- 4,806
- Sweden
I have been waiting almost two years to tell this story to anyone who would be interested.
In late August of 2013 I got invited to an all expenses paid trip to Krakow, Poland
by my employer. Everyone in the staff was offered the same invite and there were
about fifteen of us who went, while the others declined it for various reasons and chose
to remain at home.
Our Boss had hired a guide (Michal) for four days which would show us the city of Krakow,
the Auschwitz camp, the Birkenau camp and the Wieliczka Salt Mine.
It had been sixty-eight years since the second world war had ended and I had no
connections what so ever to the events that took place during those six years it lasted.
No one in my family or any of my relatives were involved, the reason for that being because
Sweden "officially" remained neutral throughout the war. Unofficially their role is up
for debate.
I didn't have any expectations prior to the visit to these locations. I had seen many
WW2 films of course and knew about the horrible things that took place but I can't
say I had too many emotions about it all.
Krakow was a nice city to experience first hand on the day we arrived and it dates back to the 7th century.
There were lots of buildings to explore with great architectural innovation, especially the churches.
We went to Auschwitz the following day and our guide took us through the entire camp
showing us how the prisoners worked, ate, slept and ultimately were killed.
We saw the trains they arrived in, the latrines they had to use and the gas chambers.
There was also this building where they had rooms showing different belongings that
were taken away from the prisoners. One room was filled with hundreds and hundreds
of bags and suitcases, another filled with thousands of shoes, yet another filled with human
hair.
All this was difficult to take in. Up to this point throughout the tour I didn't have any feelings
toward the events one way or the other. I knew deep inside though that something in me was
just waiting to react to what I had seen.
After a few hours we arrived outside a building where they had hung up photographs
(taken by the Nazis upon arrival to the camps)
of the Auschwitz prisoners on the walls. There was nothing else in there but these photographs on
the walls. Women and girls on the left, men and boys on the right.
The photos were accompanied by information showing when they were born, what city they hailed
from, when they were taken to camp and when they were either liberated or murdered.
I walked along the wall showing the women first, I saw these women looking rightfully frightened.
Mothers, daughters, sisters..
I didn't know what to think or how to feel.
One of the defining moments of my life so far came next (but I didn't fully know it at the time),
when I started walking along the men's side.
After only a little while I came upon a photo of a young boy.
I'm tearing up thinking about it again now.
I was startled at first because he reminded me so much of my little brother
in his appearance. He didn't look scared but more confused and bewildered.
To add to this he was born the same year as my grandfather, 1924.
The information showed he was taken to the camp in 1941 at 17 years of age,
and he was killed 17 months later in 1943.
This brave boy managed to stay alive in that living hell for 17 months,
and that was a lot longer than the average.
I looked at his face again and this was the moment I finally took it all in.
Now I understood what it was all about.
I couldn't continue watching anymore photographs. Instead I went back outside
waiting for the tour to continue.
But I still didn't react to it. I just simply absorbed it.
The rest of the tour went along but I don't really have much memory of it. That image
of my brothers twin, born at the same time as my grandfather was all that remained
in my mind.
My reaction didn't come until I arrived home a few days later. It was a long trip back,
leaving in the morning from Krakow on a delayed flight, flying home and waiting for
the airport bus to take me to my car.
It was late evening when I finally turned the key to my front door and was able to
relax.
What happened next is something I'll remember forever. I went to take a shower and
suddenly that boy flashed before my eyes again and I was struck with several emotions
all at once.
Guilt, sadness, shame..
I actually felt guilty for being alive when he wasn't, I felt shame over what people can do
to each other and the way he had to live out the final 17 months of his life.
What dreams did he have? What could he have become had he lived?
And I thought 'What if he were my grandfather in another life. Then I wouldn't even
have existed.'
I thought of the people that could have existed today as his grandchildren but never
got the chance.
I don't think I've ever cried the way I did that time in the shower and I have no problem
admitting it. At the same time it had a clensing effect. It felt a lot better afterwards and
I guess I had to go through what I did.
The next day we went to the Birkenau camp and there were no emotions here.
All that remained were hollow buildings where the prisoners had slept, other than
that it was just huge, empty grass fields.
We finished the trip on a positive note thankfully, for on the fourth day we went
to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. It is a mine that reaches a depth of 327 metres (1,073 ft) and is over 287 kilometres (178 mi) long, and we had to walk down a long wooden staircase for what seemed like
forever to eventually arrive at an elevator taking us even further down below the surface.
All the way down there, hundreds of metres down they had built a fantastic looking church
carved out of the salt for the miners to have a place of praying.
The mine, built in the 13th century produced table salt continuously until 2007 as one of the world's oldest salt mines still in operation.
The church
It has been 70 years now since WW2 ended and the remaining prisoners were liberated.
It is a hell of a long time ago but at the same time it is just a few minutes if you
consider our history.
I just wanted to share my experience here and see if perhaps some of you have been to these
places as well, or plan on going there.
It is good to be alive but the one important thing is to never forget. Not only about WW2 but
about all the wars past and present.
Things are happening RIGHT NOW in the world that maybe someone like me will learn about in
sixty years time and have the same feelings towards. Mankind never learns..
Below a mix of 21 personal photos from
Krakow, Wieliczka, Auschwitz & Birkenau.
