Berlin, Prague, Krakow and Budapest 2015: Day 6

Hello from Krakow! We made it. Today was filled with driving, stopping, more driving, more stopping, and then Auschwitz Concentration Camp. I will warn you that this blog and pictures might be a little uncomfortable for some, so don't feel obligated to read through/see everything. Because we were at the camp today, I don't have a lot of pictures of the kids. They're at the end if you want to skip over everything. Ok. Departure time was bright and early at 8 am. We passed through some big cities including Brno and Olomouc and kept on going until we reached Poland. We had a quick lunch break at KFC or McDonald's and didn't even have to pay to use the bathroom! Ask your kids how much money they spent over the entire trip to use the restrooms. It adds up fast. Really makes you appreciate public restrooms and drinking fountains in America. After a good bit of driving we arrived at Auschwitz. The concentration camp, or rather, extermination camp was made up of 3 different complexes; Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Auschwitz III. We were able to visit I and II today (III was destroyed after the war). Auschwitz I was initially a concentration camp that housed Polish intellectuals, then Jews, Soviets, Gypsies and other people that were discriminated against. The camp had 28 barracks, but was too small to hold the influx of people. Construction on Auschwitz II-Birkenau started in October of 1941 to alleviate congestion. While the camp was being built, it was decided that it would become an extermination camp, and so it was. Nearly 1.1 million people were killed at Auschwitz from 1940-1945. We started in Auschwitz I and were able to walk through the housing, the prison, and even the gas chamber (the only one that remains in Auschwitz). There were hundreds of personal articles left over from the people of the camps including suitcases, shows, clothes, and other belongings. The Jews were told that they were being relocated and could bring 1 suitcase worth of stuff. Once the arrived, they relinquished their things and were sent to the "showers" (gas chambers). The Nazis repurposed these items or sold them for money. We left the first camp and were shuttled over the the second camp to conclude our tour. There were 6 gas chambers at this camp, all of which were destroyed by the Nazis to cover up what they had done. It was surreal seeing the rubble of what once was, and even harder to imagine what went on. We ended the tour in one of the barracks and our guide described to us what a typical day would look like. Mind you, it was 85 degrees out and we were all sweating and very uncomfortable. This only added to our guides story. As she finished it was clear that many of the students truly understood what had happened here. We left the camp and made the quick drive to Krakow where we had dinner in our hotel, a delicious chicken, rice, and veggie dish with a side of some creamy delicious dessert. No complaints for the kitchen tonight. Tomorrow is a full day in Krakow with a weather forecast of 90 degrees. Woo hoo!