Tearful Holocaust Travels

Is traveling always fun? Definitely not. But visiting memorials to historical tragedies is still worthwhile.

Usually we take a trip to enjoy ourselves. To get away from the stresses of everyday life, relax a bit, get new impressions and see other cultures.

But sometimes, a trip can include a more tragic note. I still vividly remember one of my first adult trips, visiting the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia's capital. A family group were part of the hourly guided tour I joined: two teenage children, their parents, and an elderly grandmother. Half-way through the explanation of a particular battle, the grandmother broke down in tears. Her family comforted her, and soon led her away from our group to recover in peace. I could barely stop myself from crying, either: this history was real, this museum spoke of dreadful things that actually happened to real people.

Since then, I've seen a lot more and a lot worse. But the time that has stuck longest in my head is the six or seven hours I spent in a psychological daze at the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps in Poland. Over many years I'd learned about the Holocaust in school, seen countless documentaries and even met a Holocaust survivor. But nothing compared to being at this heartless camp where two million people died for no reason.

It's often said that we need to understand history to avoid making the same mistakes again. In that case, everybody should definitely see Auschwitz once in their lives. This week's article, Auschwitz and Birkenau Terror gives some information on how.