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Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II (Birkenau) are about an hour-and-a-half outside of
Krakow. Auschwitz I was the original facility that the Nazis fairly quickly
realized did not have sufficient "capacity." They then constructed
Auschwitz II (Birkenau) about 3 km away. Unfortunately, they had learned a lot
about how to make their operation more efficient from their experiments at
Auschwitz I and constructed Birkenau with that knowledge.
The day we visited was gray and drizzly. The tours are extremely well-done --
both efficiently moving groups through the facility while conveying the gravity
and magnitude of the history of the place. Julie commented that the experience
was quite different from when she had toured Dachau, and she speculated that, since
this was the scene of Nazi atrocities on Polish soil, the Poles could speak more
freely about what had happened. For a camp located in Germany, like
Dachau, there was less talking by guides -- more of a dead quiet as people
showed themselves around.
Auschwitz was the first Nazi concentration camp and the model for the ones that
followed. A map showed the reach of Auschwitz alone -- the distances from which
prisoners were transported to be exterminated. One of the farther points was
Lyon, which is a town where Julie and I spent several exceedingly pleasant days
last summer...with not a thought of the Nazi occupation.
Click on the image to see a larger version.
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