lola

Five years ago I went with a friend to Aushwitz and Birkenau. Another lady I knew had survived Aushwitz and told me in detail about the horrors. I walked by myself all the way to the back of Birkenau where the showers and crematoria had been. I stayed so long, thinking of her and the millions of others that the daylight was waning and I had the unforgettable experience of having to walk back in the twilight through the whole, huge camp, thinking every moment of the horrors. I was alone, as far as I could tell and I could feel the forgotten. My friend who had gone ahead was afraid something had happened. I'll never forget the barracks overgrown now with weeds, and the deer that romped along in the darkness beside me. One of the most memorable, frightening, sad hours of my entire life. Words cannot describe it.

BJ

Bringing this to the top for Nancy who is interested in visiting Dachau. <BR> <BR>12/31/00

Marc Terrance

Hello, my name is Marc Terrance. I have published a guidebook for travelers wishing to visit the <BR>Concentration Camps. I personally visited each of these places to document the travel directions. I also <BR>had the privilege of visiting with a Holocaust Survivors group a few months ago. It was one of the most <BR>moving experiences of my life. They were very excited about my project and welcomed me with such <BR>warmth and friendship. I'm posting this notice here in the hopes that those visiting this site might be <BR>searching for this information. I found it very hard to find directions myself, that is why I wrote this book. <BR> <BR>GUIDE BOOK: "Concentration Camps, A Traveler's Guide to World War II Sites" by Marc Terrance. <BR>Available On-Line from "Amazon.com", "BarnesandNoble.com", "Borders.com" and directly from the <BR>publisher at "upublish.com/books/terrance.htm" <BR> <BR>Please Visit my Webpage with links to the above: http://www.ConcentrationCampGuide.com. <BR> <BR>A Must for anyone planning on visiting the Concentration Camps of Europe. Contains street maps showing <BR>exact directions to the sites, walking routes, road signs, bus and train information, opening hours and what <BR>remains of the camps today. Includes 45 Street Maps, Over 160 Pictures plus many useful websites. The <BR>guide covers 39 Sites in Poland, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, France and The Netherlands. I <BR>hope you will find this useful. We must NEVER FORGET.

Diane

This is one for "Believe It Or Not" but we visited Dachau several years ago & my husband decided to video the camp. When we returned home the film shows me walking through the gate, then it goes blank & resumes the picture as we are standing back outside. My husband filmed much of the camp for over 2 hrs but nothing shows up. Definitely creepy! I still cry whenever I remember parts of that experience & wish we had passed it by. Some German friends who live close to the camp remember that they were told that the smoke was coming from processing animal waste. They seemed embarrassed & obviously felt like they would have been in danger too had they asked too many questions.

Roy

It seems odd that with so many posts on this subject, there is no mention of Buchenwald. It is located just 5km from Weimar. The museum and few remaining buildings are most interesting.<BR>Next month we are expecting to visit the camps at Terecin and Auschwietz.

Chris

Another strange one, but when I went to Auschwitz in April 1995, we left Krakow by bus in the most glorious sunshine, and as we pulled up at the camp, it began snowing! That was eerie!

Songbird

Did you also notice that the birds do not sing at Auschwitz? You will see hundreds of them sitting on the barbed wire, yet they don't make a sound.

mara

I thought this was important to bring to the top with all the anti-Semitism resurfacing nowadays.

mpprh

Hi<BR><BR>I spent many years driving Europe for my job.<BR>There is a transit camp between Brussels and Antwerp that is worth visiting.<BR><BR>Bergen-Belsen was not a death camp, but many died of starvation whilst there were food warehouses for the German army on the other side of the fence.<BR><BR>Little to see today (the wooden buildings were burnt by the allies to eliminate Cholera)but very moving, with a good visitor centre. N.B. no smell of death, and birds still sing and fly!<BR><BR>Best experience was the holocaust museum in LA. <BR><BR>Peter<BR>

