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Original poster

School trip to Auschwitz - opimnions

161 replies

forsale · 19/09/2007 15:19

dd has brought a letter home from school re: a visit to Krakow with a view to visiting Auschwitz - Does anyone have experience of this?

OP posts:
BecauseImWorthIt · 19/09/2007 22:10

How is it not to do with the war, Cod? People there were prisoners of war!

southeatsastras · 19/09/2007 22:13

the brutal truth of war, is something that in my experience, is better understood from age 20s onwards.

lisalisa · 19/09/2007 22:13

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maisym · 19/09/2007 22:13

icod - your comment isn't acceptable.

gibberish · 19/09/2007 22:13

dh and I went last year. It was horrific and I had nightmares for months after. I don't know if children would appreciate the full horror of it however - I think at 14 they would still be too young to understand fully what went on. Saying that however, I wouldn't let my 14yo go. I know she would be traumatised.

I do feel it is very important that my children learn about our history (good and bad) but feel there are less brutal ways to introduce them to the horrors of our past. When they are older and more able to cope with learning about such things, they can choose for themselves whether they wish to investigate them more fully.

FluffyMummy123 · 19/09/2007 22:14

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Dinosaur · 19/09/2007 22:15

I reckon I would have been less bothered by this at the age of 14 than I would be now, aged 42.

FluffyMummy123 · 19/09/2007 22:16

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BecauseImWorthIt · 19/09/2007 22:17

??? Yes, they were victims, but they were also prisoners of war.

I really think, although it is harrowing, that children studying GSCEs really need to understand all the aspects of war - not just dates, 'who did what by when and why', but also the human cost of what happened.

I went to Dachau when I was 11, as part of a much longer family holiday, and it had a profound effect on me. It really brought home what it must have been like (and I can only really imagine a tiny part of it).

Why on earth would we want to protect our children from this kind of learning/understanding? I know it's horrible and shocking, but that's exactly why they need to know what went on.

southeatsastras · 19/09/2007 22:17

i had a conversation with my dad (77) about the holocaust. i asked him why it happened. he had no answers he was a child during the blitz. he said we didn't know anything about it at the time.

i was 32 when i had that conversation with him.

it's not something a 14 year old should have to deal with at this time

FluffyMummy123 · 19/09/2007 22:17

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fortyplus · 19/09/2007 22:17

I think the choice should be hers - you must be able to google it and give her a taste of the horrors she will see. Things like piles and piles of shoes...

Ds1 is 13.5 yr9 and I definitely wouldn't imagine him wanting to go - he has been upset in the past by the trenches experience at Imperial War Museum and visiting HMS Victory and HMS Belfast. He empathises with the people who went through it.

FluffyMummy123 · 19/09/2007 22:18

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maisym · 19/09/2007 22:19

you might think that by typing as you do you can write what you want but Holocaust denial is a crime. I am offended by your comments.

FluffyMummy123 · 19/09/2007 22:19

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icod · 19/09/2007 22:19

This reply has been deleted

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brimfull · 19/09/2007 22:19

my dd went in yr 10 but to a different concentrration camp,sauchanhausen or something.

SShe found it very interesting.It didn't give her nightmares,she found it very moving,especially talking to a survivor.

I think it's a good opportunity ,don't think they are too young.

SpeccieSeccie · 19/09/2007 22:20

It isn't about the war in a 'trenches' sense is it? Or even in a political/strategic sense, as no warfare decisions were taken there.

It is about human suffering and cruelty as well as resilience and grace, and educational about those.

But, it is serious rubbish to imply that anyone can't 'get' WW2 without visiting the place. There might be much to be gain from a 14 yr old visiting Auschwitz but reading about it is educational enough for teenage needs, surely?

BecauseImWorthIt · 19/09/2007 22:20

Too young at 14?!

Do you really think at this age they shoudl still be protected from the truth? Do you know what they watch/listen to/talk to each other about?!

What went on during the Holocaust was truly horrible and traumatising. But it does not mean that we shouldn't teach our children about it.

southeatsastras · 19/09/2007 22:20

i watched a film 'kindertransporten' i think it was. that would be a good film to show children. they could relate to it.

TotalChaos · 19/09/2007 22:20

I agree Dino. As part of a school trip at 15 we went to a concentration camp (Struthof/Natzweiler). It was chilling and upsetting, but I think it was appropriate.

I might not agree with Icod's comment about it not being part of the war, but I don't see why it's inappropriate!

FluffyMummy123 · 19/09/2007 22:20

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FluffyMummy123 · 19/09/2007 22:21

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lisalisa · 19/09/2007 22:22

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TotalChaos · 19/09/2007 22:23

I think cod has several good points here. I expect that it would be far more harrowing to visit the site of an extermination camp such as Auchwitz than the camp I visited.