Trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau for 14 y o

[NoraLuka]

DD2 is 14 and her school are thinking about a trip to Poland next year, including visiting Auschwitz. I think she’s too young for this and would be upset - of course visiting a concentration camp would be upsetting for anyone but I worry she wouldn’t be able to cope with it like an adult would. She is quite sensitive about death anyway and took literally years to get over her grandmother dying unexpectedly.

Has anyone’s teenager visited Auschwitz, and how did they deal with it?

DD does know about WW2, Hitler etc. but mainly through reading and history lessons.

I think it’s important that we all know about the Holocaust, but I worry that this would be too much for a young teenager.

That sounded sincere; but I’ve now read your other posts🙄🙄

I think it’s a very personal decision and there is no right or wrong. I am a pretty tough cookie but I will never ever go, the thought of it is so distressing and I think being there would be awful for me and not helpful or educational.

There is nothing wrong with deciding either way.

I visited Dachau at a similar age. It has stayed with me until this day. I think it was a privilege to be able to visit.
It was difficult and upsetting but necessary I think.

I cant see why it would be unsuitable for a 14 year old. Its an event so depraved, its kind of fascinating. Many teenagers read history books, and there are many horrors.
Would you feel the same way about the WW1 trenches, for example, where mass death occurred in different circumstances?

@MsTSwift

Of course it needs to be taught but its not necessary to do that to expose young teens to the details. I walked out of Schindler’s list. I literally cannot bear it.

We did a school trip to see it at the cinema.

All the teenagers on the trip somehow managed to keep bums on seats.

The thing is, life isn't all nice. You should have awareness of this as a teenager. Not be wrapped up in cotton wool.

When we were teens, it was before the days of the internet and as a rule people tended to watch the news at 6pm and loads of kids watched Newsround.

Back in the day there was footage of all matter of 'not very nice things'. From famine in Africa to war in Bosnia. It was on your telly. And a lot more people just watched it in a way they don't today.

Instead they hide away staring at their phones oblivious to the rest of the world.

Apathy is one of the things that fuelled the holocaust.

“Evil thrives on apathy and cannot survive without it.”

It is right we learn the emotion of horror in order to learn humanity and just give a shit.

Not everyone lives charmed lives free from dreadful things. Having an awareness of this is helpful to cope if suddenly something awful happens in front of you. It helps you to process thing.

I think back to what was happening in my life at age 14 and fuck me, a trip to the cinema to see schlinders list really didn't top my list of horror.

I get all that and agree to some extent redtoothbrush.

But I think it's the parents now who are so averse to... Loads of things on behalf of their children.

I think (personal view) that a lot of the (adult) resurgence of religious fundamentalism, racism xenophobia etc is BECAUSE of the changes in media consumption.

I remember Michael Burke's report on the famine in Ethiopia. Images that had not been seen by the general public before. Horrifying.

Now images like that come through your door and on your screen from charities all the time.
The news is on 24/7 reporting constant awful death war abuse. Environmental catastrophies. Instability here there. Countries that seem ok rolling back people's rights. Ethnic cleansing. People locked up in camps with no trial, because of their religion and tortured....

It's too much. I think people are withdrawing into what they know, what is near, what they have some feeling of control over.

And lest we forget has failed hasn't it. Over and over.

Having said all that. I would urge anyone to go to Berlin and have a wonderful holiday in a lovely city. And go to the museums. They're excellent. And yes. Affecting, hideously affecting.

Less so for children who usually can learn and know it's bad but without that sort of visceral connection.

14 is definitely not too young. At all.

In other words I think the generalisation about young people is unfair.

Maybe I should have just written that!

We visited the Holocaust Memorial Centre and House of Terror in Budapest. The latter had groups of teenagers on school trips - I thought it was such a tangible history lesson, far more profound than how I learnt from reading about the horrors at school.

It is shocking and sad to visit these places, but not traumatic.

My DS went on a trip to Auschwitz at 14. It was shocking but good for him.

How on earth could it be good for him and how do you know?

Good for you@RedToothBrush, you remained unaffected by seeing that film....so what?

@NorthLodgeAvenue

How on earth could it be good for him and how do you know?

Good for you@RedToothBrush, you remained unaffected by seeing that film....so what?

Good for me?

Its not about that.

Its about this desire to cotton wool wrap 14 year olds being incredibly fucking unhealthy.

Its your job as an adult to prepare your child for the adult world. Teach them independence.

Saying they can't cope age 14 is remarkably indulgent.

Asking kids to be completative and consider the world is awful age 14 is about right because in 4 years they will be expected to perhaps live on their own and deal with all manner of dreadful things without you.

Its not doing them any fucking favours to say oh well they can't deal with being somewhere which awful things happened.

Honestly its apathetic nannying.

Its a desire to create child-adults because parents refuse to let go and do their actual parent job. Meanwhile the kids are seeing all this shit on the internet in secret away from parents/adults who can guide them through it. Which is fundamentally much worse.

We should be allowed to get upset over stuff like this and ponder how we prevent it. Its part of learning to deal with emotions and the world around us. Its also supported by the presence of other - adults and other children. Its community. So the best possible environment to do this.

Its less graphic, more asking you to think anyway.

It’s the perfect age to go. I went at 15 and it changed my outlook on life

I am not in favour of wrapping 14 year olds in cotton wool.

Neither do I think a trip to Aushwitz is advisable.

Go figure.

The Anne Frank house is great, emotional but inspiring and well-depicted. I would never ever personally go to somewhere like Auschwitz, just the overwhelming hopelessness and misery with nothing redemptive

I think its up to you .However at 14/15 she is still very young .I was upset visiting the Holocaust exhibition at the IWM a few years ago! I would chat and see how she feels .Some youngsters will cope more than others I think .

I'm glad you think OP that everyone should be aware of the Holocaust. I think that your DD should go.

My view is possibly different from some in that the only 14 year old in my family to go there was one of the victims in the Second World War, along with her mother and father.

My DD did at 16 through school in year 12. No major issues with it being ‘too much’. DS would’ve done it last year, but Covid put a stop to any interesting trips.
Really depends on your DD’s sensibilities- could she handle it? Has she read much around the subject? There’s a lot of Holocaust lit out there, both fiction and non.

@purplesequins

it's s tough trip. and very emotionally challenging - on one hand there is the awful history on the other hand it's a school trip with teenage silliness and fun.

I think it's important for teens and around 15ish is about right.

That’s exactly what my dd said. There were parts of the trip she really enjoyed - when they weren’t at the camps.

I visited with the school trip aged 13. I guess at that age i didn't fully understand it yet. However, its a great learning oppurtunity, so take it. You probably wouldn't visit it as a family holiday.

I went to Dachau aged 14 on a class trip and it was thought-provoking, sobering... but I know if I went to Auschwitz now as an adult it would be much worse... I would definitely be in floods of tears. But as others have said, you know your teen best!

My 19 yr old DD visited at the age of 15. Of course its not too young.

Dd was 17 when she went with the Holocaust Education Trust. It was an incredibly moving visit and the attendees had to attend a pre and post visit briefing. The day after they came back dd was told not to go into school but take a day to process everything. She then gave a presentation to school and they had a visit from someone from the trust for the younger students.

I think she would have been too young to handle it at 14.