I have read books, seen pictures, and watched documentaries. I have experienced the shock of seeing the horrors of the Holocaust in photos and films, yet all the emotions I felt during those times pale when compared to what I felt standing at Auschwitz, which is one of the camps of the entire camp complex of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Auschwitz consists of rows upon rows of barracks ringed with barbed wire and watch towers. One difference between Auschwitz and other concentration camps is that the barracks are made of brick; this is because the camp of Auschwitz was a former Polish military base. I thought that I was prepared and that Auschwitz would be like the other camps. Little did I know that I couldn’t be anymore mistaken.
We visited many of the barracks which have been converted into exhibitions. Inside the exhibitions were artifacts from the prisoners of the camp; many were personal articles such as suitcases and shoes. I was shocked to see so many of those articles; there were at least a million pairs of shoes and countless suitcases in the glass cases. What really shook me was the case full of the hair that the Nazis stole from people murdered in the gas chambers. It dreadful and I felt horrified that people could do such a thing. It is so hard to describe such horrors; it is those instances that one would only understand if they experienced it firsthand.
Today I realized how important it is for the Holocaust to be remembered and that everyone in this course has the responsibility to bear witness. People cannot allow such a horrible event to happen again. As George Santayana, a Spanish philosopher said, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
- Conan W.
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| First glance at Auschwitz |
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| The Book of Names |
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| The shoes of the victims |
Auschwitz has evolved into one of the most feared words of the past two centuries, a word that instills fear and horror in the lives and memories of others. I am a witness. What I have witnessed words cannot even begin to describe.
"Auschwitz was designed to kill" said Mr. Max Eisen, a survivor of this infamous concentration camp.
As you can imagine, I have experienced a variety of emotions walking through this haunting sight, and to make our experience even more real, we had an Auschwitz survivor travelling with us. Mr. Max Eisen lives in Toronto, and was deported to Auschwitz from Hungary when he was only 15. I can only imagine the tragic thoughts going through his mind as he relived his painful experiences again today. A few words that I would use to describe my experience in Auschwitz are horrifying, haunting, and hopeless. The physical buildings were moving, but it was what is inside that would scare anyone: hair from the victims, original torture chambers, and the scratch marks on the walls of the gas chamber. These haunting sights will always be with me. It was clear to me that Auschwitz was designed to kill and, sadly, the people who built and operated it did succeed in killing over 1,000,000 people at that camp alone.
In addition to the sights I witnessed, the number of tourists and their behaviour was quite alarming. It felt like I was in a amusement park: people were drinking pop, eating pizza and ice cream, and taking selfies outside the gas chambers. I thought it was disgusting. I felt like screaming at them. I thought to myself "Do they know where they are?" and “How extremely disrespectful can they be?” I wish they could have conducted themselves in a more appropriate way.
Tomorrow is chapter two of our Auschwitz journey because we will be travelling to Auschwitz-Birkenau. I am curious to learn and experience this site tomorrow. It is important that we continue to bear witness and to share these stories so history cannot repeat itself. As a new witness, I will say to anyone: “Don't be a bystander.” “Stand up to wrong-doing.” “Be the one who upholds justice and makes peace.” “Love your neighbour as you would love yourself.” “Respect everyone!”
-James P.
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