Auschwitz & Krakow, Poland

I was sad when I learned that Poland was not included on the list of countries that my Eurail pass was valid in, because I had always wanted to go to Auschwitz. But then I realized just how close it was to the border of the Czech Republic, so I decided it would be worth it to pay the extra money for the train fares in Poland. So I took the train from Prague to a Polish border town, and changed to the rickety old Polish train that was supposed to take me to the central train station in Krakow, where I would stay for two nights and do a day trip to Auschwitz. About an hour after we had been scheduled to arrive in the center of Krakow, we finally stopped and I stepped off the train in confusion, along with several other tourists. It turned out that we were not at the central station (I was pretty sure we had passed it awhile back), but we had to board another train that was arriving shortly in order to backtrack to get there. Eventually we arrived at the proper location and I walked to my hostel, which was very nice - the girl that worked there spent several minutes going over the map of the city with me and telling me about good places to eat and visit. This may seem like it would usually be the case at hostels but really I was pleasantly surprised by it, as most places give you a map but that is usually it. Unfortunately, I arrived late and then didn't venture out to find food until even later, so I did not get a chance to explore Krakow that day. The hostel offered a tour to Auschwitz but I knew that even though it would be lovely to have someone else plan a day for me for once, that it would be much cheaper for me to get there on my own. So, the next morning, I walked to the bus station and boarded a bus bound for Oswiecim, which is the name of the actual city (Auschwitz is the German name). It was supposed to take about one hour to get there, but really took almost two. If you arrive any time between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. you are required to pay for and join a tour group - the reason for this appears to be crowd control. So I bought my ticket and waited until my scheduled time. First we watched a short movie about Auschwitz and then headed outside where our very large group was split up into three separate groups of about 30 people each. We all had headphones so that our guide could speak more softly into a microphone and we could hear her very well. I had an eerie and sad feeling as we started the tour, right under that famous sign that states Arbeit Macht Frei, which means "work sets you free."
As you can imagine, it has been hard for me to think about how to write about my visit here. I have always been moved by what I have seen and heard about the Holocaust, mostly via books and movies. To actually visit there was such a profound experience, and is hard to put into words. I will begin by quoting a bit of the sign outside of the museum. "Throughout the world, Auschwitz has become a symbol of terror, genocide, and the Holocaust. The first people to be brought to Auschwitz as prisoners and murdered here were Poles. They were followed by Soviet prisioners of war, Gypsies and deportees of many other nationalities. Beginning in 1942, however, Auschwitz became the setting for the most massive murder campaign in history, when the Nazis put into operation their plan to destroy the entire Jewish population of Europe. The great majority of Jews who were deported to Auschwitz - men, women, and children - were sent immediately upon arrival to death in the gas chambers of Birkenau. When the SS realized that the end of the war was near, they attempted to remove the evidence of the atrocities committed here. They dismantled the gas chambers, crematoria, and other buildings, burned documents, and evacuated all those prioners who could walk to the interior of Germany. Those who were not evacuated were liberated by the Red Army on January 27, 1945."
Quite a bit of the camp has survived, and it consists of several buildings neatly arranged in rows, and a lot of barbed wire fencing. We went into several of the buildings, where there were different pictures and display cases, and we could see some of the prison cells as they originally were set up. One of the facts that stuck me was how they told the people, when they initially were taking them from their homes, that they needed to prepare for being away for awhile, and to pack for that. They brought suitcases full of clothes, dishes, and other essentials along with them. When they arrived, they were told to write their name and birthdate on the suitcases or trunks, and then were told to leave them in a pile as they then were escorted to take "showers." When they got to where they thought they would be getting clean after their long and cramped journey to this place, they were instructed to hang their clothes on numbered hooks, and to remember their number so that they could collect their clothes after their shower. And then they were escorted, naked, by the hundreds, into the gas chambers, and murdered. Of course their belongings and clothing were gone through, and anything of value was pillaged by the guards. There were display cases full of different possessions, such as eyeglasses, prosthetics and crutches, dishes, clothes, shoe polish and brushes, and so many suitcases with names and birthdates on them. And so many shoes. As a side note, when I was in another city - Budapest, I think - there was a small memorial along the river that consisted only of bronze shoes of all sorts, and I didn´t really get it. Now that I have been at Auschwitz, I understand that memorial all too well. There was also a sad display case full of human hair, which we were not allowed to photograph. They cut off their hair and used it to make blankets, mattresses, pillows, etc.
