Children at Auchwitz

[JuvenileBigfoot]

I went to Auchwitz yesterday. There was a family on our tour with 2 young children. 6ish and 3ish. I was pretty surprised to see them to be honest. Even taking away where we actually were, it was a 2 hour coach ride each way and 4 hours of walking around. The little one had reached her limit before we even got through security and had a meltdown. And then walked around with her mum's phone during the tour. She also fell over a few times on the uneven ground. Her dad was then getting annoyed that she was crying and whinging.

And then.... well, we all know what happened there. The 6 year old did seem very interested but I think there's a bit more of a child friendly way to teach about the holocaust without being there, surrounded by horror. It was a lot even for the adults. Several people cried, some had to walk out of some of the exhibits. It just felt like it was a bit much. And who knows how much the little one took in. The parents started off with the ear phones on her, listening to the guide who did NOT hold back on the details (and nor should he)

Lastly, on a selfish level, it was very distracting having a whiny 3 year old there.

Overall it just didn't seem appropriate.

AIBU?

Yanbu. I have been as an adult. My kids are 9 and 11. I think my 11 yo could be old enough to deal with it- and be interested- but no way I’d take my younger child.
also surprised that children of that age would be let in. A three year old would not get any of it. And you could argue it’s disrespectful.

I remember the first time i went to auschwitz. I came out and I said "I'm ashamed to be human" to our group leader.

He said "you shouldn't be ashamed. They are the ones that should be ashamed".

It's definitely important to see.

Humans have been the same so many times unfortunately. Humans have been cruel to each other so many times.

When I visited ireland, they told me how English people stole all their land last century and the century befofre. And that they drove the Irish people into poverty.

And people in Ireland told me that the English black and tan soldiers used to just drive along the road, and take a girl off the road and rape her and laugh at her. They told me that England has caused huge devastation and harm in Ireland.

Then I visited Indonesia another time. The local people there told me about the damage that Dutch colonisers had done there in the past