- Joined
- Jan 7, 2021
Full disclosure, this review has not been paid or read before publication by the Jews.
A couple of months ago I asked this Q&A thread if I should go and visit Auschwitz and promised to report back and show some pictures. I will split it up into Auschwitz and Birkenau.
I went on a guided tour, where everything was organized by the company, including the Transport. (I never did one, because I knew I'd hate it and I was correct. Fuck guided group tours. (At least the ones with headphones))
Auschwitz:
The tour starts, by getting your headphones and receivers, followed by a walk of shame through a brutalist concrete tunnel where a loudspeaker reads the names of the victims out loud.
(Not my image)
You emerge, not far away from the famous “Arbeit macht Frei” gate. There are plaques with information written on them, but you have no time to read them because the next group is already behind you, and they run on a tight schedule. This is the biggest problem with the Auschwitz tour, but this might have been a problem with the way I booked my tour. You can also get a private tour which is probably the best way of doing it, because you can talk with the guide and take more time to soak it all in.
We were next led through a couple of houses, that are now being used for the exhibit. Several rooms were dedicated to display belongings like shoes, suitcases, pots and pans and human hair. The human hair room especially made some people gasp.
My guide:
My guide was ok, but she intentionally put on a somber and sad voice when talking about certain things, which I found very manipulative and distasteful. She must have done this tour hundreds of times. Don't tell me you still get overwhelmed by emotions. The last thing missing was if she had pressed her fingers on her quivering lips.
In general, it seemed like she was just following a script which became evident when I asked her, why they didn’t build more crematoria. She had told us, that they gassed so many people that they couldn’t keep up with cremating them, resulting in the Nazis just chucking them into burn pits. She couldn’t answer the question, resulting in her searching for an answer.
Another thing that she kept pointing out was all the companies that profited directly from the concentration camps and that are still in business. Her favorite example was Topf und Söhne, the company manufacturing the crematoria. She told us that she couldn’t understand how they were still in business to this day after what happened, and I had to resist the urge telling her that it was probably due to them working really well.
The most worrying part though is that the company went insolvent 30 years ago. A mistake this big can’t happen and makes me question if there was other stuff she said that might not have been correct.
Birkenau:
Birkenau is a 5-10 Minute drive away from Auschwitz and is structured differently. We were there with the same guide, but it isn’t an exhibition. You can more or less freely move around. We didn’t have much time there as well, because we had to be back at the bus.
Birkenau was impressive. You enter through the main gate and the first thing you see are a bunch of chimneys. They are the only things that remain of the wooden barracks, which were mostly burned down by the SS when the red army arrived. They reminded me of headstones, which was a pretty powerful image.
There are also some original barracks remaining which were constructed by brick and can be entered. Many of them are under renovation, because most of them were built directly on dirt, not having a floor.
I also saw a group of Jewish kids, walking around with an Israeli flag, worn as a Cape. Pretty funny.
(Sorry for the shit quality. I didn't want to get too many weird stares taking pictures of Israeli children)
What I liked:
What I disliked:
Final thoughts:
If you are in the area, do it. It is a worthwhile experience, just make sure that you don’t get ripped off by a touring company and overpay. Ideally you get a private tour, but that will cost you a lot. 180$ for a 3.5h tour, and your group can be up to 10 people. But if you go as a family it might be worth it.
I visited Dachau maybe 10 years ago with my parents and I have a better memory of it. Way less people, good guide and more time to actually absorb what you are seeing.
@Adam Basile Woodrow, @Haloperidol, @gagabobo1997, @eatler, @Aunt Carol
A couple of months ago I asked this Q&A thread if I should go and visit Auschwitz and promised to report back and show some pictures. I will split it up into Auschwitz and Birkenau.
