Lessons from Auschwitz

I did not know what to expect from my visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. I had heard others refer to it as harrowing, eye-opening and an experience that everybody should have, but I did not realise the true extent of impact that a visit to Auschwitz could have before I actually experienced it.

The journey itself was not short of exhausting, but I cannot describe how worthwhile it was. Once we had got to Kraków in Poland, we made our way to our designated coach and settled in for the ride to the first section of the camp, Auschwitz I. Once we had arrived, the initial appearance of the concentration camp was not what you’d expect, we had to go through a security which gave me Déjà vu to the airport, involving bag searches and body scans. In addition, the entrance was certainly adapted for tourists with vending machines and even a restaurant, which given the nature of the site, I found to be quite unexpected. Once we had met with our tour guide and made our way up to the main gates, I felt a strange sense of guilt. How is it fair that I get to walk out of these gates? I knew that I would have the opportunity to leave, which felt oddly disrespectful.

Once we had made our way through the gates, conversation was extremely minimal. I was not sure how a visit to Auschwitz would make me feel, but the emotions I felt were quite indescribable. We made a visit to the gallows near the entrance of the site, where public hangings of victims were common, and the visualisation of these horrors cannot be reinstated through words. It was strange to be somewhere, knowing that it was a sight of mass murder, to look at somewhere and know the violence and utter genocide that occurred there is a feeling I had certainly never experienced before. The first ‘exhibition’ we came to was located in Block 27. It was intensely emotional and helped to humanise the victims of the holocaust, the educators placed emphasis on not looking at the victims as the broad millions, but instead view them as individuals which this visit greatly assisted me with.

One of the rooms contained a ‘Book Of Names’, a book which contains all known victims of the Holocaust, this book was of a length I had never seen before. It spanned the length of the whole room and was astonishing to see.. I remember turning a page, reading the same surname again, again and again, whilst thinking how utterly lucky I am and failing to comprehend how the Nazis ever managed to commit such atrocities. Another part of this particular site that stayed with me was the ‘evidence’ that had been preserved. Up the stairs of another block, layer behind a glass screen, was around four tonnes of human hair that the Nazis had shaven from victims. This was undoubtedly a sight that I can’t truly capture through words.

We then took a short ride to the next site, Birkenau, which is considered as the main ‘extermination camp’. The site was significantly larger than Auschwitz, it spread a huge distance, so far that I couldn’t actually see the end of the exterior fence. The famous train tracks travelled through the middle of the camp, and walking along them can only be described as strange, it was strange knowing that I took the same path of the past victims of this horrific genocide.

Within Birkenau, we had a memorial service which included the recital of commemorative poems and lighting candles in memory of the people who suffered at the site. The memorial service was given by a rabbi, who was incredibly well spoken, a brilliant storyteller and a continuous ambassador of the Holocaust Educational Trust. I remember just thinking how amazing it was that a rabbi was standing on what was once a mass site of murder, mainly focusing on the Jewish population. It made me feel hope, and reminded me that ultimately, the Nazis didn’t win.

The trip overall affected me in a way that can’t be expressed in just writing, I feel as though a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau is an opportunity that you should take if you can, it should serve as a reminder of the extent to which mindless hatred can go. I have learnt to be grateful for the opportunities I have, the life I have and have undoubtedly learnt the true significance of the Holocaust, as well as developed an empathy and sensitivity of the topic that I did not possess before.

Myla and I plan to work together to produce an assembly to inform the school about the importance of Holocaust remembrance, perhaps including a written poem and statements from both of us about the extensive impact that this visit had.

Thank you to Leventhorpe and the Holocaust Educational Trust for this invaluable opportunity, as it will stay with me for a lifetime.