A question for anyone who’s been to Auschwitz

[AI41]

Are you pleased you went, or do you regret going?

We’re going to Krakow on Boxing Day for a few days, and inevitably will need to discuss whether to visit Auschwitz. I’m going with two friends and obviously they can make their own decision. One of my friends is very interested in the war so I suspect he will want to go.

I was once told by someone who visited in the 80s that he regretted going because the horror has never left him. I am erring towards not going. But other people who’ve visited said to go and they don’t regret it at all.

If you have reservations then don't go, it's not essential. It's harrowing and will stay with you.

You have the choice to go or not, to put it in the "too difficult" box. More than a million did not.

I’m an ex history teacher and have been many times, I would 100% recommend going. Yes it’s sad, horrific and tragic to see but worth going.

I didn't enjoy it but that's not the point, is it? I think it is absolutely worth going, it brings home the true horror of what happened there and is a real warning against moral complacency.
Still, even more disturbing than the mountains of shoes or material woven from victims' hair was the flippancy shown by some other visitors. I watched a man film the whole tour with a camcorder for a home video, kids laughing among the exhibits, and even saw a family sit down to a picnic under the "Arbeit Macht Frei" gates. Chilling stuff.

I’ve been twice. I had to go a second time to try to get my head round it. I think everyone ought to go to understand why we can’t allow fascism to reign again. It’s not an easy tip
and it’s not fun but its Necessary

What point are you trying to make here?

I went to Spandau prison. It was horrible and I wouldn’t go anywhere like that again.

I would never support fascism though so on a personal level, I don’t know if it’s necessary for me.

Also, several people have said it’s important to go so that we can make sure it never happens again, but - genocides are happening again. Right now. In more than one country. The far right are rising up all over Europe. I’m not sure any lessons have been learned…

Seeing huge groups of tourists traipse through the camp did not feel right. Seeing tourists take photos of the real people’s belongings was deeply upsetting.

I've just looked on YouTube. Tourists in their anoraks shuffling through the gas chambers. And filming it for YouTube. Paying their respects? Ghouls more like.

I’ve been to Dachau and very pleased that I went. I’ve read a lot about WWII and very interested in that time period. We were driving from Bavaria to Austria so stopped there for the morning but as we had two youngish DCs I went on my own. Incredibly sobering but I felt it was very important to go. We also went to the Eagle’s Nest and the underground bunker on the same trip.

The Menin Gate bears the names of all the dead who have no known grave.

I haven't been to Auschwitz, however I went to Sachsenhausen (near Berlin) a few years ago and found it very thought provoking and moving. This year I visited Dachau and tbh it gave a very different feeling, I was anticipating the walk from the station to the concentration camp to be a lot more poingniant than it actually was, I got no feeling of the history during the walk. However had I not already been to Sachsenhausen I would have found it more interesting (a lot was repeated), with the exception of the crematorium and gas chamber. I do think however people if given the opportunity should visit one of these concentration camps if given the chance and pay their respects. Their is story bunker in Berlin that is well worth a visit.

Yes, from WWl, I know that. But what that's got to do with students in WWI trenches in WWII uniform was what puzzled me?

I think everyone should go and visit one camp in their lifetime, to show respect and to remind ourselves why we should never allow ww3 to happen. I don’t ever say never again though. It has happened many times since, unfortunately.

That maybe we should do things that make us uncomfortable, that make us think about unpleasant events, both to honour the dead and to prevent them from being repeated.
People deny the Holocaust, downplay it or calling for its repetition.
If we don't learn from history then we are doomed to repeat it.

Ah, I see. That puzzled me too, I assumed it was a typo...

Interesting to see all the people saying that everyone needs to go. I live on the other side of the world (NZ) so that's just not an option for me, and yet I'm fully capable of grasping the immense, staggering inhumanity and horror without stepping foot on that ground.

Frankly, I don't think I'd want to go if I could, because I'd be afraid I'd cry my way through it, and I have no right to. As I'm not personally linked to it somehow, it seems like making an atrocity into some kind of mournography tourist 'experience' and inserting myself into other people's pain and trauma, and for what? I would feel I'm cheapening it. I'd also be worried the horror of it would play on my mind for a long time afterwards, and I don't see who benefits from that.

If you’re unsure, OP, then I'd lean towards not going.

I've been to Krakow a few times but I've never visited. I learned about the Holocaust at school and thought long and hard about visiting but ultimately decided it wasn't for me.

I do not do any of those things though so I’m not sure what I would be learning.

The pp mentioned Ypres. I looked at Google images and there were students from Greshams School posing in the trenches. Another kid was in a soldier's uniform. You're right - WW1, not 2. Kids were still grinning and giving the thumbs up in the trenches.

My grandfather’s father fought in Ypres (and the Somme), and yet I have no problem with kids going into the trenches and dressing as soldiers. It is educating them. I can’t put my finger on why exactly, but kids smiling on a photo dressed as a soldier in the trenches feels very different to smiling and posing at Auschwitz.

I suffer from depression so I wouldn’t go. I’m pretty well-versed in the war and what went on. I don’t feel I need to see the camps to bring home the full horror. I’ve seen photos of Auschwitz and that was enough.

It is educating them

Educating them in what way? That trenches can be fun?

I’ve been. Would highly recommend.

I felt it was very respectful, thought provoking and it made it feel very real and less abstract. I think you understand what happened etc but being there impacted me on a different level. But it’s not haunted me. But I do find history interesting etc, so if you know it’s not something you’d enjoy, skip it.