Auschwitz
After Bratislava we headed to Krakow and took a side trip to Auschwitz. Words aren't really good enough to express what happened there. The sheer vastness of Auschwitz II - Birkenau is enough to render someone speechless for the entire time they're looking around. We saw the original living conditions, the original railroad used to haul the prisoners into the camp, gas chambers, crematoriums, and a pond where they dumped the ashes from the bodies.
As a Protestant American (as opposed to a Jewish Pole/German/Hungarian/Slovac/Czech/Russian/anyone else that was considered inferior) I knew the history behind what happened there but didn't fully connect with the travesty that I was looking at. I guess I'm saying that my mind wanted to tell my gut to be in knots but since I'm so disconnected to the people that this happened to I couldn't. We had a taxi driver take us to and from the "museums". Both of his parents died in the camp. At Aushcwitz they have pictures of all of the prisoners hanging on the walls. I can't begin to imagine if I saw my parents or my grandparents picture on the wall. I think I would be able to get a better feel for the events though.
posted by Jeff @ 2:45 AM
6 Comments:
Sometimes, when I'm in places like that I've read about (like "The Hiding Place" in Haarlem, Holland) I've experienced that same disconnect. I wonder if it's because we're so overwhelmed we just don't "feel" anything, or if it's simply because it wasn't our "battle." I think I'd like to go there...
I definately felt numb when I was there. There's quite a difference between lively and colorful Krakow and the sobering reality of Auschwitz. You should let it sink in a bit and think about it while you travel. I know the gravity of the visit didn't hit me until I was sitting on a train for ten hours returning to Prague.
In unrelated news...
You freakin' left Jay behind?! Never leave a man behind! Just kidding. I probably would've done the same thing. Was his bag still at Nebe?
yeah, his bag was at nebe...i told him we were leaving. i assumed jay was a seasoned traveler but i was wrong. next time i'm gonna put a leash on him.
We also had those feelings, Jeff, when we visited the French "Aushwitz" museum. That is what lead us to read up on the subject. It did not fully sink in for a while. I'm not so sure it really can. We faced those feelings of overwhelming amazement seeing Communism and what it did to the coutry of Russia. Oh, the depth of the evil of men.
By the way, where in the heck is Jay? Has he found you?
Mom
Jay's with us...he met up with us about 6 hours after we got to Bratislava. he just caught the next train out.
yeah, if anything Auschwitz was a lesson in the evil people are capable of.
Ok, I think I've got it.
My blog address is www.praying4umomma.blogspot.com
I even published a small blog. Ha. Let us know when to pick you up. Tell your team that I am reading their blogs and praying for them.
Love, Mom
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