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this must never happen again - Oswiecim
this must never happen again
by tini58de
Tips and photos for Oswiecim vacations and tourism, posted by real travelers and Oswiecim locals.
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Walking around the Barracks
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    • Jmill42
  • By Jmill42 on February 26, 2004
  • Oswiecim Page by Jmill42
    • Oswiecim General Tips
    by Jmill42
    After entering the compound, you can follow the directed course of the map that is given to you when you purchase your ticket or roam about on your own. I recommend following the map, unless there is a large tour group, which I had. Simply skip and come back. Inside most of the barracks are special displays, either representing a memorial to a certain country's prisoners, depiction of barrack life, or remains of the victims lives.

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    Hoss' Fate
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    • Jmill42
  • Updated By Jmill42 on February 26, 2004
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    by Jmill42
    As you walk from the Barracks through the menacing gate, you come upon a square that has importance in that, it was the place that First Commandant Rudolph Hoss met his end, by hanging, for his crimes against humanity in 16 April 1947. He was tried and convicted by the Polish Supreme National Tribune. This area also served as the Gestapo portion of the camp. During the war, those suspected of plotting against the Nazis were interrogated here.

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    Selection Process
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    • Jmill42
  • By Jmill42 on February 26, 2004
  • Oswiecim Page by Jmill42
    • Oswiecim General Tips
    by Jmill42
    At Birkenau's train platform, the infamous selection process took place. Here all prisoners were lined up and were examined by the SS doctors, most notably Dr. Menegle. They were seperated into two groups: those who could work and those who could not. Those who could not, were immediately sent to the end of the ramp to be executed in the gas chambers. Those who panicked were lied to, and told the were just going to take a bath for disinfection purposes. Those who were fit enough were transported to Auschwitz for labor.

    Here is a photo of the selections taking place.

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    The Lake of Ashes
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    • Jmill42
  • By Jmill42 on February 26, 2004
  • Oswiecim Page by Jmill42
    • Oswiecim General Tips
    by Jmill42
    At the very back of the complex is the "Lake of Ashes." So dubbed because of the gray color of the water brought about by the dumping of the ashes 60 years ago here. There are three monument tombstones at the foot of the lake, that pay final respects to those who lie at the bottom.

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    Horror on a Grand Scale
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    • Jmill42
  • By Jmill42 on February 26, 2004
  • Oswiecim Page by Jmill42
    • Oswiecim General Tips
    by Jmill42
    I recommend that you climb the tower of the railway entrance at the beginning of Birkenau, so you can see what I did here in this picture. Only from here can you wrap your mind around the idea that 1.5 million people died. Thats every single person in my former city of New Orleans. Only when I saw the endless row after row of prisoner barracks, did I get a felling for the sheer SIZE of th inhumanity that took place here.

    Truly, you cannot see the end of the complex; stretching farther than you can see. Each of the barracks contained a few hundred prisoners.

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    Steps to Nowhere
  • Tip Rating:
    • Jmill42
  • By Jmill42 on February 26, 2004
  • Oswiecim Page by Jmill42
    • Oswiecim General Tips
    by Jmill42
    I think my mind really went haywire when I tried to imagine standing here 60 years ago, on the threshold of the steps that led to the undressing chamber prior to being led into the gas chamber. What would I have thought, said, done? What did they think, say, or do?

    You?

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    Sophie's Choice
  • Tip Rating:
    • Jmill42
  • Updated By Jmill42 on February 26, 2004
  • Oswiecim Page by Jmill42
    • Oswiecim General Tips
    by Jmill42
    I was given a book by a traveller that knew I was heading to Auschwitz. The title was "Sophie's Choice." It is a book about a female survivor and here life struggle to erase or grasp hold of her past, not just of the brutality of the camps, but of a decision she was forced to make at her arrival. An unbelievably memorable book. (Somewhat inappropriate for kids) The reason why I write about this here is that a lrage portion of the book is set here at Auschwitz, and more specifically in Rudolph Hoss's quarters. The house at the end of this road is that house. Unfortuantely, you are not allowed there.

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    Barracks 10 and 11
  • Tip Rating:
    • Jmill42
  • Updated By Jmill42 on February 26, 2004
  • Oswiecim Page by Jmill42
    • The courtyard with the execution wall at the end - Oswiecim
    The courtyard with the
    execution wall at the end
    by Jmill42
    Of special interest is the courtyard between Barracks 10 and 11. This courtyard was a "special" execution place for the SS soldiers. Following is what the offial plaque reads:

    "From 1941 to 1943, the SS shot several thousand people at the wall in this coutryard between Barracks 10 and 11. Most of those executed here were Polish political prisoners, above all the leaders and memebers of the clandestine organizations and people who helped escappes or facilitated contacts with the outside world. Poles who had been sentenced to death in nearby towns were also brought here to be shot, including men, women, and even children who had been taken hostage in revenge for operations of the Polish resistence against the German occupation. Prisoners of other nationalities and ethnic origins, including Jews and Soviet POWs, were also shot at this wall.

    The SS administered brutal punishments here: floggings, and also the torture know as the "post," in which prisoners were hung from a post by their wrists with their arms twisted behind their backs.

    The execution wall was dismantled in 1944 on the orders of the camp authorities. Executions were subsequently carried out elsewhere, most often in the gas chambers and crematorium at Auschwitz II-Birkenau.

    After the war, the execution wall was partially reconstructed by the museum.

    You are entering a courtyard where the SS exectuted thousands of people. Please maintain silence here: remember their suffering and show respect for their memory."

    I am sad to say that some people cannot follow that last instruction.

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    Life at Birkenau
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    • Jmill42
  • By Jmill42 on February 26, 2004
  • Oswiecim Page by Jmill42
    • Oswiecim General Tips
    by Jmill42
    Here is a historical photo of one of the barracks at Birkenau. As you can see, the conditions were as bad as you would think. As I found out, it can get real cold in Poland. These buildings actually did have a "heating system." Unfortuantely, they proved vastly inadequate to heat such a large building, and many perished from the harsh conditions.

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    The Gas Chambers
  • Tip Rating:
    • Jmill42
  • Updated By Jmill42 on February 26, 2004
  • Oswiecim Page by Jmill42
    • Oswiecim General Tips
    by Jmill42
    Though most of the gas chambers were destroyed by the retreating Nazi army in an attempt to cover up thier crimes, there was a painstaking reproduction made at Auchwitz I, to serve as a memorial and reminder to all.

    This picture is indside the gas chamber at Auschwitz I.

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