Auschwitz and Birkenau

While in Poland, I added a couple of days sight-seeing in Krakow, which was only a 3 hour train trip from Warsaw.  The Auschwitz camps are just outside Krakow.  A couple of people have asked me how the trip was and I while can't really answer "great" or even "good," I can say it was memorable and meaningful.  I'm not going to recap all the information I heard or stories from the tour guides because most of it was a tragedy and difficult to hear.  But I will share a few pictures. 

The first part of the visit was Auschwitz camp I.  This was primarily a camp where prisoners slept while they were working in the nearby German factories.  Most of the prisoners here died, but from the extreme conditions of hard work, too little food and too much sickness.  There was one gas chamber and crematorium here, but the larger death camp was Auschwitz II (also called Birkenau).  The entire camp of Auschwitz I was much smaller than I had imagined, covering only about the size of a couple of city blocks. 

We had a short break and then drove to Birkenau which was only about 5 minutes away.  This was a MUCH larger camp - I couldn't even see all the way to the end of the fencing in one direction.  There were thousands of prisoners kept here for work.  But this was primarily a death camp with multiple gas chambers and crematoria.  The rail tracks led through the main gate of the camp and onto a platform area where "selection" would have taken place of those healthy enough to work.  It is estimated that a total of about 1.3 million people died here from 1940-1945.

 

Now that I have visited these camps, I don't think I would ever feel the desire to visit another one.  But I do think it is important to visit once - to remember and make sure that we pass on what happened to future generations so a tragedy like this will never happen again.

Warsaw: Palace and Night out

Lazienki Palace and Park

That name doesn’t sound anything like it looks, which seems to be common with Polish words. It is pronounced “wa-zhenk-i.” Partly my keyboard doesn’t include all the Polish letters and that "L" should have a slash through it, which I’ve learned is really the W sound. W’s make the V sound.  It’s a lot of keep track of!  But I had an excellent guide - I visited the Palace with my co-worker and we had an English-speaking tour guide. 

The Palace was the residence of the last reigning Polish king, Stanislaw August in the 18^th century.  There is the main Palace, as well as a largepark and several other palaces and buildings. This was the central Palace.

Another part of the complex that was used for family members of the king.  After the monarchy ended, it was a residence for military officials and most recently was a meeting place in the 1960s between diplomats from the US and China. 

The park is very large and includes a beautiful outdoor amphitheater that sits in the middle of a lake.  Plays and concerts take place throughout the summer.

Finally, the park includes the Chopin Memorial.  This is not the original – it was destroyed during WW2, but a replica was rebuilt and stands here today.  Apparently they also play free concerts on Sundays during the summer months at the Memorial. 

My last night in Warsaw, I had dinner with my co-workers at the restaurant “Oberza Pod Czerwonym Wieprzem” which translates to “The Inn Under the Red Pig.”  They serve traditional Polish food and although my entrée was fish (not too exotic), forappetizers I had some meats that I didn’t even ask to be identified.  And also mushrooms pickled in vinegar. 

The restaurant is mostly famous for being a hangout spot for Communist and Socialist leaders within Warsaw and famous visitors from other countries (Lenin, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Fidel Castro). Now they poke some fun with pictures of these infamous patrons on the walls and menu items named after them.  My friends also pointed out to me other things that would have been associated with the Communist era - red carnations decorated the tables, menu items that were very common during that time and even a sugar decoration on dessert plates shaped like a red star.

This is me with the host – sorry the pic is a little dark!

My work colleagues:

Warsaw: Memorials

Warsaw is full of memorials – some as small as  aplaque on a wall and others more significant.  Many are in honor of those who died in the Warsaw Uprising.  I’m sorry to say I didn’t know anything about until my visit.  The Uprising was a two month period near the end of World War II when the Polish people in Warsaw fought back and tried to drive out the German Army.  They were severely outmatched though (especially when the Uprising angered the Germans and they responded by sending more forces to Warsaw) and were not successful.  Many thousands were killed in the fighting – military and civilians.  Also, it was in anger of the Uprising that Hitler ordered for Warsaw to be completely destroyed.  This appeared to be the most significant event of the War for those in Warsaw and is a particular point of national pride.   

 A museum opened several years ago dedicated to the Uprising.  No pictures inside, but here is the building.  This was a great museum and FULL of artifacts and details about the Uprising.

 

Here is the Little Insurgent Monument to the children who took part in the Uprising.  Many scouts actively fought the Germans and more served as postal carriers during the 5 years that Germans occupied Warsaw.

 

Warsaw’s Jewish population was completely destroyed during the War.  Warsaw is best known for the Ghetto that Jews were forced to live in for an extended period of time before they were sent to concentration camps.  There is one very small section of the Ghetto Wall still standing in Warsaw. 

