Auschwitz

The concentration/work camp, near the town of Oswiecim Poland, was responsible for 1.5 million deaths. Opened in 1940, liberated Jan. 27 1945. It’s not an easy place to visit, but a very important one.From the first steps through the gates onto the camp the feeling of loss hits you right away. The cold buildings and guarded borders give you a real sense of isolation.

No truer words have ever been spoken.  No pictures could ever adequately represent the size and scale of the atrocities that took place here.

Below is one of the Gas chambers where Zyklon B was dropped in from the roof to kill the prisoners.

One of the crematoriums ovens.

Just some of the shoes that were taken from the prisoners. This goes on for a full hallway on both sides. It’s hard to imagine how many people murdered here.

Birkenau

Auschwitz II- Birkenau was an Extension of Auschwitz I. Constructed in October 1941, it had 4 gas chambers capable of killing 20000 people a day. It was liberated on Jan 27th 1945 two hours after Auschwitz I.

The entrance into Birkenau.

This shot was taken from inside the camp looking at the entrance.

These guard towers surround the entire camp.

The beds are sloped to allow for drainage.

This building was the latrine.

This was one of the train cars used to transport goods into the camp.

The size of this camp can not be adequately represented. The broken chimneys are all that remains of hundreds of buildings.

Its amazing to think of all the horrors that went on in such a place.

Today this site stands as a reminder of what happened here. The stories are unimaginable. The loss is enormous.

A memorial stands towards the back of the camp. The plaques in front are in many languages, all to remind us of what happened here, and not to allow history to repeat itself.