Thursday, May 31, 2012

Polish history time--Auschwitz

Hi everyone, Travis here.  Now that my season has just finished, Jackie and I have one week left here in the Czech Republic before we go home.  We had an interesting idea to go visit Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland, which is only a 2 and half hour drive away.  So we packed up the car in the morning and took off toward Jackie's motherland of Poland.  We had a brief detour due to a highway being closed and we almost didn't make the trip because we had no idea how to get there, but thank goodness we brought the iPad!  

Upon our arrival we checked in to go on a tour of the camp and had a great guide named Ivan who took us through the whole museum of Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz Birkenau.  It was definitely an interesting place to tour and very eye opening. It was amazing to experience that type of world history.  


Entrance to Auschwitz 1 "Work for Freedom"
This was a sarcastic phrase the Nazis used as a greeting at the entrance to Auschwitz


Two, thick barbed wire, high voltage electrical fences surrounding the camp


Auschwitz I


This room was filled of the remains of pots and pans from the camp.  
This was one of many rooms filled with household items and human remains of the prisoners including items such as, brushes, glasses, razors and human hair.


Inside the main gas chamber at Auschwitz I, where millions of Jews were exterminated at the Nazi occupied camps in Poland.


Railway entering Auschwitz-Birkenau where prisoners were taken of rail cars for immediate selection.  They were either fit for work or sent to the gas chambers.



Memorial to the one and a half million men, women and children murdered 


Ruins from the destroyed gas chambers


Inside the prisoners barracks


After the 3 and half hour tour we left Auschwitz and headed back home to Czech and enjoyed the Polish scenery


The famous Polish "zcz"


Polish flag crossing the border


Beautiful Polish sunset


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