Krakow- Krakov
We pulled into the station at 6:49am. We waited a bit for the ticket and money exchange offices to open at 7:00am and asked about trains to Auschwitz. We walked into the city and found the Mundo Hostel which not only had a room available for the night but also offered reasonably priced laundry service. Down to his last sock, Roger was particularly excited about this development. Our hosts kindly offered us the breakfast being served to a large group of French folk. (We later conjectured that they were a student group led by two older gentlemen). While exchanging, "where are YOU from?"s one dude didn't know where Boston (or Massachusetts) is located. In some weird way this made me feel better about all of the times I haven't known where a European's town in within their country. So often I feel like my geography is failing me. (It's not your fault, Mr. Gredler, you made sure I knew every country and capital in the world. It's just that my mind sheds facts like a labrador sheds fur in the spring.)
Auschwitz I and II, Birkenau
Riding out to the camps it struck me, and later, after our visit I asked several Polish folk and they confirmed, that this is a site they visit on school trips as they are growing up. I wonder how this affects the way that they think about it compared to how people in the US do.
I remember learning and reading about different facets of the Halocaust at different times in my schooling. I felt horrified at the scale of the crime and I think learning about the Halocaust was probably the first time in my development that I began to be aware of the human capacity for so much killing and evil. But because of the scale and the numbers of people involved I (and I don't think people generally can) could never really grasp what the numbers meant.
In Auschwitz I they have a sort of museum in several of the bunkhouses displaying paperwork detailing aspects of setting up, hiding, running and catalogueing the camp. Photos of prisonors who were marked as entering the camp and photos of survivors. The precision and forethought that went into the Nazis plans to imprison and kill so many people was so coldly calculating. So deceptively cruel.
In one bunkhouse simply labeled "Evidence of Crimes" they have displayed a fraction of what was left behind or taken from the victims. A room maybe 100 feet long with piles of women's hair behind glass. Another long room with suitcases - people had written their names and addresses; they were expecting to go home eventually. A long hallway with piles of shoes on both sides. You can smell the leather through the glass. Another, smaller, room with children's and baby's shoes. Pots, pans, brushes, clothing, shaving brushes. A fraction of what was left behind. Thousands of the millions displayed.
Walked to Birkenau and saw the expanse it covered. It is huge. Desolate, bleak, partially destroyed by Nazis who feared the retribution for what they'd done. Huge. It is not possible to look across the camp and see the other edge. Over a million people lost their lives here. Train after train after train. An efficient killing machine for humans. Horrible. Sobering. Shaming. Unforgivable. May the souls of the dead rest in peace. May the souls of the survivors be not disturbed by vivid rememberings. May those who designed and carried out the massacre feel the weight and pain of what they have done for eternity. May humanity be careful with itself that it may not happen again.
For my history teacher friends, I took photos of some of the exhibits and the camps for your potential use. There was also a booklet elaborating on the different displays that you might find helpful in your teaching. Let me know.
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