Norway - The Preikestolen
Foto: The railway to Auschwitz (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
Poland - The city of Kraków is closely connected to World War II history. About sixty kilometers from Kraków was the largest Nazi extermination camp: Auschwitz. At nine o'clock, we drive out of Kraków and head toward Oświęcim, the current Polish name for Auschwitz. After just over an hour, we arrive at the museum complex parking lot. Although entry to the complex is free, we’ve booked an English-language guided tour. At exactly 10:30, our guide takes us through the gate. We enter the grounds of Auschwitz. At the entrance gate bearing the infamous slogan "Arbeit macht frei," the guide explains that the Germans chose this location because dozens of barracks already existed here. In these barracks, mostly Jewish prisoners were held under terrible conditions. Inside, photos show how deported Jews arrived by train from across Europe, and how selections were made—who would be put to work and who would be sent straight to the gas chambers. The vast majority of Jews arriving at Auschwitz were murdered within hours. In 1944, so many Jews were transported to Auschwitz that the system could no longer process the influx. Unbelievable. Alongside the photos, personal belongings are displayed: entire rooms filled with shoes or abandoned suitcases. Some barracks remain in their original state. Here, you can see the cramped rooms with makeshift mattresses that dozens of people had to share. At the end of the tour of Auschwitz I, we visit the gas chambers. Our guide explains that no gas came from the showerheads, but that a canister of gas was thrown in through a small opening. The bodies were then burned in nearby ovens. A few kilometers from Auschwitz I lies Auschwitz II – Birkenau. This camp was much larger and designed primarily for the mass extermination of Jews. Up to 5,000 people could be killed and cremated here per day—day after day. The complex consisted of hundreds of extremely primitive barracks. An old freight car stands as a silent witness to the horrific transports. The railway leading to the main building is almost a monument in itself. The gas chambers in this vast complex were blown up by the Germans at the end of the war in an attempt to erase evidence. They did not succeed. The remnants of the camp are deeply moving.
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