Oswiecim Travel Guide

There were three camps in or around the village of Oswiecim, which is about an hour from Krakow by bus (take it from downstairs at the Krakow Glowny station - 7 zloty), if I remember correctly. Auschwitz I is now the main museum, quite small, well preserved, but in parts reconstructed - the Nazis tried to cover up their crimes as they were fleeing the Red Army. (It was actually built before the war and used as barracks by the Polish army.) It was a camp for political prisoners to begin with, then Soviet POWs, but later mostly Jews were sent here from all over Europe. This is where the Nazis carried out their first experiments with the poison gas Cyclon B and there is one fairly small gas chamber here. The famous Arbeit macht frei-sign (Work will give you freedom) is at the entrance of this camp. Auschwitz II - Birkenau is much bigger and was seemingly used more as a deliberate death factory. This is where you will find the famous gate with the rail tracks going through it, the offloading ramps where selection would take place - and where most people would be sent directly to the gas chambers - and the remains of four gas chambers and crematoria, I think. The camp was largely destroyed by the fleeing Germans. Being so captivated by what we found at Auschwitz I, we never actually made it to Birkenau, but a shuttle bus will drive you the three kilometres from Auschwitz I for free. Auschwitz III - Monowitz was the smallest of the three, I think, and can today not be visited. There is no entrance fee - that would just be plain wrong. Though you can choose to buy expensive booklets etc to support the upkeep of the place. One issue might not be related to another, but it was nevertheless surprising to overhear somewhat anti-semittic comments inside Auschwitz. Auschwitz is one of the most horrifying things I've experienced. The anxiety and suffering are still embedded in the walls. But I really don't want to be without the experience!

Oswiecim, otherwise known as Auschwitz, is known for the Nazi extermination camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau.  The camps are preserved as a history museum to ensure the world never forgets the events that took place there.  The sheer size of the Aushwitz II-Birkenau camp is mindboggling.  To imagine that thousands of people perished each day there over a period of years is shocking and almost unbelievable.  If you read about it, you can't really understand, but to actually walk the ground and see the place makes it real.  It is a haunted place, filled with memories of pain, torture, and death.

The town is rather unremarkable, but after the visit to the concentration camps for over five hours, we didn't really feel like hanging out and seeing the sights.  We drove straight through to Krakow after the tour.  I recommend anyone who visits Poland go to the camps - humankind must never forget what terrible things man is capable of - the visit reinforces the fact that we must never forget or we are doomed to repeat history.