Quote:
Originally Posted by UthersGhost
I've read a pile of books on this subject as well as watching umpteen docu's and never cease to be amazed at the resiliance of those who survived.
I doubt that I could have survived a week in Auschwitz during a typical Polish winter.
I also have a lot of respect for those who are willing to relate their experiences to younger generations, it cannot be an easy thing to do.
Didn't see the documentary, but I've lived in Poland for 13 years, in a city that's about a 3-hour drive from Auschwitz.
Been there twice. After everything I learned about WWII and the Holocaust growing up, one of the biggest shocks was seeing the real thing in color. All the photos in my history books were black and white.
Before entering the museum, visitors watch a short film with newsreels from the liberation of the camp, sort of a condensed version of everything that has been shown on the History Channel etc. Very, very chilling.
The 'Arbiet Macht Frei' gate is a lot smaller than one might expect.
Large glass display cases full of eyeglasses, suitcases and other personal effects are hard to look at for very long, but the worst are the hair and the children's shoes. There are no words.
Most (if not all, but I'm not entirely sure on this point) of the tour guides work on a volunteer basis, of course they do accept tips/donations after the tour is completed. Some survivors lead tours of visitors coming in buses from Germany and tell them about their time in captivity in German. That's an amazing thing to contemplate.
I've actually really come to love this country after living here for so long, but its history, especially in the 20th century, is tragic. I was taking a walk during a recent business trip to Warsaw when I came across a section of sidewalk that had a foot-wide strip of stone with the inscription 'GHETTO WALL 1943' where the Warsaw Jewish ghetto wall ran.