I am wanting to plan a trip to Germany to tour the different concentration camps. Would like to see Auschwitz but do not know where it is. Have heard it is in Poland.

I have been to Dachau, the first concentration camp to be established by the Germans, which is near Munich, Germany and was disappointed. There really wasn't anything there and what was there seemed to be made purely for the tourists. Auschwitz is in Southern Poland, about 40 miles west of Cracow. The Polish name for Auschwitz (which is the German name) is Oswiecim. There really aren't any major western European cities near Auschwitz. It is hundreds of miles from Berlin and Vienna, Austria. I have not been there, but there is a museum at the Auschwitz site. Also, FYI, the concentration camp most people know as Auschwitz was actually three camps. One was Auschwitz, the concentration camp, another was Birkenau, the extermination camp, and a third was Monowitz. I did not survive the Holocaust, I only study it, so please excuse any small errors here. I am reciting this info from memory.

<BR>I took a group of high school students to Dachau (about 30-45 min.from Munich). It was a very moving experience! Don't miss it, it will be worth the time it takes to get there. <BR>

If you can get over to Poland, Auschwitz is well worth the visit. It probably demonstrates the scale and brutality of the Germans' plans better than anywhere else (Mauthausen - near Linz in Austria - didn't have as much impact on me). Auschwitz I has been turned into a museum, with photos, artefacts and stories of what the Germans did to the prisoners during the war. The larger Auschwitz II, about 2 miles from the first camp, is almost as is was left in 1945, and is an eerie place. They are well worth visiting if you get the chance. You can get a bus or a train from Cracow (the journey is 1 1/2 or 1 hr).

I have been to Dachau and Auschwitz. Many of the Nazi camps were bulldozed or burned immediately for sanitary reasons. Fortunately, those two remain. Others, such as Theresienstadt or Bergen-Belsen, live on in memory, marked by ruins or plaques or mass grave sites. Our trip to Dachau back in l976 was difficult because nobody in that town would give us directions despite my elementary German. Finally, a bus driver motioned us aboard and took us within a block. Look for the signs: "KZ." Konzentrazionslager. You will be glad you went. It is a pilgrimage. <BR> <BR>

As you can understand, most of the concentration camps in Europe were destroyed either by the Russians, Americans, Jews and Germans. If you are looking for an actual working concetration camp, you will be out of luck. I like Dachau, not because there was a lot there, but because of its symbolism. It was right in the middle of a German neighborhood. The neighbors said that they thought it was a factory, even though the saw the Jews go in and never come out. If you go to these camps, don't look for an amusement park, take them for what they were.

My son (15 yrs. old) recently studied prejudices, which extended to The Holocaust. Our upcoming trip to Europe will allow us to visit Auschwitz and I can't wait to see his reaction to something he read about. (He said there are people who actually say it it never happened!) <BR>For those who have visited Auschwitz, is there a tour one can take or is this a place one has to get to on his own and walk about. If you took the tour, was it worth it? We recently visited a Holocaust Museum in Michigan and the wealth of information the tour guide offered was a lot more in depth than information we would have gathered just by walking through ourselves. <BR>Thanks for any information!

Your son will be among other teenagers once you arrive at Auschwitz because the Polish government requires all students to go through that camp before receiving their diploma. The tour is self-guided -- the barracks, the dioramas showing how the greater camp worked, the collections of the victims' suitcases, hairbrushes, eyeglasses, toys, kitchen utensils, and the enormous showcases (bigger than boxcars) of human hair shaved from the heads of those about to be gassed and used as insulation on U-boats. Bales and bales of human hair about to be shipped to the yards. Cells where one had no room to stand or to sit; like being buried alive. Row after row after row of photos of those executed in the camp, with their names, date of birth, date of execution. Men and women, half-starved, heads shaved, staring. And you will not (on a quick tour) see the big camp, Birkenau, where death was an industrial procedure; it can be reached by a 20-minute walk, but few go there. It is acres and acres of rusting fences, shacks, the foundations of what were once barracks, and what remain of the gas chambers which were partially destroyed by the Nazis and the Russians. Believe me, after seeing Auschwitz, your son will never believe the nuts who say it never happened. It is too big, too documented, too grim to be a mere stage setting -- it was an industrial death factory.

Michael: If you have the opportunity to visit Dachau do not miss it. There is a very good museum and an exhibit on the roots of anti-semitism in Germany. You can also walk the grounds and get an idea of what went on. Similar to the experience "Arizona" had, when we visited in 1995, we had a hard time getting directions from Germans and some even tried to convinced us not to go and go instead to see other sights (!?). Use the opportunity to learn about tolerance and compassion and the results of the lack of them.

