10 Oct - Auschwitz
Confronting. Overwhelming. Sickening. Horrifying. I wasn’t quite prepared for Auschwitz. I don’t think anyone can be. The huge scale of Birkenau - the camp set up for the gas chambers was overwhelming. It was a grim, gloomy rainy day, freezing. Quite fitting. The air felt thick, oppresive, and even had a weird smell to it. I found it impossible to fully comprehend the realities of the horrors there, however it solidified the historical event a lot more by being there in person (than reading it in a book). The day spent in Auschwitz left me numb and with a sick feeling in my gut. I cant begin to understand the mentality behind how or why people could conduct such atrocities on other humans.












The railway tracks in Birkenau - leading to death. The Jews would disembark the train, and immediately be seperated - majority would be sent straight to their death in the gas chambers, and the others were made to work and live in completely inhumane conditions, surviving no longer than 2 months, some only 2 weeks. A picture of the endless barbwire fences enclosing the camp. A picture of the living quarters - an old cattle shed. Bunk beds, paper mattresses, thin ragged blankets, 2 bucket toilets per shed, no heating or insulation.












Lastly, a picture of the dorms in Auschwitz - they look much better, however they were brick buildings of hell - starvation cells, 'standing' cells, rooms where medical 'experiments' were made on children, and rooms of torment. The preservation of the concentration camps are a memorial and sober warning against racism, xenophobia and war.