Do as the Romans do...or at least try to: The Heartrending Trip to Auschwitz

On Saturday the large group of us took a tour of the Auschwitz and Auschwitz- Birkenau concentration camps. As you could imagine, it was an extremely emotional and unbelievable today. The tour began shortly after 10:30, and we were led to the entrance of the mother camp. As we entered we were greeted with the large gate stating "Arbeit Macht Frei" meaning "Works brings Freedom"; the misleading sign of fate for those who saw it. Some of the barracks in this camp have been turned into exhibits. In these barracks we were shown the thousands of glasses, shoes, suitcases, back braces and prosthetic legs, and other valuables the Jews and other prisoners were forced to leave on the platform once they arrived. After seeing these valuables from what the prisoners called "Canada" (a land they thought was full of prosperity and wealth), we moved on to see hundreds of pounds of hair that were shaved off all of the prisoners. It was mortifying. The Germans would use the human hair for rugs and other things. We continued our tour through the barracks and stopped between Block 10 and 11. In between these two blocks is the infamous "Wall of Death". It is here where the Germans would ruthlessly shoot prisoners. It made my heart ache. Then we went through Block 11. In Block 11, prisoners were kept waiting to be led to the "Wall". The tour continued through the basement of Block 11 where prisoners were kept in cells with no windows or standing cells with at least three or four other people. After the barrack tours we were lead to the remaining crematorium. This was not only disturbing, but one of the most vile things I have ever seen. I could not wrap my mind around it all.
After the tour of Auschwitz I, we took the bus over to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the three camps that make up the Auschwitz complex. It is here where over a million people met their fate. The moment I still cannot shake from my thoughts is when we were led from the platform to the largest crematorium. We walked the same steps thousands of Jews walked as soon as they were told they were unfit for work. We walked the same steps they walked to their death. The living conditions here were indescribable. I cannot even imagine what they went through. I had four layers of clothing on, and by the end of the day I could not feel my feet. I cannot even begin to fathom what it was like with minimal clothing, no shoes, 750 calories worth of food a day, and the wrath of SS officers.
The images from our trip to Auschwitz have not left my thoughts. My mind is still processing all of the horror that I saw. Although it was awful to see everything, it truly gave me an appreciation for how wonderful my life is. I have no reason to complain ever again. I will continue to count the endless blessings I have been given.

Here are a few pictures from the camps. If you would like to see more you can e-mail me.