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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think I'm not 'goulish' for visiting Auschwitz?

307 replies

HumperdinkFangboner · 20/05/2011 19:34

DH and I are going to Krakow early next year, with the intention of visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau. My Granddad's best friend was briefly imprisoned there during the war and he often spoke to us about it when we were children.

Mentioned it to a friend and she called me a Ghoul so I mentioned it to some other people and I get the impression that people think we're a bit odd.

Just wondering if it's in some way insensitive to visit?

OP posts:
youmeatsix · 20/05/2011 19:35

my daughter went as a representative for her school when she was 15, she then went on to write an extensive article about it
she said everyone should visit, its very humbling

GypsyMoth · 20/05/2011 19:36

not sure

my dd went with school history class when she was 15. it was an expensive trip but i reasoned it was never going to be a place to go visit on a family holiday. so she went. she's a massive history fan,and got a great deal from it

she cried a lot tho,and she's not an overly sensittive girl Sad

GwendolineMaryLacey · 20/05/2011 19:36

No, not at all. I work in this field and have sent many groups of adults to Auschwitz. It's an extremely valuable experience.

tigermummy35 · 20/05/2011 19:37

I went years ago. Not remotely goulish, a very moving experience is how I described it. And agree that everyone should go.

Tee2072 · 20/05/2011 19:37

Not at all. If we do not visit such places we will not remember the horror.

George Santayana: "Those
who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Original poster
HumperdinkFangboner · 20/05/2011 19:38

See that's what I said!

OP posts:
FattyAcid · 20/05/2011 19:38

I went to Auschwitz as a young adult because I was on hols with others who were going.

I definitely would not recommend it as it was extremely traumatic for me. However everyone is different.

madwomanintheattic · 20/05/2011 19:39

not at all. i've visited a number of similar places. i think it's really important to remember. i love tee's quote.

missorinoco · 20/05/2011 19:40

I have been. It's not goulish to go, to acknowledge what happened and pay tribute to it is important. However, I didn't like the people having their photos taken under the entrance sign, and the young couple (early twenties) snogging on the equipment used to torture made me cringe.

PommePoire · 20/05/2011 19:40

No, you are NBU.
I think that as the generations who actually lived during the WWII and The Holocaust grow older and die there is a risk that younger people will forget the horror of what happened there. It is right to honour the memories of those who died then. We learn lessons about our future from our past. Understanding the hideous side effects of bigotry, racism, genocide and so on is relevant to our society today. Anyway, anyone who has ever been to a former concentration camp, mass grave site, war cemetery etc. will tell you that the experience is a thought provoking, sobering, moving and humbling one and not at all glorifying or revelling in the gross misfortune of others.

voodoomunkee · 20/05/2011 19:41

Ah when I was at uni we used to have a yearly trip to Auschwitz. I wanted to go but the one time that I could I had an op so was unable to travel. I dont think it is odd to go - in fact you could try saying that if people dont go and dont remember the atrocities it may i fact have a more negative effect than people going iyswim. Go, be prepared for the upset that it causes and be happy that we can choose to leave. Sorry if that was a bit too much but OH has promised me we will go as he knows how important it is both to me to go and for it to be remembered.

MmeLindor. · 20/05/2011 19:41

Not at all.

All German school children go to a concentration camp. It is not about being a ghoul, but educating people about what happened. And ensuring that no one can deny that it happened. It is an important part of the curriculum.

I went to one of the camps when I was 18yo. It was humbling and upsetting. But we owe it to those who perished there not to forget or deny the existence of these places.

GypsyMoth · 20/05/2011 19:41

is th3e entrance sign back now? it was stolen wasnt it?

no photos inside were allowed when dd went

tribpot · 20/05/2011 19:41

I think it is essential to visit it. Not enjoyable, no. But essential. You will never regret going.

Original poster
HumperdinkFangboner · 20/05/2011 19:42

I've seen photos on FB pages of people posing under the "Arbeit macht frei" with big smiles - incredibly tasteless.

OP posts:
ShinyMoonInAPurpleSky · 20/05/2011 19:42

In a way it's no different from visiting a museum, which is practically all we do when we are on holiday so YANBU.

Deesus · 20/05/2011 19:42

When I was at school we went to Germany and visited Sachsenhasen (a concentration camp near Berlin). It was a very powerful and moving experience and something that I will never forget.

I don't think it's ghoulish or insensitive in the slightest.

Guitargirl · 20/05/2011 19:43

YANBU. I went to Krakow and Auschwitz about 10 years ago. I am very interested in Jewish history. It is a museum and I see it as an act of remembrance - not a jolly day out. I was living in the Czech Republic at the time and also visited Terezin (Czech concentration camp) and Lidice (town eradicated in revenge for assassination of Heydrich). I had a Hungarian flatmate at the time who thought I was sick for visiting these sites and yet, when I got back she wanted to see all the literature I had collected there.

I did draw the line though at going to Srebrencia when I was in Bosnia - don't know why - maybe because it was so much more recent and there was no official museum and I didn't want to be mistaken for a journalist.

IHeartKingThistle · 20/05/2011 19:44

Not ghoulish.

We went to the Anne Frank House this year and I'm so glad we went. It made it so real that's the point, we can never forget.

When we got back I told my Year 8 class about it and several of them read her diary as a result. I think that's the kind of thing that's important.

I wish I'd gone to Auschwitz when I was in Krakow after my A-Levels. I'm not sure I could handle it now.

domesticslattern · 20/05/2011 19:44

It is a very important place to go to. DH and I have both been separately, before we met. I honestly believe everyone who can should make the effort to go and see what humans can do to others.
If nothing else, you and DH will be very nice to each other afterwards as you will both have a much deeper understanding of how precious life is.

Original poster
HumperdinkFangboner · 20/05/2011 19:44

I was beginning to worry TBH, so many people were negative about it. My Mum used to hate me reading about the holocaust.

OP posts:
MillyR · 20/05/2011 19:46

My neighbour (late 20s) went to visit a concentration camp while on holiday. He didn't know much about it beforehand and hadn't really thought a lot about it. He was traumatised by it and it had an impact on his mental health for months afterwards.

theliverpoolone · 20/05/2011 19:49

I've been. It didnt feel goulish, although there were things it certainly wasnt comfortable to see. If you're interested in history I would say definitely go. And Krakow is lovely.

SockShitter · 20/05/2011 19:49

I lived near Dachau and never went until dp visited and wanted to go. I didn't see the point, i know what happened there and that it stands there as a reminder of what happened.. but I personally certainly don't need to see it with my own eyes. you are not ghoulish for going though

stickytoffeepud · 20/05/2011 19:49

i think everyone should go