I, too, visited Dachau in 1996. I hesitated to go as after all, I was on vacation, but my brother--in-law pointed out it was history and that is something I was interested in. I am so glad I did not miss the trip. We stumbled upon a tour group of people from a Kibbutz being led by a Czechoslavakian survivor of Dachau. He allowed several of us to butt in on the tour and listen to his stories and personal experiences. He took the time to speak with us individually and allowed us to ask questions. I will never have that opportunity again. Go and learn and embrace the survivors' motto: NEVER AGAIN. <BR>

<BR>I disagree with the above poster who said Theresienstadt <BR>is gone. I spent most of a whole day there in the town and camp a few years ago and have photos to prove it still exists. Actually quite a lot of it is there and in better condition than in many of the remaining camps. Dachau still has quite a bit to see (although the barracks were destroyed after the war). There is a large museum there (text is in German) and the unused gas chamber (they never used this one) and crematorium is there as well as the ditch where they shot men in the back of the neck. The guard towers are there and so is the guards barracks. Sachsenhausen near Berlin also is partly destroyed but still has many things left as witnesses. Mauthausen is almost completely intact and the most moving of all the camps I have seen because of the quarry. Most camps have all text in the museums only in German in these 4 camps. I have never been to Auschwitz but want to go someday.

I went to Auschwitz and Birkenau last November. It was cold, rainy, overcast, and gloomy. The weather seemed to fit the place. At Birkenau you can see the ruins of gas chambers, which in this case were definitely used. It was a cloudy and foggy day, and as far as you could see in any direction, there were chimneys and fences - all that was left of the wooden barracks where the prisoners lived, after the retreating Germans destroyed as much as they could in an attempt to hide eivdence. The November cold drove home the point of how horrible the conditions must have been in the wintertime - it was obvious that the design of the heating "systems" in the barracks was insufficient, as were the thin wooden walls. Brrr. Another smaller concentration camp worth a visit if you're in the area is Terezin, about 45 minutes drive from Prague. A fortress used throughout the years for a number of purposes, it was last used as a prison for jews and dissidents. The city itself was walled off too. One of the most interesting points of the trip was hearing the relative sizes of the Jewish community in Krakow before the war and after the war. I was shocked. I'll let you find out for yourself.

Abe Cohen is correct. It was Buchenwald that I was thinking about, not Theresienstadt. Theresienstadt, for those who do not know or wish to forget, was a "model" camp. Officials of the International Red Cross were paraded through by the supervisors in order to demonstrate the "humane" conditions under which the victims lived. Trainload by trainload, however, these people were transported east, never to return. I understand, as Mr. Cohen says, that it stands today much as it did. Before the war, much of its grounds were part of an old fortress and village. We asked Czech citizens who today live in that area where the camp was located when we were there three years ago. We were met with puzzled looks and shrugs of the shoulders. Hmmm. Terezin is its Czech name; it is in part of the old Sudetenland.

I went to Dachau in 1965 - and I have no idea how we found it, because surely no one was advertising it. There was almost no information, just the voice of the ruins and the ghosts. It haunts me to this day. It is an important human and historical experience not to be missed. I was in Hiroshima on the August anniversary commemoration of the atom bomb in 1962, only 16 years old and one of the few westerners present - another haunting history lesson. <BR> And for those who cannot go, or wish to learn more, I second the suggestion of an earlier writer, that people visit one of the Holocaust memorials. The one in Washington D.C. is nearly overwhelming - parts of it took me right back to Dachau - but I went with 20 students, 5th & 6th graders, and it was an incredible experience for them - they all were interested and impressed, and respectful.

Auschwitz (Oswiecim) is near Cracow (Krakow) South part of Poland - it's a must see. There are many guided tours available from major hotels in Cracow, as well as on site. The easiest is booking a tour from a hotel or check www.orbis-usa.com (orbis is a Polands national travel agency), and you don't have to worry about how to get to this very small town and then to the camp on your own.

Again, for those who may not be able to get to Germany or Poland, the Imperial War Museum in London has an exhibit on Belsen (aka/Begen Belsen). I have seen the PBS stuff and everything the rest of us have on tv etc....but (aside from what a real visit must be like), this was the most heart-rending thing ever. When the allies got to Belsen, they found 60,000 unburied bodies...... <BR> <BR>The Imperial War Museum also has very realistic, affecting exhibits on The Blitz Experience and WWI Trench Warfare. Defintiely worth a visit.

I agree with Marcia who states that if you cannot go to Germany then visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. It was incredibly moving for ages 12-adult. For younger children there is an age appropriate exhibit called "Daniel's Story". Neither should be missed!

<BR>I live less than 20min. from Washington DC. - so I know all about the Holocaust Museum there. It attracts many tourists world-wide - and it's a wonderful museum. It was built to make you feel as if you're inside a concentration camp - with barred windows, brick, and metal everywhere. It's also dark and gloomy - and gives you the precise mood for the occation. Besides that, it's extremely educational - and it's the next best thing to visiting an actual concentration camp. I highly recommend it! For children and adults alike.

I am traveling to Poland, Russia, etc. next month, and want to visit Auschwitz. I've read about the train from Krakow to it, but Rick Steves' guidebook says it is much more difficult to get a train back to Krakow--I'm traveling by myself. Did anyone else have any problems? Or know about the cost of the tours?

We were in Krakow in June and took a bus to Auschwitz. The bus leaves across from train station and costs $2 or 3. The trip takes about 40 minutes and you can get off right by the museum. There are two sites, Auschwitz and Birkenau, and you should take time to see both - you can walk (about 1.5 miles) or take the shuttle, which goes about every 2 hours or so. We have been to Dachau too, but Auchwitz/Birkenau is bigger, more interperative and a true memorial to the Polish people. See the movie before you go in - costs 50 cents. Lots of different museums, one for every country or two. The Polish one is a need to see. Hitler actually started to eliminate the Poles first.