Rusty

Auschwitz (Oswiecim) is a must. Just beware the mob of taxi drivers offering to take you there from the 'lovely' Krakow train station. Stick to the trai ns or the bus and you'll be fine. Dachau has less shock value than Auschwitz, but is still a must see. I'll never forget the plaque placed by the ovens in the cremetoria memorializing 4 young English women who joined the SOE, parachuted into France and were captured operating with the maquis (resistance); they were executed and cremated there in Dachau. It kind of brought home all teh books I'd read and history I'd studied in a way that can only be done by actually seeing it. I mean, they were my age when I was there, or younger, when they were killed!

lbb

I went to Dachau in March of 1999. It was truly a moving experience. We took a train from Munich. It was pretty cold out and I wore a full length wool coat and gloves. I had my scarf wound tightly around my neck. It wasn't the coldest weather that Germany has by any means. My friend and I complained about the cold earlier in the week. The complaints stopped as we took the tour and saw the pictures of the residents of Dachau in there light cotton "pajamas" and their shoe less feet. Sometimes when I start to feel sorry for myself I think of how cold I was that day. I love to travel not just because it is fun but because I learn so much about myself. It is great that you are using travel as a learning experience.

mcat

I visited Dachau back in '96. Being Jewish, I'd always felt it important to visit a concentration camp, but nothing prepared me for the reality of actually seeing one. I was surprised by the people on the board who were there and said they were dissapointed; I don't know what they were expecting to see, but believe me you don't need to see an exact replica of the camp to be blown away by the feeling of it. <BR><BR>Some of the shacks the victims were housed in still remain, as do some of the ovens. There is also a Holocaust museum there which completes the picture of what the camp was like when it was in full operation.<BR><BR>Don't be deterred by people telling you not to go there or that it's not a "vacation" thing to do. Visit because it's a part of history that should never be forgotten, and plus you'll be changed by the experience.

GordonB

Hi Michael, yes it is in Poland, they call it Oscwiencim. It is fairly close to Krakow and a few hours north of the Tatra mountains and Zakopane.<BR><BR>Auschwitz-Buchenwald must be seen, it will be one of the most moving things you can do. I know there are a number of views, but it is a truly special place. And there are STILL no birds there.

Judy

Michael, I had visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, and felt that I didn't need to visit Auschwitz-Berkenau Camps, but we found ourselves in Poland and our host said we should visit them. What a powerful experience! After we saw the movie, we spent hours wandering, remembering books we had read and experiencing many heart wrenching feelins trying to imagine how these people felt. By far, the vision I hold the strongest in my heart and mind is the pool where the ashes were dumped. All these many years later, the color of the water is strange and one can feel the sadness. The isolation and absolute stillness and absence of people and voices conveyed the reality better than any guided tour could have done. Judy

Peter

Auschwitz-Berkenau Camps are very sad places - but definitly must see - it makes you think as well as appriciate life. It also shows that this horror was not limited to just Jews but so many others. Seeing the movie first before even walking the camp I feel gives you more realistic view of what had happened there. BTW this movie (original documentry) have been edited a little from the original - 15yrs ago or so was even more graphic. I also suggest to get a guide who will provide much of the background and details that can be missed by just walking around...<BR>but agree definitly see it ... definitly remember ...

How silly

Just returned from a trip that included Auschwitz....bird were everywhere and singing loudly!! Give me a break! The camps are moving and disturbing enough on their own accord without having such rubbish thrown about!

jamie

And to think there are a lot of Americans that still say this entire concentration camp thing NEVER took place. Just let them read all these postings. Where are their brains? It is apparant they do not have a brain. Oh, how very, very sad.

Marian

You may already have this info as I didn't read all of your responses, but you can find directions, visitor info etc at http://www.auschwitz-muzeum.oswiecim...nie/index.html

Herb

jamie:<BR><BR>On what are you basing your statement, jamie? Did you mean to use "a tiny fraction" where you used "a lot"? <BR>

rquirk

I don't think anybody has mentioned the actual town in Poland these camps are near. The town is Oswiecim. There are direct trains from Katowice and Krakow. Best to book a tour though. I have just returned and found it pretty harrowing. Thank heavens it is a lot more sanitised ( grass, fields ) now instead of then ( mud, snow and human ash ).