Auschwitz Photos

greedy123 · 14 Apr 2009 at 08:50

Here are some photos from my trip to Auschwitz.

Full gallery here to see the rest

Full gallery here to see the rest

4T5 · 14 Apr 2009 at 08:52

Do you mind me asking why you would visit such a place, Is there family history there for you or something ?

greedy123 · 14 Apr 2009 at 08:57

Some family history as I have Slavic grandparents and family plus I'd read so much about the camp so decided to go and see it. Was nothing like I expected.

4T5 · 14 Apr 2009 at 09:04

How was the atmosphere, I know that seems a silly question but did the place feel different/effected by past events or was it the mood of the other visitors that felt oppresive ?
Sorry to be nosey but I have always wondered why people visit & what the place is like although I would Never go there myself.

4T5 · 14 Apr 2009 at 09:05

This needs posting.

Tooks · 14 Apr 2009 at 09:34

To the OP, good shots, almost the same as the ones I got when I visited a few years ago! I guess there are only so many places you can go though.

At malc30, I didn't find it an oppressive place at all. An incredibly sad and thought provoking place, yes, and there are stories of how fellow people helped others in tragic and horrific circumstances, often giving their own lives in the process, which is strangely uplifting...

Everybody should go if they can, to pay their respects to the victims, and so that we can remember, be a voice, and possibly stop this kind of thing happening again.

SteveOBHave · 14 Apr 2009 at 09:43

Tooks said:
Everybody should go if they can, to pay their respects to the victims, and so that we can remember, be a voice, and possibly stop this kind of thing happening again.

I agree - this sort of thing needs to be revisited, remembered and constantly kept in mind so that it will never happen again. The sad fact is that somewhere in human nature there is the capacity for this if only in the weakness of others in allowing it to happen.

Great shots OP.

Shaye87 · 14 Apr 2009 at 09:46

Wait till Ahmadinejad (the ***face) sees this thread.
Great photos, May I ask for your premission to post some of them on another forum (Made of mostly Jewish people), with full credit ofcourse.
Thanks

Edit: Ahh nevermind, I will just link to the devianART gallery direcly, don't need your permission for that (

).

Moredhel · 14 Apr 2009 at 09:53

malc30 said:
This needs posting.

That's unreadably small, what does it say?

Auchwitz, like Tuol Sleng in Phnom Pehn (The genocide museum from the Khmer Rouge attrocities) are places all world leaders and policy makers should be made to go to, remembering and publicising what happened in the last century is the only way to stop it happening again.

greedy123 · 14 Apr 2009 at 10:17

malc30 said:
How was the atmosphere, I know that seems a silly question but did the place feel different/effected by past events or was it the mood of the other visitors that felt oppresive ?
Sorry to be nosey but I have always wondered why people visit & what the place is like although I would Never go there myself.

Its very emotional. Even when your there you can't understand what went on. The normalisation of mass murder, I think you have to go to understand what its like.

Shaye87 said:
Wait till Ahmadinejad (the ***face) sees this thread.
Great photos, May I ask for your premission to post some of them on another forum (Made of mostly Jewish people), with full credit ofcourse.
Thanks

Edit: Ahh nevermind, I will just link to the devianART gallery direcly, don't need your permission for that ().

Yeh that's fine, just link to the devart gallery

Moredhel said:
That's unreadably small, what does it say?

Yarde · 14 Apr 2009 at 10:30

malc30 said:
Do you mind me asking why you would visit such a place, Is there family history there for you or something ?

I'm 16, and as far as i know, i don't have any family history connected with Auschwitz. its just a place i'd love to visit. It's the same with Pripyat, the abandoned town by the Chernoybl site

greedy123 · 14 Apr 2009 at 10:50

Yarde said:
I'm 16, and as far as i know, i don't have any family history connected with Auschwitz. its just a place i'd love to visit. It's the same with Pripyat, the abandoned town by the Chernoybl site

I think its just one of those places that everyone should visit. There are so many events which have shaped our history dramatically and understanding them is important. It's hard to believe it's only been 64 years since auschwitz was liberated...

