Days 16 and 17 - Auschwitz and a tour of Krakow

 Just over an hour's bus drive from Krakow is Auschwitz, and I took the trip with some trepidation. I don't intend to give you any facts or figures, except to say that everything you have heard it true, and worse than you can imagine. The sheer industrial scale of the inhumanity is breath-taking.

Auschwitz was originally a converted barracks, and used to hold Polish and those from other Slavic countries. Here was the infamous gate with "Arbeit Mach Frei" on it. 

 

Arbeit Mach Frei - Work makes freedom.

It was only two years later that the Jews started being send there, and the chambers were built. Eventually there were so many arriving that a new camp was built close by, called Auschwitz Birkenau. This was where those that survived the cattle truck journey were immediately sorted, and if the German Officer's thumb went one way, you only had about an hour left. The other way, and you were on the work gangs where you might last three months.

The platform the other side of the gates is one Kilometre long.


Obviously, except to Holocaust deniers, the plight of the Jews is well known. What is less known was the huge quantity of Poles who suffered this fate.

On Friday we took what is essentially a beefed up golf buggy for a guided tour of Krakow, and this was great fun. Krakow suffered no damage in the War, so the huge number of impressive churches and city buildings are still there to see. The tour covered the Central Square, Wawel Castle and cathedral, the Old Jewish quarter (which was known as the Jewish ghetto back in the thirties), and Schindler's Factory. If you have seen the film Schindler's List, then you will have seen this and other parts of Krakow.










There is only one dedicated footbridge over the River Wista. and strung along it were bronze acrobats swaying in the breeze - really well done.



The spots on the fencing are padlocks left by lovers.

 The afternoon ended with an excellent lunch in the Jewish Quarter.

Tomorrow, Saturday, there is another long drive as we head north west to Wroclaw, described as "an unknown jewel".

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ireland awaits - part 1

Image
The overnight ferry dropped us off in Belfast early on Friday morning, only a fifteen minute drive from our first destination - The Titanic exhibition. With time to spare until our timed entry, we just wondered around the docks area, but got no offers from any sailors. I visited the exhibition some six years ago and was impressed then, but they have actually improved it. The sense of actually being there as it was being built was strong, as was being transported through the finished liner. As we had a few hours to spare before we were allowed on the campsite, we drove to Carrickfergus and it's well preserved and looked after castle. And on the doorstep was, lo and behold, a Wetherspoons! This pleased Wallace mightily as he keeps track of all the ones he has been to. We met there a Scottish rugby on tour. The Forrester's have organised a tour to Carrickfergus since 1979. Great lads to talk to. The campsite was council run but automatic. There was no reception, just a keypad to e...
Read more

Ireland awaits - part 2

Image
 I forgot to mention in the first blog that in Belfast we took a hop on hop off bus tour (good recommendation Lois!). It was well worth doing. Apart from the usual city centre sights and buildings, it all took in the Falls and Shankhill Roads, the murals, Crumlin Road jail, and the "peace" wall. Now this was fascinating, and shows that a lot of people have not moved on. The driver did a good job of staying neutral in his descriptions of the atrocities, bombings etc. Sunday saw us travel along the very beautiful Antrim Coast Road, stopping at all the views on the way. The stop for the night was in Bushmills carpark, which gave us the opportunity to visit the Bushmills Distillery, and naturally try a few samples. We knew everywhere was going to be packed solid on Bank Holiday Monday, so there was an early start to get to the Giants Causeway. We were just about the only people there, and it was so peaceful and quiet - the bird song was immense. Just as we were leaving the tour b...
Read more

I've gotta leave old Durham town, and that leaving's gonna get me down.

Image
   Roger Whittaker knew what he was talking about with those lyrics, for Durham is a very pleasant place and we shall be sorry to move on tomorrow.   Amazon had done everything they promised, and a new water pump was waiting for us on arrival at the Durham Amateur Rowing Club. Half an hour fiddling around and all was well with the world again. The site here is compact, but tidy. We are right on the river's edge, and have access to the club facilities - unfortunately not the bar as it is too long and narrow to allow for social distancing. The first night we took a stroll along the riverside path to the edge of the city centre and back, mainly just to gauge Ann's ability to do it. She managed but would not have been able to do any more, which meant we would need a taxi for our visit to the cathedral the next day. The taxi driver gave us a great overview of the town on the way in this morning, which made up for the fact that the main bridge into the centre was closed - it ha...
Read more