Taking a toddler to Auschwitz

[Dref]

Hello,

Would really appreciate advice about this. My husband and I are on holiday in Krakow and would personally like to visit Auschwitz in order to deepen our appreciation of and understanding of the WW2. It seems older children and babies have been accompanied adults but threads we read on Trip Advisor about small children became emotional and angry towards the posters, describing them as outrageously wrong to take young children. Has anyone taken young children? What do people think? Should we accept we can't visit? May not go to Poland again. Our child is 18 months old.

Thanks!

Having been to Auschwitz I can tell you it is very harrowing and personally I wouldn't take an 18 month old. Go again when your child is older and can appreciate the significance of it.

I don't think it's appropriate.

I think it's insensitive to other visitors.

Visit the salt mines instead.

Get a babysitter? Really not appropriate for children.

I 100% agree with Singsongsung.

Would be very inappropriate and inconsiderate of other visitors.

I haven't been to Auschwitz, but know people who have and they found it deeply upsetting.
I think it is likely that you would too, and your LO will 'pick up' on your upset and be frightened iyswim. They are far too young to know where they are, so if they got bored and you needed to distract the or play with them, this might be seen as inappropriate by other visitors.

I've been, I'd definitely not take an 18 month old.

I think you should go and bring your toddler. They won't appreciate what it is obviously. But people should bear witness. Personally seeing little children in the concentration camp is a visceral reminder of the horror of gassing little children. I didn't think it was appropriate to see kids and teens and adults mooching around licking ice creams (in Dachau), so maybe have your child already fed and in buggy or whatever.
Have you read any Primo Levi or anything? I think you should go OP

I'd vouch for the salt mines too. That would be a much better experience for a young child.

Either go another time, or get a babysitter. Or go separately on this trip and take turns looking after the toddler. The toddler will be a distraction for other visitors, and I think you will want time to be able to concentrate and reflect without the toddler to manage.

I wouldn't, a toddler doing normal toddler things like running around, prattling away and wanting to touch everything would not be appropriate and could well upset other visitors.

Could you do a baby swap? One of you visits while the other looks after your child, then at a prearranged time you meet outside and swap over.

I wouldn't, I think it would be really inappropriate

Auschwitz is not a fun family day out, it is hell on Earth. Totally inappropriate to distract other visitors from their sobering experience by a toddler being entertained by their parents.

I've not been and don't know how long you need to go around, but I tend to agree with other posters. My now 3 year old DS, did still reliably nap for 2 hours at lunchtime at that age. If you could time it so they were just asleep in their pushchair for your visit I think that would be ok, but only you will know if this is possible. Or you could swap over like looseseal suggests.

I say no as well.
On a side note I was going to take my 11 year old and 8 year old. I had preped them for a long time and had stressed over it is not a fun day out but to pay respects. A Polish guy begged me not to take them. I took his advice and to be honest I'm glad I did.

There is an extremely sober atmosphere and I wouldn't for a moment suggest going to Auschwitz as a fun family day out
I don't think the OP is wondering if it's that or looking for suggestions for fun days out from Krakow
But anyone who can go should go. Only you know your toddler OP but most children can be quiet when appropriate or your visit could be times for nap time. I was taken as a very young child and brought my own children. I didn't do any entertaining of my kids and left as soon as I could tell I was pushing my luck behaviour wise. If your child is a bit bratty and screams and can't be controlled then ok it wouldn't be appropriate.

Auschwitz needs longer than 2 hours. You first visit Auschwitz I which is the holding camp with Arbeit Macht Frei above the gate. That's got the museum. Then you go to Auschwitz II, Birkenau the extermination camp (the one with the train track leading to it), which is vast, and contains the ruins of the gas chambers.

If you are in Krakow and want to learn more about WW2 in Poland you can visit the Home Army museum
www.muzeum-ak.pl/english/index.php

Museum of Krakow which has collections of photographs, letters and other documents from WWII
www.mhk.pl/zbiory/druga-wojna-swiatowa

Another place to visit in Krakow is the plant where owned by Shindler (that of the Shindler's list)
www.mhk.pl/wystawy/krakow-czas-okupacji-1939-1945

if you want to learn about history of Jewish population during WW2 go to:
www.en.galiciajewishmuseum.org/

and Holocaust in particular:
www.en.galiciajewishmuseum.org/an-unfinished-memory-jewish-heritage-and-the-holocaust-in-eastern-galicia--permanent-exhibition.html

No, I think it would be inappropriate. It is an upsetting experience, and your toddler will pick up on that. Also, it's very likely that some of the other visitors will be people who had family members who died there, I wouldn't take a toddler along out of consideration for their feelings.

I've been and I wouldn't take a toddler. It's a very unsettling place, if they're affected by that, and if not it most definitely isn't somewhere you want to be dealing with tantrums and toddler boisterousness. There's also a lot of walking over ground a buggy would struggle with.

Another one here who wouldn't take a toddler. Salt mines have a LOT of steps to negotiate and the tiny lifts are packed and quite scary.

Ive been. It is really not appropriate I'm afraid. Babies certainly aren't banned as when I went (some 10 years ago) there were babies as part of our group. A few were napping but a few were babbling away. as others have said it is such a sombre and sober place I found their mere presence fairly distracting and unfortunately disturbing too. Definitely take your child when they're school age + as they'll appreciate it so much more and you will to.

It would depend how much you really want to go. It's a massive site and you could easily take a toddler and it will all go over their heads. However it does take most of a day and your toddler may be v bored and wanting to play. Many people will also be getting upset or at least being v sombre which toddler may pick up on.

If you are in Krakow you can personally increase your understanding of WW2 and Polish history massively without going to Auschwitz - go round the Jewish quarter, where there aren't any Jews any more. Go down to the Schindler factory and realise it is practically in the centre of town. The Jewish museum is small but excellent and has a fantastic book shop full of stuff far more informative than having to go personally to Auschwitz. The tour of Hawel castle also is full of information about the General Government. If the guy doing tours of Nowa Huta in Trabant is still going, he's brilliant and tells you lots about time under communism.

I came back from Poland with a suitcase of history books and an enduring interest in their history. I felt very uncomfortable at Auschwitz, a bit like a grief tourist, despite prob knowing more than most before I went.