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What every schoolgirl should know about Auschwitz

This is my daughter’s account of her trip to Auschwitz as part of the Lessons from Auschwitz project. The visit was arranged by the Holocaust Educational Trust who work to educate young people about the Holocaust so they can see for themselves the terrible consequences of prejudice and racial hatred and bring these lessons back to their schools and communities.

Candle of Remembrance at Auschwitz Photo: Heatheronhertravels.com
Candle of Remembrance at Auschwitz

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The Auschwitz Project in Poland

We woke up early around 4am and headed, partly awake, to the airport. The Lessons from Auschwitz project were out in force and we soon knew where we were supposed to check in by the huge amount of sleepy teenagers milling around. After a two hour flight, where breakfast was thankfully provided we arrived in Poland.

Please see below the video with my daughter’s personal account of her visit to Auschwitz

If you can’t see the video above about the Lessons from Auschwitz visit, please view it on my blog here

Street of the Jews

The first place in Poland where we were scheduled to stop was the town of Oświęcim where we were taken to an empty site which was merely a piece of land at first sight. Our clue was the street sign that translated as “Street of the Jews”. Street of the Jews, and yet there was nothing here.

We soon learned that under our feet were the ruins of a once great synagogue that had been at the hub of a previously thriving and prominent community within the small town. This small town would shortly become known to the world in the German translation “Auschwitz”. After a brief trip to the Jewish center in the town and an introduction to the Jewish faith by Rabbi Marcus we left for Auschwitz Camp.

Site of the Synagogue at Oświęcim Photo: Heatheronhertravels.com
Site of the Synagogue at Oświęcim

Auschwitz Camp

On arrival I was surprised to see vending machines and crowds in a place of trauma and genocide. Nevertheless we entered and saw the famous sign “Work Makes You Free” looming above our heads. Everywhere around us was wire, watch towers and poles where public hangings had happened.

One cannot imagine the fear of a prisoner stood in the same place where I was standing, their vision being a haunting reality. To be robbed of your rights, culture, family, name and humanity one after another and then be greeted with such a vision as Auschwitz Barracks is hard to conceive.

Work makes you free - entrance to Auschwitz Photo: Heatheronhertravels.com
Work makes you free – entrance to Auschwitz

Exhibit of belongings

The exhibition showed us rare pictures from the camp as it once was and the warning greeting us read “The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again”. The exhibitions were extensive and we were shown a particularly personal exhibition; a collection of the prisoners belongings. The collection included a mass of human hair that had been shaved off deceased victims, all with the goal to make a more efficient camp.

There were also thousands of shoes but most moving was the display of suitcases. All had a name and date of birth written on them. It was very eerie that I was able to read their names with ease like you might read names on a register and yet they had no life in them. It was really disturbing to understand that these items were preserved and the prisoners were not. A suitcase was worth more to the persecutors than a human life.

Suitcases at Auschwitz Photo: Heatheronhertravels.com
Suitcases at Auschwitz

The unpleasant Torture Block

We visited some barracks, such as the Torture Block 11 which was particularly unpleasant. I became increasingly resentful to the persecutors who may have been mislead but still ignorant of their actions. How the scream of a Jewish child be told apart from an Aryan child is something I cannot understand. I was angry for humanity at this point of the trip for it appeared to me so misguided and wrong.

Bikenau - view from the watch tower Photo: Heatheronhertravels.com
Bikenau – view from the watch tower

Auschwitz 2

The second site of the museum was Auschwitz 2 or Birkenau, some short distance away. When we arrived, the atmosphere was similar to Auschwitz but more imposing. There was barbed wire as far as the eye could see. We climbed the watch tower where the scale of the camp was immense.

Many survivors have spoken of how they could never fully get a feel for the scale of Birkenau. We visited some barracks and compared to Auschwitz 1 the structure was awful, originally being designed as stables. They would accommodate 700-1000 prisoners that would sleep ten on one bunk without any heating in temperatures that could reach -20 degrees C.

Bunks in Auschwitz Photo: Heatheronhertravels.com
Bunks in Auschwitz

The road of no return

We then walked along the iconic railway which was the road of no return. We saw exactly where the selections took place, where a man with lower morality than those being judged would decide with the flick of the wrist whether someone would live or die.

In Birkenau, there are only ruins of the gas chambers because the guards had attempted in vain to shield the truth from the outside world. The rubble I saw and its purpose is extremely difficult to comprehend, partly because it is so unbelievable and tragic.

Road of no return - Auschwitz Photo: Heatheronhertravels.com
Road of no return – Auschwitz

Some learnings and reminders

We must learn from this tragedy then, about prejudices and their dangers. I cannot stress enough the importance of educating people so that they understand how important it is to live in harmony and also to remember all the victims who were not granted the life they deserved.

Projects and experiences like the Lessons from Auschwitz are truly worthwhile and allow perspective within one’s life.

I feel that I have learned more in one day than I would reading text book for a year.

For more information about the Lessons from Auschwitz Project and the Holocaust Educational trust visit their website.

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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Robert Etison

Monday 17th of June 2013

Amazing experience all the same and I think they are so right to educate the young About the History.

Where Heather travelled in 2012 - a year in photos | Heather on her travels

Saturday 29th of December 2012

[...] My daughter, Sophie-Anne wrote about her moving visit to Auschwitz with the Lessons from Auschwitz educational programme, designed to ensure that young people understand what happened and don’t let history repeat itself in the future. Read Sophie-Anne’s article on What every schoolgirl should know about Auschwitz – video [...]

Emily

Monday 16th of April 2012

Wow...very powerful stuff. I was raised Jewish, and half of my heritage is Polish, so I really want to go there and see Auschwitz with my own eyes. I've been to many of the Holocaust museums and seen the exhibits, and that's been hard enough, so I am terrified at that I will have a total breakdown at the actual camps. But regardless of culture or background or age, this horrible part of history is something we all need to remember forever. I'm glad to see young people learning about it, especially on the actual grounds where it took place. I'm sure it wasn't fun for them, but it sounds like it was very enlightening.

Heather

Monday 16th of April 2012

@Emily Thanks so much, your comments are encouraging, my daughter found it a very moving experience even thought it left a chill up her spine as she says in the video

Mindy

Thursday 12th of April 2012

I'm extremely moved by this video. I came across it doing some research on Europe. I live in San Diego, California and am not aware of any such education in our school systems. Such a shame. I would love to see the kids be able to experience this. There is a Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles and a Holocaust Museum in Washington DC but most of the schools here do not push Holocaust education (short of the little bit they learn in their school textbooks). I would love to see your daughter's video go viral. Excellent job and thank you from California!! I have posted the link on my Facebook wall.

Heather

Friday 13th of April 2012

@Mindy Thanks so much for your encouraging comments - Auschwitz is not a fun trip but a very worthwhile one for teenagers like my daughter to see first hand

Barbara Weibel

Thursday 5th of April 2012

I am so pleased to learn about the Holocaust Educational Trust. The work they do is so important, and the fact that they are concentrating on younger folks who may not have learned much about WWII in school, is fantastic. My niece, who is 28, told me that her high school history book had a page and a half about the war - how shameful is that? Without programs like this, we are destined to repeat the same mistakes. Kudos for your daughter for participating. I can tell from her writing that it made a really strong impact on her.

Heather

Thursday 5th of April 2012

@Barbara Yes, not exactly a fun trip but an amazing experience all the same and I think they are so right to educate the young who have no direct experience of war