Auschwitz...

Before reading, it is graphic...

Took a small mini van/bus out to Auschwitz I and then to Auschwitz II - Birkaneu. Toured both.

We started at the entry gate of Auschwitz I where men and women/children were separated for selection. All children under 16, pregnant women, those who were sick, disabled, or some how otherwise determined unfit for work were sent to take showers. They were required to take all their clothes off before the shower and then the entered the chamber. The doors closed and locked behind them. Gas filled the chamber and they suffocated to death. Many died within the first couple minutes others took 15 minutes of frantic panic trying to breathe before dying. The corpses were then hauled off to the crematories to be burned. So many people were needing to be cremated that the Nazis created Auschwitz II where the crematories were plural and much larger. We walked through display after display of fragments of the actual quantity of the following: children's clothes, suitcases, shoes, hair brushes, shaving cream, pots/pans, prosthetic legs, etc.

There were photographs actually taken of prisoners and in not one is a person, even a child smiling...If you misbehaved which could be as simple as urinating yourself because you couldn't use the toilet except when you woke up before work and before bed after work there were standing cells where 4 prisoners would have to stand approx 3ftx3ft dark cell all night and then work the next day. The only ventilation was a tiny whole in the top of the cell. There were starvation rooms where you would go for days at a time and many died.

We saw gallows where the Nazis would hang those who had tried to escape but failed and/or those who helped and/or those who kept in contact with the outside world. They were hung and bodies left there in the middle of the camp for all to see as a warning.

There was also a shooting wall for many political prisoners where they were showered, stripped down naked, lined against a wall and shot in the back of the head.

Approximately 1.6 million people were killed at Auschwitz alone. Prisoners were also shipped here from other camps all over Europe, even as far south as Greece. The Nazis chose this site because it was in the middle of no where so people wouldn't know.

Doctors performed experiments on women and children trying to understand the production of twins because that was how they intended to increase the German army. Many died in the process and it was extremely painful.

We also saw piles and piles and piles of human hair. All prisoners, even those after gas chambers, were shaved from head to toe and their hair was used for rugs and things like that in Germany. The tattoo numbers was only done at Auschwitz and was because it became so large it was very difficult for those to be identified at role call and/or if they died. 6 prisoners to a bunk, as in 6 on the bottom, 6 in the middle, and 6 on top. Each barrack, which were old Polish Army barracks, could hold 700-800 prisoners at a time. In the harsh winters around 0-15 degrees prisoners were not allowed extra clothes or anything to help keep them warm. Many were go to bed and wake up wet. These kind of conditions as well as the terrible sanitary conditions led to the wide spread of contagious diseases and death of many.

I'm probably missing a lot but Randy took a ton of pictures to help us remember. I asked our tour guide how she could give this tour every day, wouldn't you get depressed? She said that yes it's sad but it's so important to keep telling to story so that it doesn't happen again.

It just goes to show what can happen when humanity does not find their value from God but from power...something we will never forget!