Auschwitz Camp 1 |
Having seen many films based on the WW II holocaust and the atrocities against certain section of the people in Europe, esp. the Jews who lived in several parts of Europe during WW II, visiting Auschwitz and knowing/learning about the concentration camps was not only depressing but I was amazed at how humans can be so cruel to each other and to even think that almost 11 lakhs people perished in those camps in the gas chambers is beyond words to express.
Auschwitz is 1.15 hrs by bus from Krakow, we went on a guided tour and I think it saves you time and it's not so expensive, we paid 90 PLN per person (22.50 Euro) which included travel in a very comfortable bus and an English guide. The whole tour takes about 6 hours ( we went at 9 in the morning), be ready to walk and wear comfortable shoes, for people wanting to explore in their own, the guided tour can be a bit boring but they ensure that you don't miss out anything in the camps which is now more like a museum, the guide we had was really good and she managed to show us the whole place without tiring us, explaining and providing all the details possible. The whole place was packed with tourist and I saw that most people were on a guided tour in different language English, French, Spanish, German and even Polish.
After the tour I wonder how SS and Hitler got all the horrible and inhuman ideas to torture people, I personally feel it's not human to have thought every possible ways of torturing people but Hitler and his people at SS did the unimaginable. The Holocaust and the camps at Auschwitz is a reminder that no living creature on earth is as cruel as humans are.