Some time ago one of my friends said: "There are two types of people, one who would visit a concentration camp and one who wouldn't. Which one of them are you?" As I already visited Auschwitz, the answer was easy to that question.
My friend: "But why? Why would someone want to see those places?
Me: "But, why not?"
My friend: "Because those are very sad places. We should concentrate on happy things.
To a certain degree, my friend was right. Yes, those are very sad places, and life is happier if we concentrate on happy things.
But, … I could list many reasons why to visit places like these. However, I won't. After reading Anne Frank's diary as a teenager, I became interested in the Holocaust, I read a lot about it, later watched movies and documentaries. I couldn't understand how it could happen. And I still don't understand it. For a long, very long time, I had neither strength nor courage to visit a place of this horrendous suffering.
At the end of 2018, I finally conjured up enough courage to visit Auschwitz.
The infamous entrance of Auschwitz I with the
"Arbeit Macht Frei" ("Work sets Free") gate.
Shoes in every size that belonged to those who were killed in the camp
and the suitcases (only a few of them).
The entrance of Auschwitz- Birkenau II.
This gate is familiar for many from movies and documentaries dealing with the Holocaust.
The gate from inside
The camp ends at the trees.
Probably, from these pictures, it is possible to see the size of the Auschwitz-Birkenau II camp. Walking from the entrance to the end took me more than half an hour.
The truth is, taking pictures wasn't easy, (nor writing about it). Doesn't matter how prepared I felt, my heart sank, I cried, I was angry. The sheer size of this place made my fist clunch.
They were the only group who could walk out from prisons or from concentration camps if they sign this declaration.
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