Our trip to Krakow, Poland began where else but McDonalds. After a 5 hour layover in Frankfurt, my friend Emily and I wanted none other than America’s finest in Poland. We quickly learned that most people in Poland speak English, which was a huge relief since we speak 0 Polish. We then went to our Airbnb and crashed because we had to wake up early to catch our van to Auschwitz.
The next day we had an hour van ride to the Auschwitz one camp for a tour. The feeling I had walking through the gates that foggy morning is one I will never forget. It is very hard to describe, but my heart felt extremely heavy and I felt in that moment like I would never be able to smile again. Auschwitz one is brick cell-blocks where the prisoners of war lived and Birkenau is where the Jews mass-murdered. Birkenau is made up of wooden cell-blocks, so most of them are no longer safe for people to walk in so the majority of what we saw was at Auschwitz one. We walked through a cell-block that showed us how the prisoner’s lived, beginning from straw and then being upgraded to wooden slats.
Originally, before the use of tattoos, prisoners had their pictures taken, and the next block we walked through was filled with pictures of the prisoners. Many people had placed flowers on top of some of the pictures and candles were lit everywhere throughout.
When prisoners first arrived at the camp, all their stuff was taken from them and stored in warehouses called Canada 1 and Canada 2. When the camp was liberated, everything found in Canada 1 and 2 were kept and put in exhibits in a few of the cell-blocks. We walked through rooms full of hair, luggage, pots and pans, glasses, and shoes. The worst for me was seeing a small display case full of baby clothes and booties. It was really hard to walk through each room knowing how each of the people died.
When then went to the prison of the prison where we saw starving cells, standing cells (a 5x5 cell where 4 people had to stand until either their punishment was up or they died), there was one cell where there was so little ventilation that the prisoner’s suffocated, and we also saw the wall where the prisoners were lined up and shot.
All of the gas chambers and crematoriums that were at Birkenau had been destroyed before the camp was liberated, but Auschwitz one still had one gas chamber and one crematorium which we got to see as well.
We then took a brief tour of Birkenau and saw a children’s cell block, a train car, and the wreckage of the gas chambers and crematoriums.
After leaving the camp and heading back to Krakow, Emily and I were emotionally exhausted and decided to spend the rest of the night exploring Krakow. We saw the cathedral, the palace, and took a carriage ride through the city center which was incredible.
Overall, the trip was very powerful, one I will never forget. I do hope to return to Poland one day, in the summer, when it isn’t 30 degrees and foggy.
The next day we had an hour van ride to the Auschwitz one camp for a tour. The feeling I had walking through the gates that foggy morning is one I will never forget. It is very hard to describe, but my heart felt extremely heavy and I felt in that moment like I would never be able to smile again. Auschwitz one is brick cell-blocks where the prisoners of war lived and Birkenau is where the Jews mass-murdered. Birkenau is made up of wooden cell-blocks, so most of them are no longer safe for people to walk in so the majority of what we saw was at Auschwitz one. We walked through a cell-block that showed us how the prisoner’s lived, beginning from straw and then being upgraded to wooden slats.
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| Walking through the gate |
When prisoners first arrived at the camp, all their stuff was taken from them and stored in warehouses called Canada 1 and Canada 2. When the camp was liberated, everything found in Canada 1 and 2 were kept and put in exhibits in a few of the cell-blocks. We walked through rooms full of hair, luggage, pots and pans, glasses, and shoes. The worst for me was seeing a small display case full of baby clothes and booties. It was really hard to walk through each room knowing how each of the people died.
When then went to the prison of the prison where we saw starving cells, standing cells (a 5x5 cell where 4 people had to stand until either their punishment was up or they died), there was one cell where there was so little ventilation that the prisoner’s suffocated, and we also saw the wall where the prisoners were lined up and shot.
All of the gas chambers and crematoriums that were at Birkenau had been destroyed before the camp was liberated, but Auschwitz one still had one gas chamber and one crematorium which we got to see as well.
We then took a brief tour of Birkenau and saw a children’s cell block, a train car, and the wreckage of the gas chambers and crematoriums.
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| Birkenau |
After leaving the camp and heading back to Krakow, Emily and I were emotionally exhausted and decided to spend the rest of the night exploring Krakow. We saw the cathedral, the palace, and took a carriage ride through the city center which was incredible.
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| St. Mary's Basilica |
Overall, the trip was very powerful, one I will never forget. I do hope to return to Poland one day, in the summer, when it isn’t 30 degrees and foggy.
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| Krakow city center |
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