Wardy’s Travel Blog

A Polish Easter

April 11, 2007 on 7:32 pm | In Travel news, Photography, Friends |

I had intended to use this blog to talk about a wonderful time spent in a wonderful country with great friends. That all changed 5 minutes after walking into Auschwitz.

66 years ago this place was the scene of some on the most horrific and inhumane treatment of innocent people the world has ever seen, and hopefully will never see again.

The day was cold and bleak and Louise and I were on an old train inching its way towards the camp. We were wondering why we were doing this to ourselves. We were joking to each other mainly trying to bolster our spirits. Trying to forget what lay before us. I wonder if the poor condemned souls on those cattle trains did the same?

We arrived - the 60km trip from Krakow took us almost 3 hours - we weren’t complaining! We paid our money for the tour 52 PLN (around £10) and joined 28 others on a journey that left me emotionally shattered.

I will not talk about the sights we saw, or the stories that were told. It is still too raw for me. Instead I would like to share my observations as I walked through the camps.

- Everyone felt the pain and anguish of the souls that perished there: regardless of age, race, religion, or sex
- The wildlife was non-existent - I can’t remember seeing one bird or animal at that site - it was like mother nature has not yet forgetten
- The wildflowers that grew outside the boundary fence were strangely sparse inside the fence: they just stopped growing
- No one talked in the gas chamber
- People looked numb when they went through the main exhibits
- Hardly anyone was eating - even at lunchtime

But I think the one observation that will stay with me forever was the breeze that passed by when we were walking back towards one of the barracks. Louise called it eerie - I called it the whispers of a million lost souls.

Was visiting Auschwitz worth it? Most definately. If I start to feel that I have it bad or tough, I will just send my mind back to the time time I was in the gas chamber, or standing on the railway siding, or…

…looking at the sign that said: Auchwitz II - Birkenau - Extermination Camp.

My troubles will disappear and I am thankful that I was not one of the 1,500,000+ people that never had the luxury of experiencing my troubles.

May their lives never be lost in vain