There were also a lot of the three-view photos they took of the prisioners. The children made me especially sad. There was one picture of four naked and emaciated Gypsy boys standing in a line. These boys, and many others, were used for medical experiments by the doctors of the camp. We saw a standing cell, where prisoners were confined four at a time for several or more than a dozen nights. They had to stay in them overnight and work during the day. Many died in consequence of suffocation and exhaustion. The cells were of course barely wide enough for four men to stand in.We also saw the Death Wall, where prisoners were often shot or bludgeoned to death. The windows on the buildings next to the wall were covered so as not to send other prisioners into hysterics. We went down into one of the crematoriums, which was of course a sad experience, thinking of the thousands of people murdered there (most were taken to Birkenau to be gassed).
Next we took a 5-minute bus ride over to Birkenau. This is where most of the murdering took place, and the sight was familiar to me from seeing Shindler´s List. What I remember most about Birkenau is the chimneys. There are hundreds of them, really as far as the eye can see. Most of the barracks that surrounded each chimney are gone, but you can see the outline of where they were. Some of the buildings do still exist. When they initially built them, they lied and said they were to be used as stables -  there are even metal rings meant to tie the horses to. There are still bunks in one of the buildings, so we could imagine how life was a bit for the prisoners there. The bunks are wooden, stacked about three on top of each other, and maybe ten men would sleep per bunk. Our guide also reminded us that not only was it often ridiculously cold in there due to the harsh Polish winters, but that most of the men also had chronic diarrhea due to the horrible living conditions and rotten food they were given to eat. We then also saw one of the toilet buildings. There is a long cement bench with several holes in it across the center of the floor. Thousands of people would be using maybe a hundred toilets. Apparently the job of working in the toilet building was coveted. Not only was it warmer in that building, but the guards tended to avoid it for obvious reasons, so the workers were left mostly alone. The gas chambers were mostly destroyed by the Nazis, but what is left remains exaclty as it looked after the destruction. There is a memorial between the chambers, and on it plaques in roughly 20 languages that read: "Forever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity. Here the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women, and children, mainly Jews, from various countries throughout Europe." The plaque in English was covered with notes left by school children that had visited and wanted to say something about their experience. I had managed to hold it together pretty well during my entire visit, until I heard one of the other tour guides saying good-bye to her group. She thanked them for coming, and said that several members of her family had been murdered there. She said, "And so to me, this is much more than a museum. It is the cemetary of my family." At that point I lost it and had to wander around a bit before I got control of my emotions again. It was an amazing experience to be there, and although it is so sad, I think it is a place that every person should go. To see what humanity is capable of, and to ensure that it never happens again.
Now, just a bit about Krakow. I decided to stay there another night so that I could actually see that city, since I had heard good things about it, and had spent a whole day at Auschwitz. The day I spent there though was miserable - cold and raining. I took the free walking tour along with a few other brave souls. It was long, and we were all completely soaked, so I will admit that I didn´t take as many pictures as I normally would have, nor did I take away as much knowledge from it as I could have. I can say that it is a beautiful city with a lot of history, and that I have heard great things about it, and Poland in general, from other travelers. When we were done with the tour, another girl and I went to a place recommended for hot chocolate by our tour guide. He neglected to tell us just how amazing the drinking chocolate there was though. When we got there, we found a spot, and a lady at the table next to us started telling us about how amazing it was, and how people come from all over Poland for it, and just exactly how to drink it. It was really good, and the perfect treat for that rainy day. I also LOVED the pierogies! They are small dough envelopes filled with meat, or cheese and potatoes, or mushrooms and cabbage - basically delicious ravioli. A whole plate of a mix of the three types of traditional pierogies was very cheap, too. There is also a deep-fried version, but I prefered the fresh ones. I definitely want to go back to Poland someday!  (Problems continue with getting pics posted, although I keep trying! Soon, I hope...)