Most people living today have at least heard of the terror of Nazi concentration camps during World War II, and the attempt to exterminate the Jewish race. We read about it in text books; we watch movies that have re-created individual accounts and events; we read personal accounts; we see photos; and we can try to understand the extent to which humans created and caused utter terror for other humans. But no grasp of understanding is comparable to that of walking the grounds on which these horrifying actions occurred, seeing the remains of those who had their lives, human rights, freedom, and identities stripped from them, and simply being among the space in which they experienced the worst of human capability.
Auschwitz is the largest and most well-known concentration camp in the south of Poland. An hour from Krakow, a large group of our cast and crew took a day tour with an absolutely wonderful guide. We were taken through the two main camps, and told about where and how families were brought here, and the initial actions of entry. We saw what was taken from them, where they slept, what they were required to do, and what they were (or were not) given to eat, and how they were killed. None of us could have expected how each of us reacted.
When I was in Argentina this past summer, I visited two locations in which the "disappeared" (people who opposed the military government regime, and were taken and hidden by the government without notice or documentation) were brought to live in terror. Written at the entryway of one of these camps is, "No olvidar para no repetir," meaning "Never forget as to never repeat." At Auschwitz Concentration camp, some of the worst crimes against humanity in the history of mankind occurred. The space is now utilized in the best way possible, so that we may fully grasp the horrors of what happened, pay respect to and recognize that the victims were people just like us, and never forget the terror so that it may never happen again. While my day at Auschwitz made me physically sick to my stomach, brought me to tears, left me at a loss for words, and forced upon me a humble perspective towards everything I should be grateful for, it is a day I will never regret nor forget the experience.
Auschwitz is the largest and most well-known concentration camp in the south of Poland. An hour from Krakow, a large group of our cast and crew took a day tour with an absolutely wonderful guide. We were taken through the two main camps, and told about where and how families were brought here, and the initial actions of entry. We saw what was taken from them, where they slept, what they were required to do, and what they were (or were not) given to eat, and how they were killed. None of us could have expected how each of us reacted.
When I was in Argentina this past summer, I visited two locations in which the "disappeared" (people who opposed the military government regime, and were taken and hidden by the government without notice or documentation) were brought to live in terror. Written at the entryway of one of these camps is, "No olvidar para no repetir," meaning "Never forget as to never repeat." At Auschwitz Concentration camp, some of the worst crimes against humanity in the history of mankind occurred. The space is now utilized in the best way possible, so that we may fully grasp the horrors of what happened, pay respect to and recognize that the victims were people just like us, and never forget the terror so that it may never happen again. While my day at Auschwitz made me physically sick to my stomach, brought me to tears, left me at a loss for words, and forced upon me a humble perspective towards everything I should be grateful for, it is a day I will never regret nor forget the experience.
On the grounds...
Eerily, it was a beautiful sunny day.
Stolen Identities, Lives, and Valuables...
Transport and Living Quarters...
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