It's still hard to wrap my mind around it all......

Kraków is located in the part of Europe in which the genocidal actions of the Nazis during the Second World War are very evident.  This is not to say atrocities in other regions are less noticeable or important, but here they seem magnified.

Schindler's Factory
As mentioned in earlier blog, the four of us on the trip to Poland took an extended bike trip around

Schindler's Factory

the city.  I especially wanted to stop by the factory of Oskar Schindler on the outskirts of Kraków since it was right in our targeted course circuiting the city.  The building has been converted into a museum complex on contemporary art and on wartime Kraków under the Nazis.  It's not that I did not want to visit the museums, but I thought it just as important to simply be at the site.  There is a plaque on the building quoting from the Talmud; 'Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.'  Sort of says it all.  I will aways remember the red coat on the little girl as she runs through the Jewish ghetto in the film, 'Schindler's List'.

The next day we split the group.  Danny had been to Auschwitz/Birkenau before and B.J. and Renata opted to take a local bike trip to the Wieliezka Salt Mine just outside Krakow; quite a unexpected treat I'm told for the artistic treasures-in-salt underground.

Auschwitz
Dan and I headed out for the hour and half car ride to the Polish city of Oświęcim and the nearby

'The Sign'
Although obscured by summer foliage
It's still there.....

WWII extermination and work camps. Dan headed for some nearby lakes to take in nature. I was on my own.  It was about 10 am and the parking lot was filling fast and the queue for the security check was expanding.  I already had an admission ticket in hand and headed for the desk after clearing security, was directed to side of the building and to several waiting tour groups.  We each had a tag with our language and I noticed at least three separate English groups; I attached myself to one of them.  Soon we were heading down the path to Auschwitz II, the larger of the two camps there, and quickly arrived at the infamous 'WORK SETS YOU FREE' entrance sign.  From this point on, the tours were highly controlled and with the large crowds I can see the reason.  But, and this is only an personal observation, it did restrict reflection time as we were constantly moving through the exhibits.  However, the huge crowds (especially visible on my way out of the hour and half tour) are an encouragement to know that this period in history will not be passed over.  The site was a Polish army camp prior to 

The 'small' crematorium

the Nazi occupation with a series of barracks-type long buildings - many converted to office and other processing sites during the war.  Several of these buildings have subsequently been modified into exhibition halls with a thorough treatment of the horrors of those years; there were several exhibits in which photography was not allowed due the extreme personal nature. There was one exhibit and comment from the tour guide that especially burned into my psyche.  Behind one particular glass panel were a couple fabrics used for uniforms and other utilitarian uses; they were woven from human hair.  The tour guide mentioned that previously these materials were made from horse hair but that proved to be too expensive..... no further comment. Of extreme interest was the intact crematorium on the Auschwitz

The execution wall

II grounds.  Just days prior to the Russian army arriving the Nazis destroyed the two crematoriums in Birkenau but this one was left ... ostensibly since this was a 'small' one with only four ovens.... no comment.  As mentioned, after a hour and half we exited the site and were instructed that in 30 minutes we should reassemble at the shuttle bus stop for the 5 minute bus ride to Birkenau. 




Birkenau

Yea, that's the scene I had in my mind -- as the bus approached the iconic perimeter building.  You know it; the long building with the rail line passing through the archway into the 'selection' area beyond.  After we gathered and moved through the gate the first thing that grabbed me was the sheer expanse of the place; it seemingly went on and on... and as we walked only the central corridor to the back end where the destroyed crematoriums were, you could see barracks, or their foundations, either side reaching as far as you could see.  I did not anticipate that

Destroyed crematorium

but learned the camp was intended for half a million internees and even with the 'compact' nature of stuffing each barrack it still required a lot of real estate.  Could not tell much from the rubble of the crematoriums but you did get a sense of the attempted isolation at the back perimeter fence.  However, no matter the damage you could still imagine the bestial nature of the place and wonder at the series of events in history that culminated here.  We did have a chance to go through one of the women's barracks on the walk back to the front gate and I tried to imagine the experience of one of the women.... I could not get my mind to crawl that far down.

Reflections
As far as the emotions and realizations evident in the European concentration camps and the lessons of the various Holocaust museums worldwide - really need to visit the one in DC if you haven't yet -
my thoughts drifted to a more current topic--political systems.  Throughout my life I have tried to keep those separate from the humanity; that is, I looked at the 'Nazis' not the Germans or at the 'Soviets' and not the Russians.  But this does not excuse the 'slippery slope' of political thought as it merges into the greater society.  Today's world-wide situation is a case in point.  We must be vigilant and notice the trends towards the 'new normals' around us.