Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland

One of our Year 12 A Level History students was given the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland recently. Below details her account of her visit. 

I recently had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and museum and to hear a testimony from Holocaust survivor, Janine Webber, with the Holocaust Educational Trust’s ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’ project.  

While I was there, it was difficult to comprehend how such a vast, and somewhat empty space was once a place that housed thousands of prisoners at a time. However, the eerie quiet throughout Auschwitz creates an atmosphere of unease that demands respect be shown. The scale of Auschwitz alone can provide a greater insight into the systematic genocide the Nazis aimed to complete. 

My views of the Holocaust were not so much changed by my visit, but deepened with a newfound ability to make connections to some of the individuals who were a part of it. Understanding that the impact of the Holocaust cannot be measured in timelines, places or statistics is the first step in ensuring that it is not overlooked and categorised as a historical event. Places like the Auschwitz-Birkenau help us to appreciate the extent of suffering, and survivors live to show us that the Holocaust is still relevant today