It has been over a week since my last post, but I have been trying to remember as much as I can so that my memories are accurate.
We bought tickets for an English-speaking tour on Sunday to go visit Oświęcim and Brzezinka (the Polish names for Auschwitz and Birkenau) since we knew that our time was limited in Krakow. To get into the mood, we took a tour of the Jewish area in southern Krakow, where ghettos were created in the war and where most of Schindler's List was filmed. We walked around, and examined the remnants of a culture that is pretty much extinct in Krakow (what with most of the Jewish people either being driven out into concentration camps or moving out after the war).
The tour started with a bus ride for about an hour, with a video depicting the footage taken when the camps were finally "liberated" by the Russians. What was most interesting about that was that the actual footage was replaced with fake footage in 1946 (after the war was over) with the residents of the concentration camps having been cleaned, cared for and fed for a year and cheering when they saw the Russians come. In reality, these people were the living dead, and when the Russians came to free them, they had lost hope and looked unable to feel anything but despair.
Our tour guide was a Polish girl who spoke English very well, and who was obviously very emotionally involved in the whole tour experience. She kept telling us about little-known and random facts, like how using the bathroom was a privilege and lasted all of 10 seconds a day, with SS men watching over you and counting to 5 with a gun. The lack of privacy and dignity is one thing, but then cleaning out the septic tanks in your one item of clothing... well I don't even want to think about it. Another interesting thing I found out was that the warehouses used to store all the stolen items (suitcases, clothes, shoes, jewellery) were all called "Canada". Apparently the prisoners thought of Canada as the land of plenty and freedom, and the warehouses of valuables represented the wealth that Canada had. Makes you appreciate your country more - imagine someone using the place as you live as the symbol of a better life? That definitely stuck in my mind.
The size of Birkenau was staggering - the rows and rows of barracks in the fields makes you face the reality of how many people were actually living in the hell of the concentration camp. The railroad tracks that went on and on stopped in the middle of the camp, and we actually stood at the very spot where Nazis would segregate those who were ready for hard labour from those to be sent to the gas chamber immediately. The far side of the camp had a huge memorial built there, where they built a stone likeness to every kind of burial possible - gravestone, urn, etc. They wrote an inscription in every language that was represented in the camp, which basically said that we should never forget what happened and that history is more than likely to repeat itself. I find it ironic that this memorial was built not long after the horrors in Bosnia and Serbia, and Rwanda.
I was pretty much silent the whole time, but I think I stopped myself from really understanding the reality of the camp. It hurts me that all this happened on Polish ground, since it creates an area of true evil that existed in Poland. I was also surprised that so many Polish people were killed in the camps: until about 1942, mostly Polish political prisoners and gypsies, homosexuals and other foreigners were killed and tortured in Auschwitz. Once the Germans perfected the art of killing was when the mass murders of Jews began.
After 6 hours of the tour, it felt really good to leave - I was relieved to return to my normal life, and even try to joke around once we got back - I can't imagine what it would be like to be completely hopeless. I can truly say that I appreciate everything more now, and will never forget what I saw and read about. Auschwitz should be witnessed by as many people as possible, especially all the ignorants that know nothing of our history and those that refuse to accept that this happened.
To regain some positivity back into our lives, we dragged our emotionally-drained bodies to enjoy Krakow by night. Once we got back, we chilled with the boys from the hostel again and went to bed. I didn't even complain (except to myself) about the smells, noises (snoring and other) and mess that boys make - they must all have amazing moms!! I was woken up several times that night by some classy guy who fell asleep drunk, with his hands down his pants and shaking his bed with loud snores. No comment.
To finish, Krakow is definitely as described - gorgeous, well-preserved, and full of history. It is Poland's little darling, and seems to be the center of all other touristy areas - 1-2 hours from Auschwitz, Zakopane, Wieliczka, the late Pope's humble beginning place... I am almost tempted to say it's prettier than Warsaw, but it's hard for me to be disloyal. It will make the right impression on you if you choose to visit Poland!
Next: Vienna - barely made the train, with no food, 6 hours... you can only imagine Adam's delight at those kind of conditions!
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