Field Trip: Poland

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Dobry den!

Field trips are a highlight of my whole study abroad experience. This past weekend we were able to travel to Poland. We visited the city of Krakow and also Auschwitz concentration camp. I certainly enjoyed my time in Krakow and am humbled with the experience of going to see Auschwitz.

My favorite part of Krakow was the food. Although I did not have a traditional Poland dish, I was so satisfied with the food I ate there. I enjoyed huge, delicious hamburgers, fish and chips, pizza, gelato, and the best cupcakes I have ever had in my life. I had a red velvet cupcake from a small business called the Cupcake Corner. I’m not exaggerating when I say I would love to have their cupcakes every day of the rest of my life. Also during our stay, we visited the Wawel castle, treasury and armory. My favorite historical place in Krakow was Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory. We were able to go to the museum and learn more about what was happening during the Holocaust from the Polish point of view. I was so excited to see this place since I remember watching the movie Schindler’s List in high school. There were so many different scenarios and walls explaining what was happening in Poland during 1939-1945. Knowing the atrocious things that happened to innocent people and seeing the swastika sign everywhere made me feel so uneasy. That brings me to talk about the place that touched my heart the most during the field trip, Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

While learning about the Holocaust during grade school, I always heard about Auschwitz concentration camp being a horrible place where the Nazis committed mass murders of Jewish people and prisoners. I never thought I would get to see and walk into buildings where these innocent people were murdered. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy going to a place like this. We entered Auschwitz with a tour guide that explained thoroughly what each building in the camp was used for.

We learned about the horrible conditions that the poor prisoners had to live in. They were made to work for 12 hours a day with such little food to eat and only a straw mattress to lay on in crowded rooms. Their heads were shaved and clothes stripped from them as they all had to wear the same uniform. Here are a few pictures of the innocent lives that were taken in this horrible camp.

Victims were put in tiny standing cells where it was so crowded they were not able to lay down to sleep. Some were forced to sleep with no light or air coming in to their cell. We saw a wall where several prisoners had to face as they were shot through the back of the head without being able to run away to safety. We learned that some were even hung in front of a crowd of other prisoners so they would know what could happen to them if they tried to disobey or run away. I knew conditions were horrifying at this camp but until I walked through the buildings and learned about them, they were much worst. I will never be able to put myself in these innocent peoples’ shoes but seeing Auschwitz made me feel that I should be grateful for the freedom I have.

We also took a trip to Birkenau. This was Auschwitz 2, as our tour guide referred to it.  This was the extermination camp. When prisoners were taken here, 75% were killed almost immediately after arriving. The mass murders happened here as well as Auschwitz with gas chambers being the method. We saw horrible things here and even worst conditions that Jewish people and prisoners had to live through. Many didn’t make it as they past away because of the horrible work hours they had and malnutrition. The Nazis destroyed the gas chambers so we were only able to see remains of them. It broke my heart thinking about how many people were murdered here for no reason. They struggled as they were being killed and were tricked into thinking they were going to take a shower, when they were really going to be executed.

I am happy to say that a memorial was made for them after the camp was shut down. At the memorial was this stone with this carved on it: Forever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women, and children mainly Jews from various countries of Europe. Auschwitz-Birkenau 1940-1945.

This trip was truly a learning experience for me. We must not take the things we have for granted and must not neglect our world’s history so we don’t let it repeat again. I encourage everyone to research more about the Holocaust to learn what happened during a terrible time in our world’s history. Thank you for taking the time to read and don’t forget to stay tuned for my next post!