Hello everyone!
I have just arrived in Wrocław in Western Poland after a 6 hour train trip. It's dark at the moment after a gradual mesmerizing sunset while heading west on the train. From what I have seen so far, it seems like a beautiful, quaint city.
The population is about 800,000 people and is a city with lots of cathedrals, bridges and tramways. It is considered the “Venice of the East” for its many bridges.
It was formerly the German city of Breslau, and still goes by this name in all German literature and pamphlets.
So, Auschwitz...
Well, if Disneyland is the "happiest place on Earth", Auschwitz-Birkenau-Monowitz concentration and death camps have to be one of the worst...
And from what I saw, it is true what is said - that no animals fly over or inside of Auschwitz. Although there are trees and grass, I never saw any birds, bees, butterflies... And yet, just outside of the museum gates of Auschwitz, there were beautiful little birds chirping away, eating off of the ground under the trees, happy as could be. It was so strange and somehow appropriate. It is as though they could sense the somber and dark energies that seem to still prevail in such a terrible place, where lives were snatched away by the Nazis, who were intent on inflicting harm and evil for their own sick and demented pleasure.
Auschwitz was the "welcoming" and selection centre for all the prisoners at the beginning of the war when the “Final Solution” was being developed. This place had a small gas chamber and crematorium for the high priority prisoners.
Auschwitz II-Birkenau was where the main gas chambers were eventually built for the 100,000+ prisoners. Many people, though, were sent directly to the gas chambers immediately on arrival - mostly women with their young children, the elderly, the physically and mentally challenged and any people who the Nazis felt would not be “useful”. Those who remained became slaves to the Nazis until it was decided otherwise.
Surprisingly there are wild flowers now growing everywhere and beautiful large butterflies floating from flower to flower at Auschwitz II-Birkenau. Perhaps it’s a hopeful sign of healing for such a tragic place!
So many stories and horrific displays made me gasp and cry at the atrocities man can inflict on one another because of perceived differences, prejudice and hatred. For instance, how can I forget being in a room full of baby's and small children's clothing with tiny shoes; where dolls, toys and teddy bears lay broken and tattered having been left behind?
Or being in tears as I walked slowly past the 20 foot long wall of hair, which was piled over 6 feet high, having been shorn from those prisoners who died in the gas chambers, and then sold and used to make socks and blankets for the Nazis?
And brushing up against the walls of the gas chamber to notice and touch the claw marks and engraved names of people, who even in their final moments were still fighting to hold onto their lives and not become just a memory while trying to claw their way out?
These moments, among many others, had me sobbing and brushing away so many tears. Heart piercing tragedy and gut wrenching horror, which I won't ever forget! After the tour, we travelled back to Krakow and I just walked...passed castles, ancient fortresses, centuries old cathedrals, medieval relics, and gorgeous gardens. They were like a reminder to me that life is about finding beauty and to live my life in love more fully for those who could not or don't know how.
Also a reminder that although people may be different from me, I too am different from others.
It really brought to mind the quote from Pastor Martin Niemoller, who was a German Lutheran Minister during WWII. He wrote this after the war as a type of poetic confession.
This quote is found at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:
“They came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. And then, they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up (for me).”
It urges me to speak up more for others, especially those who can’t speak up for themselves. If we don’t start reflecting on and remembering the lessons of history, we WILL repeat them. Not on my watch!
Seeing what I did today, I’m determined that this will never happen again while I have the means, the ends, the voice to speak up against such hatred in any form!!!
This morning it was more physically demanding with a walking tour of the current Jewish district and former ghetto, and then to the Wawel Castle and the old town including the university district with its cathedrals and Europe's oldest and largest outdoor market square. Amazingly fabulous!
I also went to Schindler's factory - a phenomenal museum tour. Oskar Schindler was an industrialist as well as a member of the Nazi Party, a position he used to his advantage while employing Jewish people in his factories, including this one in Krakow.
When he learned of the plans the Nazis had for the Jewish people in Krakow, he was then able to shield his employees or remove them from any harm. As you may know, the movie “Schindler’s List” is based on his protection and courage to save so many during World War II. He is credited with saving 1,200 Jewish lives.
I am learning so much Polish on this trip - at least enough to get by, so far, but then the people I meet are so patient too which helps a lot!
I am heading out on another tour tomorrow here in Wrocław, so I will be writing again soon. Take care until then!
Cheers, Jae
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