

Belgium

Tyne Cot Commonwealth Cemetery, Belgium

After visiting the Passchendaele Museum, we went only a short distance down the road to the Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth military cemetery in the world.

Tyne Cot Commonwealth Cemetery in Belgium

We arrived at the main entrance of the cemetery which contains an arched entranceway with a stone curved wall. when we went inside the cemetery walls we were struck by the magnificence of the cemetery.  There was a section of the cemetery with a curved commemorative wall that listed 34,957 names of missing soldiers.

Wall of inscribed names of missing soldiers

The features of the wall were very stunning and breathtaking.  We walked around the wall reading some of the names of the missing soldiers.

There were rows upon rows of white gravestones with beautiful red flowers in bloom planted along the graves. The contrast of the white gravestones and red flowers made it very vibrant.

The cemetery was very large and there was an impressive central monument located in the cemetery.

Central monument in the Tyne Cot Commonwealth Cemetery

We walked through the cemetery and read some of the gravestones. There were coins on some of the gravestones as a sign of someone visiting their grave.

The cemetery was very impressive and was a beautiful monument for the Commonwealth fallen soldiers. We were honored to be able to visit the worlds largest Commonwealth cemetery.

“Tot ziens en een goede dag”

France

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

After visiting Omaha Beach we went to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. The entrance is a simple walkway that leads into an oval walled area that is known as the walls of the missing.

The wall of the missing has a total os 1,557 American soldiers names inscribed on them.  If a soldier’s body has since been located they put a rosette beside their name on the wall.

Wall of the Missing in Normandy American Cemetery

We walked along the wall reading some of the many names inscribed on it.

Wall of the Missing leading to the semicircular section of the cemetery

We eventually walked to a semi-circular stairs with pillars that led us to an upper area. We went up the stairs to an area with a large statue.

Statue in a semi-circular pillared area

From this area, we could see the main section of the cemetery.

We were immediately struck by the beauty, and size of the cemetery. The cemetery was a lot larger that we expected it covered 172.5 acres.

We walked through the cemetery looking at the crosses and reading the names of some of the soldiers that died on D-Day. The cemetery contains the graves of 9,387 soldiers, most of whom died during the D-Day landings.

American Cemetery in Normandy
The view from the rear of the cemetery.

It was a surreal and an emotional walk through the cemetery. Looking back towards the main entrance the view was awe-inspiring in a sad kind of way.

“Au revoir et passe une bonne journée”

France

Saint-Germain-du-Pert, France

We stopped at a military war grave cemetery that was located in Saint-Germain-du-Perth, France. The WWII cemetery was established for the German soldiers killed during the war.  The cemetery called “La Cambe Military Cemetery” contains in excess of 21,000 German soldiers.

Gate to the cemetery

The cemetery was fairly modest in appearance and subdued. We entered through an arched gate into a cemetery with rows of flat headstones. There was a row of five stone crosses spaced in between the rows of headstones.

Flat headstones in the cemetery

At the center of the cemetery, there was a circular mound with a monument at the top.

Central mound in Cambe cemetery

We walked to the central monument and went up the stair to the top.

Stairs to the top of the monument in Cambe cemetery

From the top of the monument, we could see the entire cemetery.

View from the top of the monument in Cambe cemetery.

It was a somber experience walking through the cemetery.

“The soldiers’ graves are the greatest preachers of peace” -Albert Schweitzer

“Au revoir et passez un bon jour”