As I was waiting for the bus back to Krakow, I kept thinking of what I would be able to say about my visit to Auschwitz today. There was one word that kept running through my brain and that word was Choice.
This morning I had a choice to get up early and get on a bus to visit a place I have wanted to go for years. I had a choice of what I ate for breakfast, what clothes I put on, what shoes I put on, what I put in my bag to bring with me and all many other choices that a person normally takes for granted. A bus ride of a little more than an hour brought me to a place where people did not have a choice. They did not choose to go there, they did not choose to do hard labor at Auschwitz I, they did not choose to get off the train at Birkenau and go to a gas chamber or "live" in a horrible wooden hut. Many of those who arrived never again got the choice of what to wear, eat or do with their daily lives. Someone else made all of these choices for them just because they were Jewish or Roma or performed treasonous acts against the Reich or for really no reason at all other than someone somewhere did not like them. How the 7,000 people who were liberated from these places in 1945 managed to "survive" is beyond me. But they did and they again became people who had a choice. One of those choices was to preserve Auschwitz-Birkenau so those who came after them could witness what others chose to do to their fellow human beings. 30 million people have visited so far and I count myself lucky to be one of those people who chose to make the journey to this very important place.
I wanted this post to just be about how I felt as I walked around. See part 2, if you want, for the details of the visit.
Not Enough Words for Today
Wednesday, June 03, 2015
Oswiecim, Southern Poland, Poland
Other Entries
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1Itinerary
May 1915 days priorItasca, United Statesphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 1 -
2Long and boring start to the trip
Jun 012 days priorKrakow, Polandphoto_camera5videocam 0comment 2 -
3Historic Krakow
Jun 021 day priorKrakow, Polandphoto_camera14videocam 0comment 3 -
4Not Enough Words for Today
Jun 03Oswiecim, Polandphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 5 -
5Visiting Auschwitz: The Second Entry
Jun 03later that dayOswiecim, Polandphoto_camera10videocam 0comment 4 -
6Last day in Krakow and heading to Amsterdam
Jun 041 day laterKrakow, Polandphoto_camera9videocam 0comment 5 -
7Warm Intro to Amsterdam
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8Day of Sightseeing
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9The real Dutch life
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10European Train Travel
Jun 085 days laterBrugge, Belgiumphoto_camera9videocam 0comment 5 -
11Beautiful Bruges
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12The Quieter Side of Bruges
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13Damme
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14Leaving Brugge Behind
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15Discovering Brussels
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16Gorgeous Gent
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17Wrapping it up
Jun 1815 days laterItasca, United Statesphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0
Comments

2025-02-17
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Anne
2015-06-03
Very insightful observations. Sadly, there are many places in the world where this is true today.
MOM
2015-06-03
Excellent post.
Rachel
2015-06-04
So very well put, Tine. The lack of choice on the part of those poor prisoners, and the choices made by all those responsible for what happened there, are so hard to comprehend. I can only imagine that witnessing such a place puts the very nature of human choice into sharp relief.
Patrick
2015-06-10
Choice - or "freedom" - is what we most often take for granted. Until it is denied, it is like the air we breathe. Most of us alive today don't appreciate the threats that lurk like diseases in remission throughout history, and which erupted with unbelievable violence in the middle of the 20th century. I have not been to the battlefields and death camps of Europe, but I saw Nazi atrocities on film, which was used as evidence at Nuremberg's post-war trials by the American prosecutor. Those images and possibly more importantly the preserved camps like the one you visited are critical testimonials, aren't they? (For the film angle, see "Hollywood At War" in the New Yorker, March 17, 2014.)
raroboy
2018-12-05
we visited Ausschwitz this year. After reading your blog, I can only say: you are so right with talking about choices we can make. When we were there it rained a lot, we did had jackets and a rain coat but no umbrella and felt cold and uncomfortable, but were only there for a few hours. That is when we can appreciate what this freedom is. Enjoy your travels