Why They Fought -- Auschwitz (viewer discretion advised)

[warbirdcrew]

I thought some of you might be interested in seeing another side of war. No matter what side of the politics you're on, to me the awareness is important. Note that this is not warbird-related, and as such is in the Off-Topic forum. If you have never been, I highly encourage you to. It is a part of history that should never be forgotten and also the people who run the museum have preserved both Auschwitz I & II so that future generations may learn from the past. The tour takes about three hours and the multilingual guides are extremely knowledgeable about the camp and the war. For me it put into perspective the true nature of the airplanes and the men we have come to appreciate so much, and the cause for which they were and still are called to defend.

The entrance to Auschwitz I with the cynical motto "Work Makes one Free"


The electric fence which surrounds the camp, with the "no-man's land" in between


Wall used by the firing squads


Perimeter fence and guard tower. The building behind the wall is outside but part of the camp, it was a warehouse used for storing the zyklon-B cannisters.


Between the fences


This is the only remaining gas chamber out of four that were in use. The two biggest were at Auschwitz II (Birkenau) and were destroyed by the Nazis as the Russians approached to try and cover up what was going on. The third was also at A II and was burnt down during a revolt by the inmates. The tour takes you inside the chamber, but for obvious reasons you are not allowed to take pictures. I must say that nothing can compare to the feeling of standing in a room where up to 800 people at a time lost their lives


Unloading platform at Auschwitz II (Birkenau). The women's camp is on the left and the men's camp is on the right. The gas chambers were located at the far end of the tracks where the memorial now stands.


View of the men's camp from the top of the "Death Gate". The stone chimneys are all that remain of the wooden horse stables used to house the inmates. Some have been recreated.


View of the women's camp. The small wooden structure in the foreground is where Dr. Josef Mengele, the "Angel of Death", performed his eugenics and other experiments on the women and children of the camp


The Death Gate of Auschwitz II (Birkenau)


Ruins of gas chamber #2


Holocaust Memorial. There is a plaque for every language spoken by the victims of the Holocaust, and on the other side of the memorial a plaque is included in English, as it is a universal language


Holocaust Memorial


View down into the men's camp


That's all. Again, another facet of war that should never be forgotten.

[daveymac82c]

Thank you very much for posting your experience.

It's weird to say, but "I really want to go and see it for myself."

Maybe I'm just a history nerd, but when you said the tour was 3 hours I thought to myself that 3 hours isn't enough time.

Cheers,

David

[b29flteng]

I notice the photos were taken in the cold and rain, I can't begin to imagine standing in that weather naked or with minimal clothing for hours waiting, not sure what is going to happen to you....

[Django]

Thanks for sharing.

[Tillerman]

Maybe I'm just a history nerd, but when you said the tour was 3 hours I thought to myself that 3 hours isn't enough time.

We didn't take the tour and walked there an entire day, just reading the stories. It is an awesome place. Leaves you absolutely speechless for days.

Tillerman.

[mustangdriver]

Part of me wants to go and see that, but another is almost afraid to.

[b29flteng]

For more info see the web site "Aktion Reinhard Camps", it deals with the three major and several minor extermination camps. Also google "Einsatzgruppen", it takes you to the death squads in the Russian territories. Approximately 40-50% of the killings were accomplished by firing squads composed of Einsatzgruppen or the Ordunung Police battalions. It makes me sick to think about it, but the more you study it the less chance we have of letting it happen again. Two good books that are a must read, one is "The Good Old Days" by Willie Klee, and two, "Masters of Death" by Richard Rhodes.

[tom d. friedman]

this jewish wixer is most grateful for you to take the time & trouble to post this thread. but remember jews weren't the only victims...... mental patients, gypsies, countless russians, homosexuals, yes..... catholics!! & more others than i can mention. thanks again for paying tribute to the victims.

[b29flteng]

Tom, I've studied the Holocaust quite a bit, and I still, can not comprehend how a human being could do that to another human. For a few of the perpetrators it ate them up inside, but the majority enjoyed it. Contrary to what the perpetrators thought, no German was ever imprisoned for refusing to take part in the executions, they were simply assigned to other work. The only negative for them was it usually killed their promotion chances. I don't know enough about Ukrainians that took part in the Holocaust to state if they were offered the same options. I doubt it, as they were somewhat of an untermenchen.

[tom d. friedman]

my brother's inlaws were subjected to the inhumanity. his mother inlaw at 85 still has the indelible tattoo markings on her arm when she was interned at bergen -belsen camp. his father inlaw lived literally by his wits from day to day for the duration of the war amongst the nazis having to conceal his jewish heritage. the simon wiesenthal center that tracks nazi war criminals is still active, but time is not on their side. the ww 2 era criminals are passing on with more frequency. genocide is still here. pol pot in asia killed millions during vietnam, ethnic cleansing in kosovo is very recent, as is darfur which is going on right now. the nazis weren't the only murderers, collaborators, nazi sympathsizers abounded in france, latvia, the ukraine, lithuania & other european countries. people have asked me, as a jew do you hate germans??? the answer is no, you cannot lump your feelings of hate to a new generation. in high school i passed around my yearbook for "friends" to sign, only to get it back after a few a-holes had people put swastikas & "all the best, love adolph" in my high school memory book. now 29 years later my kids have seen these signatures & they were aghast. i'll always remember those jerks as such.

[GIJOE290]

Powerful images to be sure. We must never forget.

I would like to go someday, I worked with a guy who went, he said it was haunting, strangely quiet, and very humbling experience. I don't know if I could get through it.

Thank you for sharing.

[Stephanie]

Wow... those are (do I even know a proper word?) amazing... thank you for posting them.

[Enemy Ace]

Are there any of Stalin's camps preserved? I understand that since the old KGB /NKVD records have slowly become public that what happened there could make the holocaust look like a warmup...