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?

@Whereis
The Germans attempted to blow the chambers and crematorium but were only partially successful.

We contemplated going this October as DD is very keen to visit. The website said it isn't recommended for under 14's however, so we've decided on next year, seems we should have just gone...

I think you're being a bit unreasonable. You don't know what circumstances lead to the parents bringing their young children. They may have traveled from far away, their childcare may have fallen through, there could be all sorts of reasons.

There is no good reason to take young children.

I wouldn't even go as an adult. Utterly mad to bring kids there.

It's not an attraction for tourists. It's not there to entertain. It's a place to learn about the horrors of the holocaust and to remind people why something like this must never be allowed to happen again.l

And no, I'm not sure you can understand the full horror without visiting.

I grew up in Germany. We studied that part of history extensively over several years and I don't think our teachers held back or downplayed anything that happened. It still made a massive impact when we visited one of the concentration camps. It makes it real, less abstract. It shows it happened to real people in a real place. And the atrocities were perpetrated by real people too.

I wouldn't take kids as young as 3 and 6 but from the age of about 12 (depending on the child).

@crackofdoom
Can I recommend a visit for your family to Tempelhoft airport. Fascinating and entertaining way to see the history of Berlin.

Why would you not go there as an adult?

My son who was head of 6th form at his grammar school went to Auschwitz as a representative. He was clearly distressed when he got home. I really don’t think it’s anywhere to visit unless necessary. Am not dismissing the horrific atrocities but a young person cannot change the past!

I'd be more worried if he wasn't distressed. As I said in my previous post the aim of these places is not to entertain and to amuse but to educate and to prevent history from happening again. I think the state of the world today is enough evidence how much this needed.

The point of learning history is not to change the past but to learn how easy it is for atrocities to happen in the right condition. The third reich was full of (and enabled by) normal people, people like you and me who weren't particularly evil but who were happy to go along with whatever was happening as long as it didn't affect them too much. People who probably preferred not knowing too much and not knowing the whole story.

In Germany there was an active policy called vegangenheitsbewaeltigung, which literally translates to coping with the past. The Germans made an active choice that their way to cope was to hold up their hands to what they did and to educate their population (including children) about the horrors of the holocaust in the hope that this will stop it from happening again. If you go to berlin you will see that not a single stone of historical significance has been wasted. There are so many museums and memorials and docu centres telling the story of what happened. I remember a german dad reading and explaining to his son (maybe about 10) every single plaque that was there. His son asked if they really needed to read every single one and the dad just said "yes" and continued.

When I lived in Germany (80s and 90s) people were taught to feel a kind of collective shame about what had happened. You didn't really discuss it in private but in school we were clearly taught about the atrocities committed. There was a mandatory trip to the closest concentration camp in secondary and we also went to see Schindlers list. No one was told that us children couldn't change the past but we were told that we must know and understand the past so that we would never let it happen again.

I'm so sorry for the loss to your family. I hope you can all find some peace.

Please, derail away. Your families suffering and endurance is important.

It's absolutely not a tourist attraction. It's a place for reflection and paying your respects. I can't imagine anyone goes there with the intention of enjoying it.
I do think it's completely wrong taking very young children. Either it goes over their heads which is ok but a bit pointless taking them. Or you have to help them make sense of what they're seeing, when they're too young to process it.

I agree with you entirely, having also been there. It is incredibly powerful, and it never leaves you.

I agree there are those who don’t respect the place properly at all - I went a long time ago (26 years to be precise) but even then there were people with video cameras. It should be no filming or photography of any kind, and people expected to dress respectfully, as though for church or a job.

It needs to be clear it’s not a tourist attraction but a place to learn and remember.

But to answer the OP, no people shouldn’t bring young children. 12/14+ I’d say.

That's generous, but I doubt it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. They were British, staying in a nice hotel and clearly not poor.
It's a 2-3 hour flight to Krakow and it's very cheap there, including the hotels. The tour itself cost us less than £35 each including the coach. We're not talking about a family from the other side of the world on the trip of a lifetime.

Were they a Jewish family?

I'm sorry for theoss to your family.

The guide spoke English and the older child definitely understood. The visuals of the items left there are pretty horrible to see. And the guide was very descriptive.

I too was surprised to see some young children at Auschwitz. And then I remembered that I have no idea what age I learned about the Holocaust and some of my relatives dying there. And that I saw photographs of people at concentration camps at a very young age.

My own take is that I grew up knowing about the Holocaust, and I do not remember feeling at all upset about it until I was a teenager and could begin to really understand what happened. I knew it was an awful event to feel sad about, but as a younger child it was something bad that seemed to have happened a long time ago.

The point is to be distressed after visiting a concentration camp. There’s something badly wrong if you are just fine after.

The question is at what age is appropriate for children to learn about such evil and how important it is that they need to know - - coupled with practicalities of the trip. I think this depends on the child.

I’m fine with Auschwitz being on the so-called “tourist trail” though. Very few people will book a foreign trip only to visit a concentration camp. They are more likely to include it during a wider holiday to Germany. And this is fine. Same for the young backpackers doing their tour of Europe. It’s better for them to include this sombre and thought provoking visit which puts Europe and the world war into context, and increases the chances they contribute to “never again” eg by not voting for populists and fascists. Which is the main point.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, and I'm so sorry for the losses in your family. Your parents are amazing survivors.

When I was 10 my dad took me to Dachau, as we were passing close by it. I remember clearly standing by the gas chamber door (though I don't think they used them, I can't remember fully), I remember seeing the bunks and the displays. It gave me a real understanding of what actually happened there and the actual hell people were living through. It was very upsetting but that is a normal reaction to seeing the camp, I wasn't traumatised but I could process what I was seeing. I also went to Belson when I was 13. I think it depends on the child.

Though 3 and 6 are totally not appropriate, if nothing more then they would get bored very quickly and become very disruptive.

After the small child fell for the 2nd time, the dad said to the mum "I think I should have come by myself".

So I think it was just complete thoughtlessness.

Obviously I have no way of knowing for sure, but I don't think so no.

Could be that he browbeat her into going ‘as a family’ so he didn’t have to spend a day alone with the kids.

You simply don’t know.