Auschwitz memorial tour

"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say " - Primo Levi

"Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it "
- George Santayana

These two quotations are inscribed on memorial plaques in the main camp of the Auschwitz concentration camp complex.

On Sunday, 29.09.2024, we started our eight-hour bus trip to Oświęcim at around 6:00 am. Once there, we took part in a guided tour of the Polish town, during which we were told about its history and that of the Jewish population of Auschwitz. We visited the Jewish museum, the synagogue and the Jewish cemetery, which gave us a gentle introduction to the topics we would be dealing with over the next few days. We visited the Jewish museum, the synagogue and the Jewish cemetery, which gave us a cautious introduction to the topics we would be dealing with over the next few days. The following morning, we drove to the main camp, also known as Auschwitz I. We visited the camp in two groups, each with a guide who explained important historical facts as well as the suffering, emotions and fears of the prisoners. The way the stories were told, combined with the photos from that time, drew a clear but terrifying picture in each of our minds that will be hard to forget. In the afternoon, we were given the opportunity to visit the main camp again independently and individually and to find out about specific topics. We discussed these after dinner before the day came to an end at around 9 pm.

On Tuesday, we traveled to the second camp of the concentration and extermination camp complex - Auschwitz-Birkenau. There we visited some of the barracks, where we were shown the deeply inhumane conditions under which the prisoners had to live and work. The thought that we were now standing in the very place where the Nazi prisoners had to fear for their existence on a daily basis less than a century ago was a shocking realization for all of us. The descriptions of the everyday lives of women and children were also shocking, especially when it was made clear to us that there was a strict ban on contact between mothers and their children, which was punishable by death if violated. The children who lived in Auschwitz-Birkenau were mostly too young to work, but they were of interest to Dr. Mengele, who carried out all kinds of experiments with and on them. When we arrived at the former gas chambers, our guide told us about the macabre experiments that Dr. Mengele carried out on and with newborns, children, twins and pregnant women, as well as the cruel death throes of the people who fell victim to the poison gas Zyklon B and those who died as a result of the inhumane living and working conditions. The stories, combined with the remaining evidence from the time of the Nazi regime, created a depressing atmosphere. In the afternoon, we visited the exhibition at the Franciscan monastery, which showed drawings and paintings by ex-prisoner Marian Kolodziej. These underlined once again in a different way how a prisoner perceived the inhumane life in Auschwitz.

The third day of our excursion began with a workshop on Auschwitz 3 - Monowitz, in which we learned about the lives of the prisoners and the role of the complex for the National Socialists, before heading to the former site of the camp. Very few features from the Nazi era remain here. Only a memorial and a few buildings that were built at the beginning of the 20th century still exist, but the latter are now used as residential buildings. After viewing an exhibition on the history of Polish Sinti and Roma in the afternoon, we took part in a workshop on anti-Semitism at around 4:30 pm before the day ended with a final wrap-up.

On Thursday, a tour of the city of Krakow was on the agenda. We did this with a tour guide, who gave us interesting information about the castle, various churches, the city walls and many other buildings worth seeing. After lunch, we met at the Jewish Museum, where we were able to take advantage of the increasingly rare privilege of talking to a person who lived through and survived Auschwitz. Our contemporary witness Lidia Maksymowicz told us her moving story as a victim of Dr. Mengele's experiments in harrowing detail. In particular, she talked about the atmosphere, the indescribable fear and the unimaginable filth in the barracks. She created a particularly touching moment when she stood up, pulled up her sleeve and revealed the tattoo of her prisoner number. At that moment, we were overcome with a shiver and realized that Lidia Maksymowicz will be reminded for the rest of her life that there was a time in her life when she was not perceived as a person, but only as a number.

On the day of our departure, we went back to Auschwitz-Birkenau in the morning to pay our last respects to the victims of the Nazi era. We were given a white rose to lay down at the place that particularly touched us. After a moment of silence and remembrance, we slowly made our way back. We left the Auschwitz concentration camp, but the impressions and feelings we experienced during the tour and the stories will stay with us for a long time.

Special thanks go to the Brücke-Most-Stiftung, which made the excursion possible for us and thus contributes daily to teaching young people about the scope of the National Socialist era.