Auschwitz and Birkenau Terror
Concentration Camps in Southern Poland: Holocaust Memorials
Jun 22, 2006
History's full of ups and downs and the twentieth century Holocaust is one of its worst moments. When visiting southern Poland, the opportunity to learn more about this period of history presents itself most strongly in the Auschwitz region. While traveling and sightseeing is often fun and exciting, now and again your outings might have other reasons. Visiting the sites of concentration camps in Auschwitz and nearby Birkenau is not a day trip anyone will say they enjoy: but many will tell you the experience was important and worthwhile.
Auschwitz is in fact the German name for this concentration camp site, called Oswiecim in Polish, and it lies about an hour west of Krakow. Most visitors experience Auschwitz-Birkenau as a day trip from Krakow and while it's possible to join a tour from there, using public transport gives you the opportunity to arrange your own timetable for the day: buses and trains both do the trip in about 90 minutes.
Most visitors arrive initially at the State Museum Auschwitz/Birkenau. A documentary film plays in several languages throughout the day, showing the liberation of the camp in 1945: unfortunately, it's really the only slightly uplifting experience at the complex. From this main building, you have the option of joining a tour or exploring the site alone. About thirty prison block buildings remain here, many containing shocking displays.
You'll usually need to take a shuttle bus from the Auschwitz camp along to Birkenau. This site is, if possible, more horrifying, both in terms of its huge size, and the placement of the large gas chambers. It's estimated that the camps in this region are responsible for the deaths of up to two million people - 90% Jewish - during the Second World War.
Wandering the large area of Birkenau will undoubtedly give your mind the final overload of a day full of impressions. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum is a shocking, in-your-face experience, but also an important one to understand a significant moment in history.
More information:
A convenient base for a visit to Auschwitz is the pretty city of Krakow.
Further details on visiting Auschwitz can be found at the official Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum website.
