Although we had plans in several different countries, one of the main goals of our trip was to visit the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
Seeing this in person was an incredible experience and something that is hard to wrap your mind around. No amount of reading books or watching documentaries can come close to preparing you for seeing this in person. Witnessing what day to day life was like here, and seeing first hand how so many people were executed was beyond moving.
The site also displayed some of the personal effects that were discovered when the camp was liberated. There were huge rooms with items stacked high including suitcases, shoes, and children’s clothes. All representing people who had passed through and been killed at the camp. One particularly moving exhibit over 2 tons of human hair shaved from the heads of prisoners just before they were gassed. Apparently, the Nazis used this hair to make shoes for U-Boat crews.
This is a place I wish everyone could experience. It was moving beyond description.
