Visit to Auschwitz: A Personal Account

Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

                                                                                                         George Santayana

Recently, I read Joel Rosenberg’s compelling novel The Auschwitz Escape and decided that a visit to Auschwitz was a must. The book, which tells a fictitious story based on historical facts, is one of the most vivid accounts I have ever read on the subject. Having watched Schindler’s List, The Pianist, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Life is Beautiful and other films and documentaries on this subject, I was still not prepared for what I experienced last Friday. Nothing could ever prepare you for a tour of Auschwitz! 

We followed our Polish guide under the "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign, which means "work sets you free", and approached a row of barracks. These buildings have been turned into museum rooms containing documentation, pictures and displays behind glass.

Barbed-wire fencing at Auschwitz

One display contains train tickets bought by Jews deported from Greece! How sickening to think they paid their own ticket to a literal hell on earth. 

Train tickets to Auschwitz

It was poignant to see an exhibit of Jewish tallitot (prayer shawls) which reminded me of the words found in a cellar where Jews had hidden in Cologne: I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining. I believe in love, even though I don't feel it. I believe in God, even when he is silent.

Jewish prayer shawls

One of the blocks contained a darkened room where we were warned not to take pictures. The sight which met our eyes was truly gut-wrenching. Behind the glass, we could see human hair stacked to the ceiling which had been shorn from 140,000 women murdered in the camp’s gas chambers. The hair was used to produce various products, including carpets and brushes. I hurried out of that room feeling sickened to the core of my being and continued to the adjoining rooms where various belongings were on display. There was a stack of leather suitcases, some bearing the words ‘Waisenkind’ meaning ‘orphan’ and hundreds of pairs of glasses, shoes, kitchen pots and kitchen utensils, confiscated from individuals who thought they would need them in their new ‘home’… Seeing the sheer number of these items once owned by people like you and me was deeply disturbing. 

At this point, I had to take time out. It was too much to endure. I sat down near a barbed wire fence bearing the infamous ‘Halt, Stoj’ sign with my head in my hands. This was the place where human depravity had known no bounds. No wonder desperate prisoners had thrown themselves against the electrically charged barbed-wire fence, seeking to end their lives.

Shoes on display at Auschwitz

The tour continued past some of the other blocks. The house where Commandant Rudolf Höss had lived with his wife and five children was visible near the barracks. It is just unfathomable how anyone could bring their family to live in such proximity to the horrendous atrocities of the camp. Perhaps it is a sign that when humans dehumanize others, they stop being human themselves. Our guide pointed out the spot where Höss was hanged in 1947, not far from the gas chambers where countless innocent Jews and others were murdered.

We moved on to the Birkenau section of the camp where the prisoners had been ‘sorted’ on arrival. It was deeply moving to stand on the spot where people had been literally separated from their families forever. Some were allocated to go straight to the gas chambers, while the fittest and healthiest were selected to be labourers. We were told that the Sonderkommandos (groups of Jewish male prisoners) were forced to help dispose of gas chamber victims and would often find the remains of their own relatives and friends among the dead. Just as the guide finished explaining this, a chorus of song could be heard from a group of Jews nearby. I do not know what they were singing, but it sounded like a song of victory, one that was saying 'never again'.

Entrance to Auschwitz-Birkenau

Birkenau has not been turned into a museum but remains largely in the state in which it was found when liberated in January 1945. While only several of the wooden structures remain, the red-bricked barracks still stand but need restoration. A restoration project began in 2012 with the German government as the largest contributor to the Perpetual Fund, along with 19 other countries, including the USA, Poland, France, UK, Austria and Israel. Our guide reminded us that in twenty years, all Auschwitz survivors will be dead, therefore it is vital to maintain this site as a stark reminder of this dark period of history.

Not only does it remind us of what was, it also warns us of what could be if evil is not opposed. How important it is to react rather than to remain indifferent to human suffering and persecution. One of the Auschwitz survivors, Elie Wiesel, who passed away last year, said:

I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.

Anti-Semitism is on the rise in Europe once again and we must not be silent. Where seeds of hatred are sown, evil takes its course. May we speak and act on behalf of the victimized and may the memory of Auschwitz move us to love our fellow man in a greater way! It is wonderful to witness the Jewish people in their own country today where they are protected and blessed. They have enemies on every hand, but the God of Israel is with them and will keep them until their long-awaited Messiah comes to bring righteousness to the earth.