Auschwitz I

Tuesday, 16th October 2007 was always going to be a big day for me - my 40th Birthday to be exact.

I had always wanted to do something memorable on the day that (according to the old saying) "my life begun" - but I wasn't interested in a trip to the local pub to get drunk with my mates.

I wanted to do something that I would remember for the rest of my life.

Thus, I chose to travel to Krakow, Poland - and ultimately visit Oswiecim (pronounced Os-vee-chim), location of the infamous Nazi Death Camps of Auschwitz.

The Auschwitz "complex" consisted of 3 parts:
KL Auschwitz I (Based in Oswiecim);
KL Auschwitz II - Birkenau (Based 3km away in Brzezinka); and,
KL Auschwitz III - Monowitz (in nearby Monowice).



The following photos are a small selection from my visit the small camp at Oswiecim - which until Nazi occupation, served as a Polish Army barracks.



THIS PLAQUE IS SITUATED AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE CAMP.
ORIGINALLY THE BUILDING INVOLVED WAS USED AS A RECEPTION BUILDING FOR NEW PRISONERS.
TODAY IT ACTS AS AN INFORMATION CENTRE.




HUGE METAL BOARDS ARE DISPLAYED AS YOU MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE CAMP - THIS ONE TELLS OF HOW THE CAMP WAS USED UNDER NAZI RULE.




THIS SHOWS AN AERIAL VIEW OF THE AUSCHWITZ DEATH CAMPS -NOTE THE SIZE OF BIRKENAU (B) COMPARED TO AUSCHWITZ I (A), WHERE MILLIONS OF JEWS WOULD BE BROUGHT IN BY THE TRAINLOAD IN CATTLE TRUCKS, AND THEN MURDERED IN THE GAS CHAMBERS.
(C) AND (D) SHOW THE MONOWITZ CAMP AND THE SYNTHETIC RUBBER AND PETROL FACTORY (BUNA WERKE), WHERE MANY WERE USED AS SLAVE LABOUR.




A CLOSER AERIAL VIEW OF AUSCHWITZ I & II - WITH ITS SPECIALLY BUILT RAIL SPUR FOR THE PURPOSE OF HUGE SCALE EXTERMINATION.




THE WALK DOWN TO THE ENTRANCE GATE - TO THE RIGHT, THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED INFORMATION CENTRE.




BEAUTIFUL TREE LINED, COBBLED AVENUES DISSECT THE CAMP - WHO COULD POSSIBLY SUSPECT THE ATROCITIES THAT WOULD OCCUR WITHIN THE WALLS OF THE BUILDINGS?
THE BUILDINGS TO THE LEFT IN THIS PICTURE HOUSED THE SS GARAGES AND WORKSHOPS.




THE VIEW ACROSS THE GRASS TO THE MAIN GATE OF KL AUSCHWITZ I.




THE MAIN GATE WITH THE INFAMOUS "ARBEIT MACHT FREI" (WORK BRINGS FREEDOM) INSCRIPTION.




BESIDE THE MAIN GATE - THE SS GUARD HOUSE AND OFFICE OF THE CAMP SUPERVISOR.




PEERING THROUGH THE MESH OF THE MAIN GATE - IN THE BACKGROUND, THE PRISON BLOCKS.




THE ELECTRIFIED FENCE - TWO ROWS, SEPARATED BY A WALKWAY WHICH WAS LIT AT NIGHT.
LOOKOUT TOWERS COVER EVERY ANGLE AROUND THE CAMP.




PRISONERS WERE IN NO DOUBT OF THE CONSEQUENCES, SHOULD THEY TRY TO BREAK THROUGH THE FENCE.




LOOKING OUT THROUGH THE MAIN GATE TOWARDS FREEDOM.




BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: UNIFORM LINES OF TREES AMONGST ELECTRIC FENCES AND MACHINE GUN LOOKOUT TURRETS.




THE ROLL CALL SQUARE.
ROLL CALL TOOK PLACE UP TO 3 TIMES A DAY - AND COULD LAST HOURS. PRISONERS WOULD BE PUNISHED OR EVEN SHOT IF THEY DIDN'T KEEP IN LINE.GUARDS SHELTERED FROM THE ELEMENTS IN THE SMALL WATCH TOWER.
THE BUILDINGS TO THE RIGHT ARE THE CAMP'S KITCHENS.









EXHIBITS FILL MANY OF THE CELL BLOCKS TODAY.
THE FOLLOWING 4 PICTURES WERE TAKEN IN VARIOUS BLOCKS AROUND THE CAMP.




















THIS DISPLAY (IN BLOCK 4) SHOWS EMPTY "ZYKLON B" PELLET TINS.
ZYKLON B CONSISTED OF EARTH IMPREGNATED WITH HYDROGEN CYANIDE - AND THIS WAS THE MURDER WEAPON OF CHOICE IN THE GAS CHAMBERS.
ON CONTACT WITH AIR, THE FUMES FROM 5 - 7 KG OF ZYKLON WOULD KILL AROUND 1500 PEOPLE WITHIN 15-20 MINUTES.




ALSO IN BLOCK 4,THIS IS THE HAIR FROM WOMEN MURDERED IN THE GAS CHAMBERS - APPROXIMATELY 2000KG.
HUMAN HAIR WAS SOLD BY THE SS AS A RAW MATERIAL FOR THE GERMAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY - AND IT COST 50 PFENNIGS PER KILO.




THIS IS THE ENTRANCE TO BLOCK 11 - KNOWN AS THE "DEATH BLOCK"




THIS COURTYARD BETWEEN BLOCKS 10 & 11 WAS USED FOR EXECUTIONS BY FIRING SQUAD - USING LOW CALIBRE RIFLES SO AS TO NOT MAKE A NOISE AND ALERT THE OTHER PRISONERS.
IN THE BACKGROUND, IS THE "WALL OF DEATH" WHERE THOUSANDS PERISHED.




MORE FENCES AND LOOKOUT TURRETS.




STANDING IN "NO MANS LAND" - PRISONERS FOUND IN THIS AREA WOULD BE SHOT ON THE SPOT.




BETWEEN THE SS ADMIN BLOCK AND SS HOSPITAL STANDS THIS SIGN.




RUDOLF HESS' DEATH GALLOWS.




EXTERIOR OF GAS CHAMBER AND CREMATORIUM I.
THIS WAS THE FIRST IN OPERATION -BUT TINY IN COMPARISON TO THE INDUSTRIAL SIZED CHAMBERS AT BIRKENAU.




INSIDE THE GAS CHAMBER.
PRISONERS WERE GASSED THROUGH SMALL VENTS IN THE ROOF - CHILLINGLY, YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE SCRATCHMARKS ON THE WALLS, WHERE PEOPLE FOUGHT TO REACH THE VENTS FOR AIR.




THE PERIMETER FENCE - AND THE WALK TO THE EXIT.




ONE LAST LOOK AT THE SS WORKSHOPS.




BOTH SIDES OF THE FENCE.
TO THE LEFT (AND IN CAMP), THE KITCHENS. STRAIGHT AHEAD, STANDS THE RECEPTION BUILDINGS FOR NEW PRISONERS - AND FOR ME, THE EXIT.




FOOTNOTE:

I would have to say that the whole experience was very sobering - there are many shocking sights and stories I could tell you about, but that will have to wait for another time.

However, - and without being morbid, I would heartily encourage anyone who has the opportunity to visit this terrible "monument" to the "Nazi ideal" to do so.

I just hope to God that events such as these NEVER happen again.