Auschwitz Museum
 

Anyone ever been to the museum in Auschwitz before? I'll be in Krakow and I understand it's not too far from there. I've read the hostels give you all the info about tours, etc. Just wondering if anyone's ever done it and what it was like? Thanks.

My husband and I took the trains throughout Eastern Europe about 8 years ago. I travel extensively but this trip to Poland was one of my most memorable. We loved Poland and we did take the trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. It's a very emotional trip and one you will never forget. Yes, all hotels/hostels have info about the tours. Children should not attempt this tour! I know you will have an unforgetable trip. Sharon from Arizona

Not an "enjoyable" trip but certainly moving and worthwhile. My husband and I were there in October, 2004, and took a bus tour that stopped for passengers at the Hotel Krakovia, as well as other hotels. I do not remember the cost of the bus but it was reasonable. There is no cost to enter the Auschwitz Monument but there is a fee to take a guided tour. I highly recommend the tour. My husband was there again in February and took the tour again with the group of men with whom he was traveling, and then since they had independent transportation they stayed to visit many of the exhibits that time on the tour did not allow for. He said that really enhanced the experience. But if all you can do is the bus, I still say that you should not miss it.

GO!!! Haunting, memorable, awakening -whether you're old enough to remember WWII, or so young it has no impact, you shouldn't miss it! Of course, it's definitely not fun, but you won't regret going! Three years ago, we took teenage grandsons,ages 14 and 16, and it was an incredible experience for them. (Can you believe- teenage boys, and they actually talked about it for a long time afterward!) In case your tour options separate Auschwicz-Birkenau,try to visit both. The Auschwisz is in far more depth, the more sobering, not to be missed - but the starkness of Birkenau provoked images and feelings that have remained with us.
We all loved the city of Krakow, by the way. At that time, Poland was not yet a tourist destination, not that long from under the Iron Curtain, not all that modern, and the people were refreshing and interesting and newly interested in so much beyond their boundaries!. We'd love to return there. (Another nearby tour the boys enjoyed, but which we old folks did not take due to the walking, was to the Salt Mine. You might look into it.)
Don't be hesitant to experience the emotions at Auschwicz! I always regretted declining a side trip to Dachau a number of years ago when nearby because I knew it would be depressing and I didn't want to experience those emotions when vacationing! Wrong decision!!
Have a great trip! When are you going? Where else are you going?

I agree that you should go. However, I have to say that we thought it was overly sanitized (figuratively, not literally)considering what had occurred there. The most moving thing for me was the huge glass case full of the shoes of children who had been killed there.

We were there on a very cold, rainy day in the beginning of October, and we were wearing hats and gloves and were shivering in our Gore-Tex. What I remember the most is thinking how physically miserable those poor people must have been if we were this cold and wet in the fall, and we were equipped for the weather.

As others have said, yes you should go. What happened there is one of the central events of the 20th century.

I was there in April 2005. Be prepared for being outdoors much of the day. Also have some water and a snack with you as you may not get an opportunity to buy any food. There is a cafeteria but your tour might not include a lunch stop. If you can form a group it is worthwile to have a taxi take you from Krakow and back. Negotiate the price first. He will just wait for you. It sounds extravagant but is competitive with taking a bus tour from Krakow and gives you more flexibility. At Auschwitz you can hire a guide (a good idea). Our driver looked after this for us. It is possible to take public tranport to Auschwitz if saving money is foremost but I did not do this. Admission is free but there is a small charge for the movie, in English at 11 AM if I recall correctly.

Auschwitz I is a series of brick buildings with different exhibits in them. It is much smaller than Auschwitz II but you will spend more time there because it has more exhibits. Auschwitz II consisted largely of wooden buildings that were burned by the Nazis at the end of the war in an attempt to conceal the truth. The vast field of chimneys gives you an idea of the scale of this evil operation. A few of the wooden buildings have been rebuilt.

Do I assume correctly that by Auschitz 2 you are referring to Birkenau, the larger camp on the outskirts of Oswiecz? It's appears to be about 1/2 mile square, primarily only barracks.

Yes Auschwitz II and Birkenau are the same place. I does not have the museum type displays that Auschwitz I has. I does have the ruins of the two large gas chamber / crematoria complexes and the famous rail sidings. A visitor will likely spend much less time here than at Auschwitz I but I think it is worth seeing.

Agreed. #1 displays the sinister nature of the program, while #2 displays the immensity of it.

Interesting comment from tomboy...yes, the one does exhibit sinister and the other immensity. No doubt about it, Auschwitz should be a destination if in Krakow. Yes, you mostly wander in and out of barracks on a tour and the glass case exhibits are eerie. Just use your imagination and shudder. I felt the enlarged photos on barracks walls helped
...innocent victims headed for a
"relocation center" so many thought.

A book I recommend for all which I just read, one so appalling the recalling of it still almost brings sadness and tears: "Hitler's Death Camps," by Feig. Likely the most moving book I've read in my 70 plus years. So Auschwitz was only one of many such detention-torture-execution internment camps.

ozarksbill

lainH - I had trouble finding your post again - it didn't seem to come up under aushwitz or Poland - maybe I don't know how to use this properly. But have you looked at the Poland posts? There is one entitled Holocaust Tours -last posted 8/15/05 - that has some good suggestions for you.