We never achieved that intention for a few reasons:
* when we put Auschwitz in the GPS she said there was no such place as the GPS was expecting the Polish spelling. We had no material in the car with that spelling so had to rely on the memory of seeing it written during our research. We played about with a few spellings and settled on Oswiecim which happened to be correct so set off somewhat stressed.
* after around 45 minutes Mrs GPS got herself all lost due to some major highway realignment. We ended up going around in circles and then re-entering the motorway heading back to Ostrava. It was 8 kms before we could exit the motorway and head back in the right direction again
* I inadvertently forgot that I was driving on the other side of the road as we came off the motorway as I entered the roundabout the wrong way and came face to face with a vehicle coming the other way- luckily we have French number plates so they would think some dumb Frenchman was at the wheel.
* following the signposts near Oswiecim I took the road to Auschwitz II - Birkenau so having parked the car we needed to wait for the shuttle to take us to the main Auschwitz area to pick up a tour.
So instead of starting the tour at 10.30 as intended we made the 11.30 tour along with around 40 others.
It is difficult to describe our feelings but the following sum it up - serene, orderly, vastness, a presence, extreme sadness, beyond one's comprehension.
We took over 100 photos and the following are a random selection to try and give you a sense.
The entry to Auschwitz I- "Arbeit Macht Frei" , "Labour makes you free"
An urn containing the ashes of some of the 1,100,000 people who were exterminated in one of the 6 gas chambers on this site.
Empty canisters of the Xyclone gas used in the chambers.
Spectacles removed from the victims and below some of the 40,000 pairs of shoes
that were found on site after the liberation. Crutches and other disability aids that
were found on site.
Photos of some of those that went through the camp - each photo displayed the date of the person's arrival and the date of their extermination. The average time in camp was 3-4 months but some photos recorded that some were killed the next day!
Suitcases that carried the belongings of the unsuspecting folk who thought they were just being transported east!
Shoes and clothing of very small children
Crematorium 1 which contained a gas chamber
The wall against which at least 10,000 were executed by being shot for causing even minor disturbance in the camp.
After touring through Auschwitz I we then bussed back to Auschwitz II - Birkenau.
Here there remains a vast complex which contained 4 other extermination chambers. The rail line in through the main gate was a poignant feature
We were shown a latrine block where the inmates were allowed 30 secs twice a day
We moved to the rear of Birkenau where there is a memorial in 22 languages to the
victims, then passed one of the gas chambers destroyed by the Nazis days before
the Allies arrived and then we made our way out passed orderly rows of buildings
which housed the unfortunate folk who arrived here, before returning to the main
entry dominated by the rail line running into the camp.
We are so glad that we have had the opportunity to visit this reminder of what human beings can do to other human beings
We arrived in Krakow too late to go to the salt mine as planned so that needs to wait until tomorrow.
This is our first day in Poland and we are surprised by the cost of living. Our evening meal in one of the hundreds of restaurants in and around the main square cost $35 and we regarded it as a high class meal.
On the way back to the hotel we went to a supermarket and for $10.75 brought 2 bananas, 1 grapefruit, 660 grams of yoghurt, 1 litre of milk, a packet of muesli and a packet of prunes!
No comments:
Post a Comment