Birkenau Beyond
For most visitors to Auschwitz from Kraków, the experience will have been arranged through a tour company, and will consist of being ushered round as part of a group. There is nothing wrong with this experience as the tour will cover the main sights in the Auschwitz/Birkenau complex, the guides are extremely knowledgeable, and the day will usually include the convenience of pick-up or drop-off near accommodation in Kraków.
These tours will take clients as far as the ruined gas chambers at the end of the railway line in Birkenau. However, this is the point where the day tours from Kraków fall short. Visitors are slowly herded back to the gatehouse, yet there is much more to Birkenau that exists beyond the end of the railway.
How can I see more of Birkenau beyond the end of the railway?
If you are interested in seeing more of Birkenau there are a couple of options. Firstly, you will have to arrange to arrive at Auschwitz/Birkenau by your own transport and book yourself onto a tour through the museum itself. This is very easy to do and this link will help you.
Once you have completed your tour of Birkenau, at the end of the railway, simply ask the tour guide that you wish to continue on to the sauna area on your own. They may or may not agree. If later on in the afternoon, this shouldn't be an issue.
The other option is to visit Auschwitz/Birkenau and buy an individual pass without a tour/educator.
What can I see beyond the end of the railway?
At the end of the railway line in Birkenau camp, there are two ruined gas chambers and a monument to the victims of fascism.
Study the interactive map below which allows you to zoom in and out. What you will notice is that a path continues into the trees beyond the monument. This is a very spooky area, especially when you consider that there are endless mass graves in these woods, and ditches where thousands of victims were made to run towards naked, shot, shovelled into and buried. Eerie wooden watch towers still survey the area, and on the right are some ginormous circular brick sanitation systems that were being built in anticipation of Birkenau expanding as a concentration camp.
 |
| Sanitation systems built in anticipation of the camp expanding |
Keep following this trail as it bends to the right. You will find a large "sauna" block on your left which has now been kitted out for tourists. A glass floor protects the original concrete one and visitors learn about the shower, steam, disinfection process prisoners and clothing were put through in this building. There is some pretty big sinister steam machinery in here built by the Topf company who also manufactured the gas chamber ovens.
Opposite the "sauna" is a very well known area of Birkenau to those who have read up on it's history. It is the area nicknamed "Kanada" and consisted of huts full of the valuables, clothing and trinkets that were plundered from the victims. Once again, the original huts were destroyed as the Nazis retreated. However, the field where they once stood is now still littered with the remains of the plundered booty. This is mostly in the form of crushed spoons, spectacles, enamelware and other broken bits and pieces.
 |
| Plundered belongings from the camp victims still litter the ground at Kanada |
 |
| Plundered trinkets from the camp victims still litter the ground at Kanada |
 |
| Plundered belongings from the camp victims still litter the ground at Kanada |
Wander on towards the trees along the trail from here and you happen upon a substantial pond. It was into here a large amount of human ash from the crematoria was tipped, hence the reason for it being a very grey, brown, murky colour. There are also mass graves where victims were shot into trenches or burned on huge pyres. In addition, there are the foundations of more gas chambers and the site of the very first gassing of victims inside a truck. Helpful noticeboards provide information around this area as well as photographic evidence.
These areas of the camp are not frequently visited, are peaceful and will give a true sense of the lost souls who must haunt this place.
These areas of the camp are not frequently visited, are peaceful and will give a true sense of the lost souls who must haunt this place.
 |
| Ponds full of human ash |
 |
| Look very carefully at this old photo and then the fenceposts beyond it today. The grassy area is where corpses were burned on pyres. |
 |
| Ponds full of human ash |
If you are unable to visit Auschwitz, this virtual tour made by the museum is a wonderful resource to explore.
Like this post? Don't forget to click the "Share" button. :)
You may also like these pages -
Comments
Post a Comment