Recently Jades family arrived in Switzerland and we traveled to Poland, to Krackow specifically. You might recall this city from the movie Schindlers list. This city is known for its Jewish Ghettos and concentrations camps. First I will show you pictures of the city, the Salt mine that we visited, Schindlers factory, the Jewish ghetto and finally Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. I really do not know how to write about this experience of walking around the camps but it is something that will forever change me. One thing is for sure is that history books could never capture how enormous these camps are and how freezing cold it was. Our tour guide who is a from the small village outside Auschwitz and who’s grandfather was put in Birkenau asked us to try to forgive them but to never forget what happened here.
The City of Krackow
University
dinner in a tavern
Making horseshoes in center market
View from our apartment
The monument to the fallen soldier
street views
Entrance to the Wawel Castle
Jade and his Family
The last Pope was from Poland
There are a lot of Churches
Jade running after a beer
Street view at night
Stairs to our apartment
Perogy resturant
Where the Pope stayed when he was in town
Christmas Tree in Center Square. Noticethat they use ornaments on their trees not just lights
Center Square with Christmas booths
Wieliczka Salt Mine
2000m under ground
Horses were used and stables where made
They even used humans to turn cranks (Jade demonstrates)
There are tones of sculptures made from salt
Chandeliers made from salt
Chapel of Saint Kinga the largest underground Chapel (made from salt)
One of the underground lakes
Communist sculpture
Art display
Jewish Ghetto
The ghetto consisted of 15 streets containing some 320 buildings. Before the war approximatly 3,00 people lived there and then 15,000 refugees and over 2,000 more Jews moved in looking for protection. The total population of this area at the inital period approached 18,000. In 1941 the Germans constructed a 3 meter high wall around the ghetto that resembles Jewish tombstones and any windows facing outside of the ghetto were bricked-up or barred. In the winter of 1941-1942, the German decress worsened and they took any coats and valuable possessions. Dr. Jost Walbaum also made a list of all young women in the ghetto between ages 14-25 to be subjects of "anthropological research" in the name of Nazi Science. Ongoing deplacments to other camps and ongoing murders decreased the amout of people in the ghetto. However, On December 6th 1943 the ghetto was divided into Section A to relocate to the camp and Section B which had the childern. This would be the bloodiest day in the ghetto as the mother would not abandon their childern and tried to escape. More than 1000 people were murdered that day and the remaining 3,000 sent to Aushwitz to the gas chambers. that was the end of the ghetto.
The entrance to Oskar Schindler's Enamelware Factory Gates
The office of the Jewish Order police. they maintianed order in the ghetto and played an important role in rounding up the Jews to be deported. This was headed by a Jewish man named Simcha Spira who was shot at the Plaszow camp along with his family.
Pilsudskiego Bridge: Direction of the forced resettlement into the ghetto
Auschwitz
The camp was established in 1940 for the Polish political prisoners and a instrument of terror and extermination of the Poles. Eventualy the Nazis began to deport people around Europe to the camp, mostly Jews. Altogether the camp contained 28 one storey buildings (not including kitchens and storage) and the number of prisoners fluctuated between 13-16,000 and in 1942 there was 20,000 people.
"Work Brings Freedom"
The Death Block. This was a prison within a prison. The SS shot thousands of prisoners here at the "Wall of Death". In the yard the SS men also punished the prisoners with flogging of hanging them to a stake by their arms which were bent behind their backs.
SS- Obersturmbannfuhrer Rudolf Hoss (Comander of Auschwitz) was hanged here on April 16, 1947 beside the Crematoruim and Gass Chamber.
The Crematorium and Gas Chamber. Houses 2 of the 3 furnaces that could burn around 350 bodies per day. This building was working from 1940-1943.
Auschwitz II - Birkenau
This camp is approximately 175 hectares (s. 425 acres) It contains over 300 buildings. In August 1944 tgere was approx. 100,000 men and women in this camp. This camp had 4 creamatoria with gass chambers and two makeshift gass chambers
Crematoria and gass chamber that were destroyed in attempt to conceal the SS criminal activities.
Wood buildings that were made as stables for 52 horses became a short term home for 1,000 prisoners.
Unloading Platform where prisoners were selected into two lines; left to the camp or right to death.
The carts that they transported the people in.
It is so big
A grave yard of Chimney flues remain
Main Gate
Christmas Tree in Center Square. Noticethat they use ornaments on their trees not just lights
The Death Block. This was a prison within a prison. The SS shot thousands of prisoners here at the "Wall of Death". In the yard the SS men also punished the prisoners with flogging of hanging them to a stake by their arms which were bent behind their backs.
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