I went when I was in sixth form. I actually went and asked the head of the History department if it would be possible to arrange a visit for educational purposes, and it just so happened that and organisation, the Holocaust Memorial Trust I think, had a programme where they wanted 2 pupils from every school to go so that there were people in each school who could talk about it.
We went for the whole day, flew from Luton airport to Krakow and then coach journey. We went first to a local Jewish cemetery and then we went to Auschwitz and after to Birkenau.
When we went it was literally snowing all day, absolutely freezing temperatures and that really kind of enhanced the dread and lingering gloom all over the place. It made you think about how cold it must have been to be there in just striped prison uniforms with no body fat on you. Our guide was really informative as well. She knew her stuff and to tell the story and give little facts of horror about the place as you are walking round made it all quite daunting and dreary.
Definitely the most morbid thing I've done, but a real eye opener. I think we just had to pay for our flights out there, was about £40-£60 I think. Early flight at about 6am and a flight back about 8pm.
