Did Poland for 5 days Warsaw 3 n Krawcow for 2 by myself, my choice as wife n kids wouldnt like the places i was gonna take em! as am an WW2/holocaust historian.where did u go?..and what did u see? Pawiak prison,treblinka etc?
Was there for 5 days myself, flew in Wednesday and was there till Sunday afternoon/evening. Went to what remains of Warsaw Ghetto, Went on a walking tour of Krakow... actually that was where I was on the Saturday when the game was going on . Went to Treblinka, and a couple of other places, various spots. Last day was a bit emotional we spent the 1st part of the day at Auschwitz and then at Birkenhau. Never felt prouder though when I walked into Birkenhau carrying the Israeli flag knowing that what Hitler tried to do, he didn't succeed, we're still here and he's gone. We also had a survivor with us from Birkenhau over the weekend so was amazing experience. I go to Yad Vashem the Holocaust Museum near Jerusalem on Sunday with my Ulpan, i've been before but i'm sure I'll still get emotional in the Childrens Memorial. I have pictures of my Poland trip on my Facebook if you are interested
I know someone who was in Auschwitz, but he won't talk about it, unfortunately, he's just about on his last legs(but he's a very funny bloke). The only reference he ever makes to the place, is a joke about what a poor decision it was to get a tattoo on his wrist as a child.
I don't think many people really want to talk about it at all and its kind of sad that most of the survivours of the camps are at a point where younger people won't get to hear their stories and know what went on. I came away from the trip thinking how i'd heard about Auschwitz and before the trip it was just a name of something that had been so evil and after it was different, its why I would urge anyone to go to Auschwitz to see what human beings are capable of committing against another human being just because they have different beliefs. Its part of history and even if the survivours have gone we have to remember the past lest we repeat it
Thanks Adam i shall check out your photos ,mine all printed and no longer on a media format.I was in the tower at Birkenhau and took a photo of a group of a large group all carrying Israeli flags on the arrivals platform...very powerful photograph.Did you go see Schindlers fabrika factory?..believe hes burried on the avenue of the righteous in Jeruselum along with more than a few nazis surprisingly, like the guy who saved Spielman the pianist, which was made into a film.
Like myself I think many people still take great interest in the Holocaust and the vile racial policies of the Nazis. This isn't morbid fascination. For me the fact that such a nightmare could have been allowed to happen in what was a highly educated and cultural country is like a puzzle in my head that I find hard to solve. The truth is that if it can happen once it can happen again and when I hear the usual morons on these boards virtually denying racism exists (before actively indulging in it) it makes me angry, because that sort of petty ignorance culminated in the Final Solution in Germany. Thankfully most posters on here seem to be decent people, but we all have a responsibility to expose the idiots whenever they spout their crap.
You went a few months before I did. They were turning it into a museum when I went past. My wife wasn't happy as you couldn't see much and we'd walked there from the Old Town in near-100 degree heat.
First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
I encourage anyone to go to visit the sites of the Aushwitz I and II camps. They are sobering places, totems of incalculable barbarity. My wife's paternal grandfather survived Aushwitz - it effectively became a place of extermination of Hungarians - primarily by being treated as a political prisoner (he was a communist mayor) and not for his jewishness. He even survived the march out; he lay under dead bodies as their captors eventually decided the slaughter the prisoners by the roadside. There are so many stories in this part of Europe, as there are all over the world. And you're right, the fascinating and rich oral history of those times is sadly being carried to the grave. Lest we forget. And yet, here in Hungary, and in other states around here, unapologetic anti-semitic views persist, even proliferate. Prejudice and other such base instincts seem to override even the most powerful lessons of history.
Did you read any of this thread before sticking that gif on Erik? Maybe you should use the edit facility and get rid of it.
I know you like to get a rise out of people but as a dear old friend may I suggest you do so and edit accordingly.
The Nazis said that if the Jews didn't exist they would have had to invent them. The scapegoat is always the best tool for such people because as you point out there are now and will always be plenty of thick inadequates willing to carry the torch.
yeah thats what they were doing at the time I went. Very nice poem as well And erik, there is a time and place for everything and in the case of this thread, please can you remove it when we're talk about a very serious subject thanks mate
Well I've just read the thread, and I've agreed to meet at a middle-ground, and stick that GIF in an 'NSFW' tag. Don't see why it should be removed though.
