Poland

Auschwitz

When people from home called and asked where I was and I replied Poland a few people followed with “What are you doing there?” Yes it is a big jump to go from Greece to Poland but we needed a change, wanted to do some sight seeing and move further into Eastern Europe. Of course it was a long travel day(s) for us as it was a 10 hr bus ride from Corfu to Athens (overnight) and then a day at the airport (late flight), flying into Vienna (via Belgrade for 2 hours) and then an overnight train to Krakow. Almost €300 later we finally made it (Flights to Krakow were about €500-600) and arrived at our hostel at 7am with a bad smell and bloody tired!

One of the main reasons for coming to Poland was to immerse ourselves into all things WW2, in particular, the Holocaust. Auschwitz, one of the largest, most famous and well-preserved concentration camps stands in Poland and it was nothing like I expected it to be. We all know the story; Hitler didn’t like Jews, made them wear stars, moved them out of their houses, sent them to work, starved and beaten to death, placed in concentration camps and many (roughly 6 million) exterminated. Few survived. Why these people? Simply because they followed the Jewish religion. A plan to exterminate a whole race in ways we had never seen before; Genocide at it’s greatest.

We began our history lessons in Krakow, the old Polish capital, with a free walking tour around the old town. This city (untouched in WW2) has a beauty to it, one that I can’t quite explain. We stayed in a hostel on the outskirts of the main square. A place which is vibrant and full of entertainment with street dancers, performers, vendors, an enormous statue in the middle, a cathedral, clothing hall, hundreds of pigeons and countless tour guides. It is the largest square in Poland (and one of the largest in Europe). Walking around, Krakow oozed with an unfamiliar vibe that we couldn’t quite put our fingers on, but we liked it. Next was the Jewish quarter. We witnessed scenes from Schindler’s list (a recommended movie to watch if you’d like to learn more), the ghettos that Jews were forced to live in, the square that was filled with suitcases and of course, Schindler’s factory. I think we were now ready for Auschwitz.

Auschwitz is about one hour from Krakow and being on a budget we steered clear from the tour companies and did it ourselves (I recommend this to everyone as it is very easy), saving almost half the money.  We got the local bus in, arriving just after 12 and joined the 1:30 tour provided by the museum giving us enough time to buy a hot chicken soup, drinks and to watch the free documentary. There are two camps within Auschwitz; Auschwitz 1 and 2-Birkenau, both being very different.

We began with the first. This camp was not built, it was brought, extended and utlisied, mainly in the beginning for polish fix and then Jews. Its main use was between 19find until Birkenau was completed. This camp has more of a museum feel to it, with each ‘block’ being turned into mini museums explaining various aspects of the holocaust proceedings as well as displaying the vast number of items left by the Jews. It was so surreal seeing all these things collected after the war ended; spectacles (20-40kg), real human hair (almost 2 tonne), copious amounts of suitcases (we saw Anne Frank’s families), pots, pans, brushes, shoes (something like 40, 000 pairs), clothes, empty chemical cans (used to kill them in the chambers), documents listing the Jews in each country and photographs of prisoners. It’s strange because you know it is the real stuff but it doesn’t fully register to you that this really is their stuff (if that makes sense). For me it sunk in when I saw the shoes but for Toma it was the hair. We didn’t cry we just felt sorry. Sorry and confused as to why something like this happened. What possibly drives someone so strongly to do such a thing?

Next up was the real deal. We got a shuttle bus 3km away to Birkenau (included in the tour) and the second you step off you just get this eerie chill in you, almost like you don’t want to be there (to top it off too it was a cold day). Everywhere you look is exactly like the movies, pictures and video clips that you have seen. It’s basically untouched and so well preserved, still so fresh. Unlike the previous camp this one was built for one purpose- to board and kill. Walking in here you just felt speechless and sad, like you knew there was no return for these people. Even the railway track came right in and stopped near the gas chambers. No exits, only an entry. To think how much these Jews were tricked is appalling because it’s like you just know what is going to happen once you get there. You see your fate just by looking at the chimneys. We made our way to the gas chambers first, none of which still remain, as this is the first thing the Germans destroyed. The remains are still there as a reminder of what occurred. Of course the debris is cleared and there is now a large memorial in between but to the left is a shallow pit that was once filled with hundreds of bodies, one of the many.

As we moved towards the barracks, you could see the wooden ones had been destroyed, only the foundations left but the brick buildings remained intact. Walking into the barracks is crazy. One of the most popular photos are that of the malnourished prisoners crammed into three-tier bunk beds and no hope in their eyes, searching for a way to survive. We were there, just without the bodies this time. Everything is there, exactly as they were left. A single, half dead rose is left on many of the bunks to commemorate the lives lost. We learnt of diseases, living conditions, meals (less than 500 calories per day), sleeping and hygiene issues as we visited the toilet blocks. There really isn’t much to say about this place. Once they came here, they knew their fate.

This has to be one of the most well documented wars and we wondered just how there were so many photos of these camps and the killings when the Germans tried to hide the truth from the world. On the day of liberation one Jewish lady went searching for food in the administration offices and came across these photos, she recognised herself in some of them and kept these photos for many years until she was much older and handed them over to a museum. Today they help in understanding exactly what went on as many witnesses were killed. Few survived to tell their stories and yet only 10% of the Nazi’s were captured and persecuted.

As a teacher I am obviously going to recommend that everybody visit something like this at least once in his or her lives, especially if you ever get the chance whilst in Europe. I learnt and felt more here than any textbook, YouTube clip, novel or documentary could do and the guide was excellent, full of information facts and able to answer any question. It was all a low coast day,  only 75pln (about €20-24) for the bus and tour and some food.

With our history lesson over we decided to see what else Poland had to offer. Toma and I had made an effort to try a variety of Polish foods and in our brief stay we managed to find some great local restaurants recommended by our walking guide. Each time we got a few dishes and shared so by the end we had tried Pierogi (boiled and stuffed dumplings-had lamb, apple, strawberry, pork), obwarzanek (bread from street vendors), plenty of pork dishes, potato dishes, vegetables and their favorite fast food place-sphinx (not so great). We were certainly impressed and proud that we had both tried new things (especially Toma who is getting really good at that these days).

Before our stint in Poland was over we headed to Wroclaw for 2 nights and whilst there isn’t much to do here except walk around admiring the architecture and finding gnomes we took our last chance to relax before we head to Budapest to meet back with up with Nat and Danielle. The weather had changed back to sunshine so we grabbed some sushi (hadn’t had it since Lagos and it was cheap here) and headed to the park for a picnic before we spoiled ourselves some more and got hour Thai massages.

Poland is a beautiful country, full of history, beautiful towns, a vibrant nightlife and delicious food however it is the kind of place where you can get in, do what you have to do and get out therefore unless you have friends to see who can provide a more in depth experience stick to a the main places such as Warsaw and Krakow. Three weeks until we return to London but still a lot ahead of us-Hungary, Czech Republic and Germany. Stay tuned!