 

The last memorial I saw was called “I can still see their faces.”  It’s a block of tenement buildings that are still standing from before the war (one of very few left in all of Warsaw).  A Jewish woman made a request in the late 1990s for people to send photographs of people who had resided in the area and were killed during the War.  Some of those photos were mounted on the outside of these buildings.  Unfortunately the buildings are scheduled to be demolished in the next few months, so the memorial will end at that time. 

 

Warsaw

I’ve had two wonderful co-workers who have acted as my tour guides during my weekend in Warsaw.  It’s been so nice to have someone who knows so much about the city and the history.  Also – they can speak Polish!  It has been years since the last time I was alone in a non-English speaking city and I forgot how disorienting it can be!  But most people in Poland speak at least a little bit of English and I’m able to get along ok. 

Here are some views of the Old Town in Warsaw.  Warsaw was almost completely ruined during World War II (as in, 85% was bombed or burned).  Everything in my pictures was rebuilt from old pictures to look like it did before.  It is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

 

This is the Royal Castle that sits in the Old Town.  It was the residence and center of Polish government for many centuries.  After the initial German invasion of Poland a large portion of the Castle burned.  It was then blown up with dynamite after the Warsaw Uprising (more on that later) at the special request of Hitler.  The Nazis attempted to destroy all the significant cultural landmarks in Warsaw.  The reconstruction took place in the 1970s. 

Some other landmarks in Warsaw – St. Anne’s Cathedral, Sigismund’s Column (a former Polish king) and statue of Pope John Paul II, who was Polish. 

This is the interior of the church that Pope John Paul is in front of in the above picture.  I couldn't find the name of it yet, but it was nearly deserted inside except for a couple of people praying.  I got this beautiful picture of an older Polish woman praying. 

 

 

This is the Palace of Culture and Science.  It is the tallest building in Warsaw and was built as a gift to the Polish people from the Soviet Union.  Today it is houses a couple of theaters and a museum.  It is controversial as some people view it as a lingering symbol of the Communist era, while some consider it part of Warsaw's modern cityscape. 

 



Rochester

Rochester was the town we went through to visit Leeds Castle.  It also has one very significant former resident.  Can you guess from the shop names?

Yep, Charles Dickens was raised near Rochester and owned a home in a nearby village later in life.  Many of the locations in his stories (Great Expectations, the Pickwick Papers) were inspired by places in Rochester.  This house was supposed to be the inspiration for the home of Miss Haversham in Great Expectations. 

The town boasts a really lovely church.  The high street is full of charm, like the shops pictured above. Our tour guide also told us that the city has a mandate that all the shops on the high street must be locally owned - so no Starbucks or McDonalds or Boots here. 

Finally, there is a castle.  The city of Rochester sits on the Medway River and was very significant during Roman times.  A road from the coast of England passed over a bridge in Rochester and continued up to Londinium (Roman London).  The original bridge is long gone, but there has been a bridge in the location for over 1600 years.  The castle was built by the Normans to defend the area from invasions from France and continental Europe. 

Leeds Castle

For anyone wondering, Leeds Castle is not in Leeds.  Leeds is way up north, about halfway between London and Edinburgh.  Leeds Castles sits outside Rochester, to the southeast of London.  I'm sorry to say I didn't know this until I got to the train station for my day trip.  Good thing I did not decide to buy a train ticket and take myself to this one!  I'll be more careful before I go anywhere else. 

I went on this day trip with London Walks.  The Castle sits in a lake and the grounds have extensive gardens and wildlife.  In the 1100s a cousin of King William the Conqueror began construction of Leeds Castle.  Various owners continued construction until the late 1200s when Queen Eleanor bought the Castle.  It was owned and occupied by a series of queens and kings for the next several centuries (most famously, Henry VIII and his first wife, Katherine of Aragon).  

Finally, the Castle was handed to royal favorites and passed through ownership of several wealthy merchant families.  In the 20th Century, the Castle was purchased by an American heiress, Lady Baillie.  She renovated the Castle into a modern home that she occupied and used to entertain many famous guests.  The Castle was used as a rehab center for soldiers in WW2 and finally passed into a trust that maintains the property today.  You can rent the Castle for events - corporate or weddings and such. Lady Baillie imported many exotic birds to the property including ducks, swans (white and black) and peacocks.

Lady Baillie also loved dogs and had her dogs buried near this pond with markers.  There is even a special museum at the Castle with dog collars - from medieval collars to hunting collars to 20th century war dogs. These are portraits of her dogs hanging in the castle. 

The property includes a formal English garden and a hedge maze, that I was able to successfully navigate with some others on my tour. 

I am improving on my self-photo taking skills!