I think that we all know the history of Adolf Hitler and the atrocities that he and Nazi Germany committed against millions of people in WWII. One of the greatest things that Adam and I love about traveling is history, seeing where things happened and hearing it from that side, and it is a completely different experience than what you will ever hear in a classroom or read in a book.
This trip truly brought me to my knees and shattered my soul.
I am grateful for all of the connectedness in the world now, with technology and media, because something like this, nowadays, would be practically impossible to hide. Not that mass genocides and murders aren't happening (hello, Aleppo), but we are all aware of it, and many people are trying to help. Where as what happened to the Jews, Poles, Gypsies, and many other groups went on largely unaware to the world for a very long time.
Most people don't realize that "Auschwitz" is actually THREE different, yet massive, camps.
We visited Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau.
Truly. We can NEVER forget. We can NEVER let history repeat itself.
I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
NOTE: You can only enter the camps as a part of a tour.
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Add caption |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I: Pellets for the gas chambers |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz I |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau: The train path into the camp that all the prisoners came through on |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau: An actual WWII train car |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau: A quiet plaza stands in rememberance |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau: Nazis tried to destroy/hide the gas chambers before they fled from Allied Forces |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau: Destroyed gas chambers |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau: Some of the bunkers remain standing due to preservation |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau: But many of the bunker only have chimneys or fireplaces remaining |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau |
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| Auschwitz II-Birkenau |
I truly believe that this is a place that everyone should experience. It is not a "feel good" time for any part of it, though the heart does lift with the stories of the resistance and those who defied the terror. No movie, no book, will ever be able to capture what being there does.
