Day 7, Genocide Unparalleled, Auschwitz (Sept 1)
I felt so horrible--so shaken--so disgusted that this is more of a photo essay.
The reach of the Reich, the pull to the camps
The looks on their faces. They have yet to discover what this place is.
No room to breathe. Only a single bucket in which to relieve themselves.
Showers of death
The crystals used to create the deadly gas
Burning bodies before there were furnaces
A dumpster, full of pots they thought they'd need
A room full of suitcases and briefcases they thought they'd use.
Shoes of children
Shoes of adults on both sides.
We were not permitted to photograph the room full of shaved hair. Braids upon braids of women. All reverently piled up. Reaching the ceiling, as in the other photos of objects.
The shooting range/wall
Gas chamber hole - gas was thrown down from the ceiling. It took 20 minutes for everyone to die.
Gas Chamber: Screaming. Climbing upon other writhing bodies in the complete dark, reaching for a door they know will not open.
These furnaces (adjacent to the gas chambers) could process 300 bodies a day. They were given 800+.
Birkenau :
Most of the buildings were destroyed as the Nazis fled at the end of the war. These are reconstructions. You can see the remaining, rarely-utilized, double chimneys standing in the back, near the forest.
Brick buildings held women. Wooden buildings held men.
At least 5-8 per bed. Maybe more.
Drafty
188 latrines. Three times as many people needing to use them. 30 seconds given. Total. Not per person.
