Tour of Auschwitz

camelot1001

Friends and I visited Auschwitz and Birkenau the same day, quite different and so very, very sad. We used a private taxi and if I remember rightly you didn't have to take a tour at Auschwitz but had to at Birkenau.

The tour was very informative and did help us to understand what really went on there.

Carmen - a wheelchair would be very hard going along the rough paths.

Grumpygit

We did it in August a few years ago and it was busy in Camp 1 (think the iconic sign).


Lots of tours and yes, it's easy to get mixed up into another one and it was almost like a conveyor belt and you couldn't really take your time looking at it all.


We booked into a tour when we got there but lost them so ended up going around on our own.



Camp 2 being so large didn't seem to be as busy (think the train tracks).


It truly is mind blowing and you stop and think several times.


The thing we found with Camp 1 was the amount of black crows....and at Camp 2, the lack of noise (bird song) and cars even when you're within 30m of the road.


One thing to note at Camp 1.....you go through security and any bag slightly larger than an A5 piece of paper you can't take in, even if it is "empty".


They made my 15 yo daughter detour back to the storage huts where she had to pay to leave her bag (she then got ripped off with changing currency as she didn't have any euros at the time). I had to go look for her but couldn't find her for ages because of the amount of people.

Katiehound

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Nor me. Each to their own, but I can't even imagine why anyone would want to visit such a place.

To see how some humans treated others, and to contemplate on the inhumanity in the world.
I have been to Bergen Belsen- many years ago- and I remember that it was almost silent with no birds singing.

Sadly I have also had the opportunity to see memorials to long marches in Malaysia when prisoners were marched until they died.
Not everything I visit is an enjoyable holiday- it is to make me think and be grateful for what I have.

maman

Katiehound wrote: »

To see how some humans treated others, and to contemplate on the inhumanity in the world.
I have been to Bergen Belsen- many years ago- and I remember that it was almost silent with no birds singing.

Sadly I have also had the opportunity to see memorials to long marches in Malaysia when prisoners were marched until they died.
Not everything I visit is an enjoyable holiday- it is to make me think and be grateful for what I have.

Well said.

dondo

We visited Krakow 10 years ago when I took my wife there for her birthday.

As my wife was 6 months pregnant at the time we didn't do the salt mines due to the steps but we did do Auschwitz. We did an organised tour for convenience as my wife was pregnant whereas we may have done it via public transport if she wasn't.

Was a well run tour with informative guide- very harrowing and thought provoking day.

sarah69696pink

We went last year and did the two camps in the one day. No way I could have gone on to do the salt mines afterwards. I thought we were well prepared for what we were going to see, but definitely just needed some reflection time afterwards. Wouldn't have fancied going on to another thing to do/see.
We booked a local taxi and really glad we did - it probably wasn't the most money saving, but was really easy. They organised our tickets for us (no charge, but you do need them to get in) and picked us up in a lovely mercedes, so super comfy. Got us there really quickly and then waited and took us to the other camp when we were ready (we took almost 2 hours longer than they suggested in camp1 but they didn't mind at all) and then took us back into Krakow.
Really glad I went, no words to describe what we saw, but fascinating insight into what happened in our very recent history.
Personally glad we didn't have a proper tour, enjoyed is the wrong word but liked going at my own pace with lots of time to think things through, or go more quickly when needed.

Gloomendoom

Katiehound wrote: »

To see how some humans treated others, and to contemplate on the inhumanity in the world.
I have been to Bergen Belsen- many years ago- and I remember that it was almost silent with no birds singing.

Sadly I have also had the opportunity to see memorials to long marches in Malaysia when prisoners were marched until they died.
Not everything I visit is an enjoyable holiday- it is to make me think and be grateful for what I have.

Like I said, each to their own. I remain unconvinced that the morbidly curious don't make up the majority of the visitors to death camps and associated relics of atrocities of the past.

A simple memorial I can cope with but dark tourism isn't for me.

Ballard

It’s a tough tour but I’m glad that I went. I didn’t lose any family members to the Nazis but it really hit me that day and for a few days afterwards. Be prepared to struggle emotionally.

I did subsequently date a Jewish girl who lost many members of her family during the war and she wouldn’t have been able to visit. I have also been to Yad Vishem just outside of Jerusalem which tells stories of people lost to the camps.

My view is that it’s vital to keep these horrors alive so that lessons learnt aren’t forgotten but I completely understand that they’re not for everyone. Anyone who does go must be prepared to be somber for a few days. If also doing the salt mines I’d suggest going there first as you mightn’t feel up to it afterwards.

It’s been a few years since I went but I think that we had an early start and did both in one day.

bertiewhite

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Nor me. Each to their own, but I can't even imagine why anyone would want to visit such a place.

Have you ever been to the London Dungeons, the Tower of London or any tourist attraction where suffering took place?

I visited Dachau near Munich during a business trip and it was very sobering.

Gloomendoom

bertiewhite wrote: »

Have you ever been to the London Dungeons, the Tower of London or any tourist attraction where suffering took place?

I visited Dachau near Munich during a business trip and it was very sobering.

Oddly enough, no. I would say though, that there is more to the Tower of London than a place of suffering. That can't be said for a death camp.

I have been to Dachau. I drove right through without stopping.