Auschwitz I.

I have no idea where to start, what to say or how to say it. I do not know how to talk about what I saw without turning it into a monologue of clinical facts and historical details. I do not know how to talk about a place that was lush and green, beautiful in the sunshine and cool breeze; a place that was quiet and calm, but so burdened by remnants of the disregard for human life … a place void of human decency.

Originally, the 16 building site was built to serve as Polish army artillery barracks. Work began in February 1940 to expand the camp which was first suggested as a concentration camp for Polish prisoners.

Block 11 (the prison within a prison) was where those who disobeyed the rules were kept. Methods of torture included dark cells, starvation cells and standing cells. It was the standing cells that really got to me. They are about 16 sq. ft. and up to four men were made to stand in the cells during the night whilst maintaining their heavy work load during the day. I looked into one cell and caught my breath – the cell was the same size as the elevator in my building. I know what it is like to squeeze four people into the elevator and I understood what it feels like to be so close, unable to move and sometimes unable to breathe … I only have to experience this for a few moments … I could not think of the struggle it would have been to be to in that space for twelve hours. It was also from Block 11 that prisoners sentenced to death would be marched through a bathroom, where they were forced to undress, out into the courtyard between Block 10 and Block 11, to stand in front of The Black Wall and face imminent death. The Black Wall was built of wood and cork painted black, it was set up to protect the “beautiful brick wall from bullets.”
There was evidence everywhere that this naturally beautiful place was once somewhere people wished to escape. I stood for a long time looking beyond the wire fence, out over the fields in the distance. It is impossible to comprehend the feelings ... the longing to be free. Towards the end of the tour, we came upon a hill. The hill was covered in lush green grass with huge trees scattered about. The hill was set apart from the camp – separated by a road and a fence. On one side of the fence there was a camp filled with suffering and pain, but also with life and on the other there was a hill; a hill that was death. When I first saw it all I could think was “oh my, I know what that chimney is." The gas chamber and crematorium still stand. My visit to Auschwitz I is a reality I will not soon forget. I am proud to know my grandfathers battled against the forces of Nazi Occupation. I pray we do not forget -though I fear so many already have.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.- George Santayana