Auschwitz-Birkenau

The number one place I wanted to go in Poland was Auschwitz. As Rick Steves' puts it in his "Why Visit Auschwitz" section "Auschwitz-Birkenau is one of the most moving sights in Europe, and certainly the most important of all the Holocaust memorials." "Auschwitz survivors and victims' families want tourists to come here and experience the scale and the monstrosity of the place to be sure that the Holocaust is always remembered- so it never happens again."

The thing that hit me hardest, (I think because I live with someone who works in manufacturing and it constantly trying to make his factories more productive) is that people could put so much thought, effort, scheming into the best way to end human life. It seemed to be a job/process they were determined to perfect. Truly powerful, haunting and overwhelming.

This is one of the gas chambers and crematoriums that the Nazi's destroyed as the Allies were approaching.

You can't really see it clearly, but this is a shot of the chimney's left standing of all the destroyed barracks. Auschwitz actually consisted of three camps - Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau and a work camp. Birkenau was built after the Nazi's were running out of room at Auschwitz I. It was designed to hold 200,000 people, but at it's height held 100,000. Here is a picture of the main gate and dividing platform. This is where it was determined if you would live a while longer, or head to the gas chamber.I also checked out the Jewish quarter of Krakow while the boys napped one afternoon. Before the war there were approximately 65,000 Jews in Krakow. After the war there were only a few thousand and today less than 100 Jews live in Krakow. Here are a couple of pictures in the old Jewish cemetery. The Nazi's bulldozed it and it has been restored as much as possible. The walls are made of broken pieces of headstones that couldn't be repaired.

Worn out on the way back to the hotel.