I went on a guided tour, where everything was organized by the company, including the Transport. (I never did one, because I knew I'd hate it and I was correct. Fuck guided group tours. (At least the ones with headphones))
Auschwitz:
The tour starts, by getting your headphones and receivers, followed by a walk of shame through a brutalist concrete tunnel where a loudspeaker reads the names of the victims out loud.
(Not my image)
You emerge, not far away from the famous “Arbeit macht Frei” gate. There are plaques with information written on them, but you have no time to read them because the next group is already behind you, and they run on a tight schedule. This is the biggest problem with the Auschwitz tour, but this might have been a problem with the way I booked my tour. You can also get a private tour which is probably the best way of doing it, because you can talk with the guide and take more time to soak it all in.
We were next led through a couple of houses, that are now being used for the exhibit. Several rooms were dedicated to display belongings like shoes, suitcases, pots and pans and human hair. The human hair room especially made some people gasp.
My guide:
My guide was ok, but she intentionally put on a somber and sad voice when talking about certain things, which I found very manipulative and distasteful. She must have done this tour hundreds of times. Don't tell me you still get overwhelmed by emotions. The last thing missing was if she had pressed her fingers on her quivering lips.
In general, it seemed like she was just following a script which became evident when I asked her, why they didn’t build more crematoria. She had told us, that they gassed so many people that they couldn’t keep up with cremating them, resulting in the Nazis just chucking them into burn pits. She couldn’t answer the question, resulting in her searching for an answer.
Another thing that she kept pointing out was all the companies that profited directly from the concentration camps and that are still in business. Her favorite example was Topf und Söhne, the company manufacturing the crematoria. She told us that she couldn’t understand how they were still in business to this day after what happened, and I had to resist the urge telling her that it was probably due to them working really well.
The most worrying part though is that the company went insolvent 30 years ago. A mistake this big can’t happen and makes me question if there was other stuff she said that might not have been correct.
Birkenau:
Birkenau is a 5-10 Minute drive away from Auschwitz and is structured differently. We were there with the same guide, but it isn’t an exhibition. You can more or less freely move around. We didn’t have much time there as well, because we had to be back at the bus.
Birkenau was impressive. You enter through the main gate and the first thing you see are a bunch of chimneys. They are the only things that remain of the wooden barracks, which were mostly burned down by the SS when the red army arrived. They reminded me of headstones, which was a pretty powerful image.
There are also some original barracks remaining which were constructed by brick and can be entered. Many of them are under renovation, because most of them were built directly on dirt, not having a floor.
I also saw a group of Jewish kids, walking around with an Israeli flag, worn as a Cape. Pretty funny.
(Sorry for the shit quality. I didn't want to get too many weird stares taking pictures of Israeli children)
What I liked:
- The Auschwitz exhibition is kept simple. It does a good job of showing not telling.
- Both Auschwitz and especially Birkenau are kept mostly untouched.
- They pointed out several times that not only Jews were killed but a lot of Poles and Sinti and Romas were killed there too. (No one cares about the Gypsies though)
What I disliked:
- Platitudes like: “If you don’t study history you are doomed to repeat it.” being thrown around constantly.
- Constantly reminding you how bad it was. Bro, I know where I am.
- The walk of shame when entering Auschwitz
- The people around me. Many were mouth breathing spastics, ranging from fat Bri’ish “people” to guilt filled Germans putting on a sad face.
- I didn’t see the famous blue color in the gas chambers.
Final thoughts:
If you are in the area, do it. It is a worthwhile experience, just make sure that you don’t get ripped off by a touring company and overpay. Ideally you get a private tour, but that will cost you a lot. 180$ for a 3.5h tour, and your group can be up to 10 people. But if you go as a family it might be worth it.
I visited Dachau maybe 10 years ago with my parents and I have a better memory of it. Way less people, good guide and more time to actually absorb what you are seeing.
@Adam Basile Woodrow, @Haloperidol, @gagabobo1997, @eatler, @Aunt Carol
Auschwitz". I think even they are aware enough to realize that it might be a bit to untasteful.