V-Spec · 14 Apr 2009 at 10:54

greedy123 said:
I think its just one of those places that everyone should visit. There are so many events which have shaped our history dramatically and understanding them is important. It's hard to believe it's only been 64 years since auschwitz was liberated...

Agreed, I don't think we should ever turn our backs on history, or forget what we're capable of.

Yarde · 14 Apr 2009 at 12:13

greedy123 said:
I think its just one of those places that everyone should visit. There are so many events which have shaped our history dramatically and understanding them is important. It's hard to believe it's only been 64 years since auschwitz was liberated...

I'm tempted to go next year, Easy Jet is cheap to get to Poland. so i might do that. Either that or Rome! But i think i'd prefer Poland tbh!

V-Spec said:
Agreed, I don't think we should ever turn our backs on history, or forget what we're capable of.

I completely agree

Tooks · 14 Apr 2009 at 12:18

Yarde said:
I'm tempted to go next year, Easy Jet is cheap to get to Poland. so i might do that. Either that or Rome! But i think i'd prefer Poland tbh!

I flew into Krakow which is a great place to visit!

There are lots of taxi firms that will take you to Auschwitz/Birkenau from there for the whole day, and they don't charge much. There are also coach trips there, but with the taxi you remain flexible and if you find it all a bit much you can leave when you like. I say that because after touring Auschwitz, I didn't really want to tour Birkenau (the main 'processing' camp next door...) as well, and wanted to leave and contemplate things for a while.

You will have a good time in Krakow, and you'll remember the Auschwitz trip for the rest of your life...

FreeStream · 14 Apr 2009 at 12:21

I've been to Auschwitz four times now I think and my father and I want to go again.

I have Polish family but none that was involved.

The place (in a sense of History/awe) is fantastic.

100% a place to go visit. Last time I was there I was there for 8 hours just wandering!

Defiantly worth a visit!

There are some places where they ask you not to take photos (like the thousands of shoes) but some people still do :rolleyes:

Yarde · 14 Apr 2009 at 13:53

Tooks said:
I flew into Krakow which is a great place to visit!

There are lots of taxi firms that will take you to Auschwitz/Birkenau from there for the whole day, and they don't charge much. There are also coach trips there, but with the taxi you remain flexible and if you find it all a bit much you can leave when you like. I say that because after touring Auschwitz, I didn't really want to tour Birkenau (the main 'processing' camp next door...) as well, and wanted to leave and contemplate things for a while.

You will have a good time in Krakow, and you'll remember the Auschwitz trip for the rest of your life...

Ok, thanks for the info!

Is Birkenau the one with the arch way?

Becuase i know there is a few sites, and theres certain places i want to see.

THe Big arch way at the end of the tracks
And then the gateway with the slogan in cast iron!

I know these are very cliched shots of this iconic place, but i want to have my own version of these shots!

Concorde Rules said:
There are some places where they ask you not to take photos (like the thousands of shoes) but some people still do

I'm sure if you didn't use a flash, you could get away with it!

greedy123 · 14 Apr 2009 at 17:47

Yarde said:
Ok, thanks for the info!

Is Birkenau the one with the arch way?

Becuase i know there is a few sites, and theres certain places i want to see.

THe Big arch way at the end of the tracks
And then the gateway with the slogan in cast iron!

I know these are very cliched shots of this iconic place, but i want to have my own version of these shots!

I'm sure if you didn't use a flash, you could get away with it!

Yes birkenau is the one with the arch over the tracks. Some of the photos in my gallery are actually from there. I might add the one I took of the tracks but it looks the same as every other one taken of it so didn't upload it.

Auschwitz is the one with the cast iron slogan over the doorway.

SourChipmunk · 14 Apr 2009 at 18:23

Good post. That reminds me that I have some pictures of Dachau from when I was stationed in the area that I would like to archive digitally. I visited in 1992 and you could actually still smell the burnt flesh in the ovens.

As Tooks said, very sad and thought provoking.

FreeStream · 14 Apr 2009 at 18:37

Yarde said:
I'm sure if you didn't use a flash, you could get away with it!

No its not the getting away with it im on about.

Its one of the few places on earth I believe you should just look.

A pile of shoes in a photo doesn't seem much compared to what it is in real life.

A mountain range you can relate to, this you can't