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[Cinnamon]

Bit of a long shot,but has anyone ever visited Auschwitz?

 

My daughter is one of only 4 pupils in her area to be chosen to go on a one day trip next week,as well as attending 2 seminars in London.

It is all arranged by an information group,& while it looks fascinating,I am a little concerned about the emotional impact of it.

Cleo is very into her history,& especially this period,& I am sure they will make it into a fascinating & humbling trip for them

 

Oh,& it is forecast to be minus 8

Edited February 10, 2012 by Guest

[WitchHazel]

Sarah. haven't been to Auschwitz, but I have been to Dachau (another concentration camp).

 

I knew quite a bit about the holocaust, had seen stuff on TV, seen pictures, read accounts of what had gone on. I was still unprepared for actually seeing a camp in real life.

 

It's a really good opportunity for her. I hope she "enjoys" the trip ("enjoy" isn't really the right word in this context, can't think of a more suitable one though).

Hazel

[BizzyMomma]

I haven't been there but would love to go..... this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and if you feel she can handle the emotional side of it, not to mention the sub-zero temps then I am sure that your daughter will find this trip hugely informational not to mention (searching for the right words here) inspiring/humbling/reflective spring to mind...??

They say there is NO sound there, not even bird song.... it's a trip my daughter really wants to do given the opportunity..

[mollyripkim]

Yes I have been and would echo what everyone else has said. We did it whilst in Krakov for a weekend and I deliberated long and hard before deciding to go and so glad I did. Its not a tourist attraction in any way but humbling and yes very emotional. Our guide told us that we were not wrong to visit and in fact hopefully we will all be able to learn from the mistakes of the past. It definitely has a sort of atmosphere and yes weirdly no birds at all. So if your daughter loves history and only you can decide if she can cope then its a good thing to do.

I read lots of the stories of individual prisoners which gives an insight not only to the suffering but also to the endurance of the human spirit.

You were able to go into one of the gas chambers but personally this as something I couldn't do.

[snowberry]

I'm hoping to make the trip one day. I would imagine your daughter will find it a very moving & informative experience. It's probably better to experience it during a harsh winter rather than on a warm & sunny day...

[abwsco]

We have been to Auschwitz and Birkenau twice. Once just DH and I and once with both DD's. It is humbling, emotional and I also found it a spiritual experience. I couldn't face the suitcases exhibition the first time I went but did it with DD's on our second visit. DD's found the gas chambers difficult.

 

Was minus 5ish when we first went.

 

 

[Old Speckled Hen]

She should go. It will be very emotional, but the memory must be kept alive.

My parents (Dad RIP though) are Polish and my mother slaved for the German army on The Front as a young girl before the Allied forces liberated her. She tells me stories of how the officers tore off their insignias to pretend they were ordinary enlisted men!

She lost many relatives in the camps and being Polish you didn't have to be Jewish to be there.

I went with a very heavy heart but felt I should. The suitcases, the piles of shoes and prosthetics...legs and braces and things are well documented as is the accommodation and the communal latrines and the awful sign at the entrance. I was prepared and managed those but there was a little glass case that had a few babies clothes and toys in it and that just made me so upset I had to leave the group and cry in a corner.

I am glad I went.

I couldn't and won't,to this day, watch Schindler's List.

[Alis girls]

never been but watched something on ITV 3 last week- an elderly Hungarian Jew (now deceased) was one of the labourers putting bodies from gas chambers to be burnt. It was horrifying and fascinating at the same time. I have seen |Schindlers list and sobbed all the way through. i think it will touch her more than anything else and it should be - well compulsory for all young people regardless of race, colour creed etc to see it. i realise this is totally unrealistic however it might mean less conflict in the world.

[majuka]

I have never been but my sister has. I can only echo what everyone else has posted, it was an incredibly difficult day for her and the group she went with, very emotional and a very humbling experience. She learnt a lot from it and would recommend it to others - I don't mean recommend as in you would recommend other things to do on holiday but she did feel that other people should go and see it.

[Cinnamon]

Cleo is looking forward to it - she has wanted to go for years (she is almost 17), & I am sure that her historical knowledge about the place is way better than mine

 

There was a meeting for the group today & a letter came home from the pastoral care lady,which was nice to see - they are at least preparing them for the experience,& making them aware that it may not be a comfortable one.

