Visiting Auschwitz

A park in Krakow, Poland

This time last year I’d just got home from a history trip to Poland with my school. I’d been thinking about it a lot so I thought I’d write about my experience. It’s not exactly the easiest of topics to write (or read) about but not everyone gets the opportunity to experience something like this.

In year 13 I studied the Holocaust, so we went to visit Auschwitz – the largest concentration camp from World War II. We knew it would be an emotional experience but no one really knew to what extent it would affect us.

The weather in Krakow in February isn't particularly warm (much colder than England!). On the morning we went to the camp, the sky was dull and there was still a lot of snow around so the conditions did a pretty good job of reflecting our emotions.

Sign at the entrance of the camp

The first camp we visited was Auschwitz I which was the main camp. The entrance into Auschwitz has a sign saying “Arbeit Macht Frei” which translates to “Labour makes you free”. The first half of the tour consisted of us visiting several barracks which have been made into exhibits.




We saw pictures of prisoners, documents and some genuine belongings of prisoners. I remember walking into one of the barracks clutching a friend’s arm because there was an entire cabinet the length of the room (98ft) filled with the hair of those who were sent to Auschwitz. It has to be one of the most shocking things I've ever seen. 

Along with the hair, there were huge cabinets filled with shoes and luggage with names of prisoners. Learning about the terrible things that happened to them in a classroom is one thing, but walking around the site they were kept in and seeing these things was 100 times worse. I’m not gonna lie, some of these things did make me cry. With pictures of starving children and all the possessions, it was overwhelming and so shocking, it was hard not to.

Railway where deportees arrived at Auschwitz II

The final thing we saw before our lunch break was a gas chamber. I think that by the time we got to this I wasn't upset any more, I was just angry. It was horrible to know that so many millions of innocent men, women and children had lost their lives in a gas chamber similar to what we were standing in. There are no words to describe how it makes you feel.

I don’t think anyone really ate much that lunch time. It didn't feel right eating right outside of a camp where people were starving for so long.

In the afternoon we travelled to the other site, Auschwitz II-Birkenau. This site was far bigger than the base camp and has the main railway running through it where deportees would arrive. We were shown around more barracks where prisoners slept and lived – if that’s what you can even call it.

Photographs from the prisoners' luggage

The final room we saw had a memorial in of pictures and stories about some of the people there. When the Jews were deported, they were encouraged to bring belongings and many had photographs in their luggage.




Reading the stories of some of the prisoners was hard because they were no longer just a figure or a number to us; they were real people with real lives and stories. Not that they weren't real before, but now they had an identity.

Before leaving, we lit a candle and put it on the railway and our teacher said a few words. We had a moment of silence to remember those who were murdered in the Holocaust and to reflect on what we’d seen.

Memorial plaque at Auschwitz II-Birkenau

I don’t know if this is a generic thing to say but what I witnessed and felt while I was at Auschwitz really changed a lot of things for me. It made me a lot more thankful for what I had. I have my family; I have a place to live and I have food to eat. The prisoners were deprived of all those things and the fact that I got to walk away from the camp and go home like so many didn't made me feel horrible.

 It’s been just over a year since I visited and I still don’t think it’s sunk in properly. There was a lot to take in and I don’t think anyone on the trip will ever forget what they saw. Even though it’s one of the toughest things I've experienced, I’m so glad I went. If anyone ever gets to opportunity to go and visit the Auschwitz museum, I strongly recommend you go – it will literally change your life.