In late August of 2013 I got invited to an all expenses paid trip to Krakow, Poland
by my employer. Everyone in the staff was offered the same invite and there were
about fifteen of us who went, while the others declined it for various reasons and chose
to remain at home.
Our Boss had hired a guide (Michal) for four days which would show us the city of Krakow,
the Auschwitz camp, the Birkenau camp and the Wieliczka Salt Mine.
It had been sixty-eight years since the second world war had ended and I had no
connections what so ever to the events that took place during those six years it lasted.
No one in my family or any of my relatives were involved, the reason for that being because
Sweden "officially" remained neutral throughout the war. Unofficially their role is up
for debate.
I didn't have any expectations prior to the visit to these locations. I had seen many
WW2 films of course and knew about the horrible things that took place but I can't
say I had too many emotions about it all.
Krakow was a nice city to experience first hand on the day we arrived and it dates back to the 7th century.
There were lots of buildings to explore with great architectural innovation, especially the churches.
We went to Auschwitz the following day and our guide took us through the entire camp
showing us how the prisoners worked, ate, slept and ultimately were killed.
We saw the trains they arrived in, the latrines they had to use and the gas chambers.
There was also this building where they had rooms showing different belongings that
were taken away from the prisoners. One room was filled with hundreds and hundreds
of bags and suitcases, another filled with thousands of shoes, yet another filled with human
hair.
All this was difficult to take in. Up to this point throughout the tour I didn't have any feelings
toward the events one way or the other. I knew deep inside though that something in me was
just waiting to react to what I had seen.
After a few hours we arrived outside a building where they had hung up photographs
(taken by the Nazis upon arrival to the camps)
of the Auschwitz prisoners on the walls. There was nothing else in there but these photographs on
the walls. Women and girls on the left, men and boys on the right.
The photos were accompanied by information showing when they were born, what city they hailed
from, when they were taken to camp and when they were either liberated or murdered.
I walked along the wall showing the women first, I saw these women looking rightfully frightened.
Mothers, daughters, sisters..
I didn't know what to think or how to feel.
One of the defining moments of my life so far came next (but I didn't fully know it at the time),
when I started walking along the men's side.
After only a little while I came upon a photo of a young boy.
I'm tearing up thinking about it again now.
I was startled at first because he reminded me so much of my little brother
in his appearance. He didn't look scared but more confused and bewildered.
To add to this he was born the same year as my grandfather, 1924.
The information showed he was taken to the camp in 1941 at 17 years of age,
and he was killed 17 months later in 1943.
This brave boy managed to stay alive in that living hell for 17 months,
and that was a lot longer than the average.
I looked at his face again and this was the moment I finally took it all in.
Now I understood what it was all about.
I couldn't continue watching anymore photographs. Instead I went back outside
waiting for the tour to continue.
But I still didn't react to it. I just simply absorbed it.
The rest of the tour went along but I don't really have much memory of it. That image
of my brothers twin, born at the same time as my grandfather was all that remained
in my mind.
My reaction didn't come until I arrived home a few days later. It was a long trip back,
leaving in the morning from Krakow on a delayed flight, flying home and waiting for
the airport bus to take me to my car.
It was late evening when I finally turned the key to my front door and was able to
relax.
What happened next is something I'll remember forever. I went to take a shower and
suddenly that boy flashed before my eyes again and I was struck with several emotions
all at once.
Guilt, sadness, shame..
I actually felt guilty for being alive when he wasn't, I felt shame over what people can do
to each other and the way he had to live out the final 17 months of his life.
What dreams did he have? What could he have become had he lived?
And I thought 'What if he were my grandfather in another life. Then I wouldn't even
have existed.'
I thought of the people that could have existed today as his grandchildren but never
got the chance.
I don't think I've ever cried the way I did that time in the shower and I have no problem
admitting it. At the same time it had a clensing effect. It felt a lot better afterwards and
I guess I had to go through what I did.
The next day we went to the Birkenau camp and there were no emotions here.
All that remained were hollow buildings where the prisoners had slept, other than
that it was just huge, empty grass fields.
We finished the trip on a positive note thankfully, for on the fourth day we went
to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. It is a mine that reaches a depth of 327 metres (1,073 ft) and is over 287 kilometres (178 mi) long, and we had to walk down a long wooden staircase for what seemed like
forever to eventually arrive at an elevator taking us even further down below the surface.
All the way down there, hundreds of metres down they had built a fantastic looking church
carved out of the salt for the miners to have a place of praying.
The mine, built in the 13th century produced table salt continuously until 2007 as one of the world's oldest salt mines still in operation.
The church
It has been 70 years now since WW2 ended and the remaining prisoners were liberated.
It is a hell of a long time ago but at the same time it is just a few minutes if you
consider our history.
I just wanted to share my experience here and see if perhaps some of you have been to these
places as well, or plan on going there.
It is good to be alive but the one important thing is to never forget. Not only about WW2 but
about all the wars past and present.
Things are happening RIGHT NOW in the world that maybe someone like me will learn about in
sixty years time and have the same feelings towards. Mankind never learns..
Below a mix of 21 personal photos from
Krakow, Wieliczka, Auschwitz & Birkenau.