 

If anyone else is interested in their school taking part in the future,the scheme is called 'Lessons from Auschwitz' & I am sure the college can find out more with a quick Google.

It costs about £50 per pupil, & as I said it involves 2 seminars & a presentation back at college too.

I think the people to contact are the Holocaust Educational Trust.

 

I will report back next week!

[craftyhunnypie]

What an opportunity. I know I couldn't do it though.

Emma.x

[Seagazer]

I echo what Craftyhunnypie has said. Something I think should be seen, just to make sure that people fully realise what happened to so many people but I don't think I would be able to do it.

 

Hubby, me and YS went to the Holocaust exhibition in the Imperial War Museum and it upset me so much, I had to leave before the end. Absolutely shocking what went happened, awful.

[chickencam]

This will be a great but emotional opportunity for her. My ED went to the Somme battlefields on her 16th birthday and found that a very humbling journey, knowing that a lot of the young men that lost their lives were barely older than she was.

[Yorkshire Pudding]

2 post 16 students went from our school last year - it was such a valuable experience for them.

 

I haven't been but feel I want to. I have seen the exhibition in Oslo castle (which was a Nazi prison in WWII), about he occupation of Norway and the people who were imprisoned and killed in camps there. It was one of the most affecting, upsetting things I have seen.

[LolaLayla]

Two children from YS's year were chosen to go. YS got down to the last 6 and had to give a presentation as to why he would like to go but sadly he was not selected.

[craftyhunnypie]

Hubby says it's pretty gruesome. Says it is very well preserved history, but upsetting. Look like pig stys with shackles on the wall. Lots of very disturbing content. Not to mention the gas chambers. Said it's not a nice place to visit.

 

Emma.x

[Ms Marple]

I think she will gain an immense amount from the trip. We are going at Easter. We have a Holocaust survivor that has come into school every year fo the last 5 years to talk o our year 9 boys. They always find it a moving but worthwhile experience.

He is getting very frail now and may not come many more times.

If anyone remembers Pol Pot and the Cambodian genocide we visited Tuol Sleng

 

http://memoryandjustice.org/site/tuol-sleng-museum-of-genocidal-crimes

 

 

whilst in Phnom Penh. Man's inhumanity to man never ceases to shock. Another very levelling experience .

[Cinnamon]

Quick update.

 

Cleo is back now & well rested after a very long day.

She left at 3am & got home at about 1am this morning

 

She loved the trip,despite the -21 conditions & losing all feeling in her feet. It is unprecedented weather even for Poland,& the most extreme temps they have ever had for a Lessons in Auschwitz trip....they were wrapping some kids up in those silver blankets by the end of the day.

 

She did find it moving,but didn't get emotional,although a lot of people did,including her male friend that she went with,& their teacher.

They had a Rabbi there to talk to them,who she really enjoyed & at the end of the visit they all said prayers for the dead & each lit a candle,which was placed next to the railway tracks.

 

She said that Poland was really interesting & that the camps were just fascinating,& the whole trip was really well done.

She really wants to go back to Poland some time,although not in the winter!

 

All in all it was a great success & has left her understanding more about the war & with a nice sense of humility,which for a teen is never a bad thing

[bluekarin]

I'm glad she had a good time (not really the right words, but you know what I mean). My aunt and uncle went there a few years ago and they found it very moving too. My maternal grandparents (my uncles parents) were Polish and were in a few of the work camps over there. I think at one point they were in a concentration camp, so it really brought it home to them what his parents went through. I would like to go one day. I know I would be very upset about it, but I'd want to take my kids so they could appreciate what they went through, and just how lucky we are nowadays.

[Seagazer]

I'm glad she had a rewarding time out there (that doesn't seem like the right word either) How lovely that they said a prayer and lit candles and had a rabbi there. I bet she's exhausted (as are you probably).

 

My friend has just gone home to Poland to visit her family and she said it was -25 brrrrh too cold for me.

[chickencam]

I am glad that she had a worthwhile and safe trip, she will remember ir for life.

[majuka]

I'm glad that Cleo got a lot out of the trip and is home safely now (and hopefully defrosted!)

[Guest]

Someone from my work is there at the moment too!

[BizzyMomma]

Glad to hear that Chloe found the trip interesting and worthwhile despite the horrendous temperatures!