Poland's Dark Years.

If you read my latest blog post, you will be aware that a number of staff and students recently travelled to Krakow, Poland, for a school trip. Although Krakow is, in itself, a worthy destination, the main incentive for this excursion lies some 45 minutes away from the city: Auschwitz.

Auschwitz I

As difficult as it may seem, our pilgrimage to Auschwitz was an important element of our students' education. Of course, none of us looked forward to seeing such a place, but we all realized how important it is to honour the victims of the Holocaust.

The harsh facts

Auschwitz comprised three large camps, as well as many satellite camps. The original camp was designed to hold Polish political prisoners during the early years of the war after the country was annexed by the Germans. Later, it became an administrative centre for the "Final Solution", Hitler's plan to exterminate the Jews. Situated in the centre of Europe, this site took in prisoners from all over the continent.

Arbeit Mach Frei

Entering the compound, we were met by the famous sign: Arbeit Mach Frei (Work makes you free), the Nazi lie which also greeted those imprisoned in Dachau. Looking around, we were struck by how benign Auschwitz seemed. This area, still surrounded by barbed wire and dotted with watchtowers, is otherwise very ordinary looking. Identical red brick buildings face each other along short streets lined with trees. If we did not know better, this could be a typical 1940s suburb.

Some of the luggage found after liberation

Inside the buildings, though, relics and photographs of those who died tell a different story. In room after room, items in glass cases testify to the losses that occurred here. When prisoners arrived by train, they dropped everything they owned beside the tracks. Since many were sent to the gas chambers shortly afterward, their possessions were stored away. We saw hundreds of shoes, combs and brushes, men's shaving equipment, and most appalling, mounds and mounds of human hair.

Our students listen to information about Auschwitz.

In another building, called Block 11, we saw small cells where prisoners were kept if they broke the draconian rules of the place. This was a prison within a prison, a symbol of the absurd world that existed at the time. Outside was the "Death Wall", where some inmates were executed.

Wreaths at the Death Wall

We walk along the streets of Auschwitz I

The final building we visited in Auschwitz I was the most horrible – the gas chamber with a crematoria next to it. From the outside, it is partially hidden by high walls.

The chimney of the gas chamber in Auschwitz

A few kilometres away, we entered Auschwitz II, also known as Birkenau. As horrendous as Auschwitz I was, Birkenau was worse. It was built as an extermination camp, with a capacity to murder nearly ten times more prisoners each day than was possible in Auschwitz I.  In 1945, when the Russians were closing in on this place of death, the Germans evacuated the area, and set the buildings on fire in an effort to cover up their crimes.

Chimneys stand as reminders of those who lived (and died) here

The track at Auschwitz II.

The site is still very haunting. The horizon is dotted with chimneys, the only remainders of numerous barracks designed to house up to 200 000 prisoners. A lonely railroad track seems to come out of nowhere – and then end nowhere too. A single box car sits at the end of the track.

A wreath lies on the edge of one of the collapsed gas chambers

The International Monument

At the far end of the compound, the ruins of the massive gas chambers and crematoria are marked by a grim art work erected in 1967, the International Monument. While we visited this memorial site,  a group of rabbis chanted nearby. How difficult it must be for Jews to come here!

We walk the length of Birkenau to honour those who lost their lives here.

The sheer size of Birkenau only added to the chill we experienced there, both literally and figuratively. Since it is basically an open space, we found ourselves bending into the brisk October wind that day. Far be it for any of us to complain of the cold, though, when we imagined those who had suffered here during the war. Many of the the students are in my English class, where we have been studying Elie Wiesel's Night. They know that Elie and his father had been held here; they were worked to the bone, tortured, and nearly starved.

In all, we spent about three hours at Auschwitz I and II. We were drained emotionally, but humbled by the experience.

Sign outside the museum

The following morning, as snow fell on Krakow, we were bused to the Schindler Factory for a guided tour. On the way there, we passed by a memorial to the Jews of Krakow. It is a square full of empty chairs, symbolizing the many lives lost.

Krakow Ghetto and Deportation Monument

The Schindler factory building was made famous by Thomas Keneally's book and Steven Spielberg's film. The real Oscar Schindler manufactured enamel products here. He was a member of the Nazi party who later aided many Jews to escape from Poland.

Oscar Schindler 

Today it is a museum documenting Poland's recent history, with a special focus on the years during WWII and afterwards. This country was first invaded and annexed by Nazi Germany and then "freed" by the Russians, who then influenced the politics of the country for several decades, as it became part of the Soviet Bloc.

Our guide points out where the factory was located in 1940 when it opened.

I really enjoyed this museum, which has been open for only five years. The narrow pathways from room to room are adorned with photographs that capture Krakow's changing landscape and people.

The stairs that were made famous in the movie.

Some of the people that Schindler aided.

It helped that our guide was terrific. She really knew her stuff, and geared her presentation to her young audience. In fact, she was so good, that we picked up an extra person as we moved through the exhibits – an older American gentleman joined our group. You can see him on the stairs in one of the photos I have included.

Often, we felt as if we were among the Polish people, the images on the walls were so lifelike.

One of the many unusual rooms in the museum.

The writing on the wall of the room above.

The museum was also very interesting to look at. There was obviously a lot of thought put into the way Poland's history was depicted. We were always surrounded by visual stimuli, so that the ninety minute tour just flew by.

One thing I learned was that the Grunwald Monument near our hotel is a reconstruction. The Nazis destroyed the original.

Then it was time to head to the airport for our flight back to Zurich. Or so we thought. Instead, we discovered on arrival that the plane we were supposed to take had never left Zurich in the morning so there would be no return flight from Krakow that day. So there we were –  thirty-six students and five staff with no flight home.

As the rest of us hung around the airport (which was unheated, by the way), Terry worked hard to solve our problem. We were eventually sorted into three flights for the next day, all of which had to include at least one teacher-supervisor. All planes would go through Munich or Frankfort with connections to Zurich. Swiss Air also gave us rooms for the night at a hotel in the city, and dinner, breakfast and lunch vouchers to sustain us for the next day.

How teenagers hang around at an airport.

Dan and Will play on a luggage cart

You might think that being stranded with so many teenagers would be a nightmare, but you could not be farther from the truth. The students were patient and easy-going throughout the delay. For them, it was just another part of the adventure. Perhaps, too, having to lose a day of travel was inconsequential compared to the sights they had visited on this trip. They are a great group.

Our group in Krakow - in the snow.

So about twenty-four hours after we were supposed to fly out of Poland, we finally left. For many reasons, this was a trip to remember.