Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp consists of over 40 concentration and extermination camps and was operated by Nazi Germany from 1940 to 1945. Around 1.3 million people were sent to the camp, among which 1.1 million people died. And 90% of them were Jews.
I learned that Auschwitz was much more of extermination camps rather than labor camps or otherwise. Essentially, it was designed to annihilate a large number of people each day, by other prisoners who were chosen for the labor.
I tried to imagine what it would’ve been like to be classified as ‘fit’ or as ‘unfit’ immediately upon arrival, without knowing the consequences. In the latter scenario, I would be told to totally undress with others in the same group, only to be forced into the chamber to take a ‘shower’, or being gassed, as I’d only find out in the last hopeless moment. The destiny of a ‘fit’ individual was not much better. The extreme conditions and violence in the camp usually took their lives within several months’ time.
During and after the day-long visit, my heart was very heavy, but I’m glad that I could experience just a little bit of the heaviness of the space and the history.
@ Auschwitz concentration camp, Oświęcim, Poland, May 10
