On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz – Birkenau was liberated.
What did that mean for those who were prisoners of this Nazi death camp?
{Birkenau}
Two days ago, I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, an hour drive from Krakow, Poland. And like most people, I went looking for answers.
{Block 15 at Auschwitz}
Seeking understanding. A desire to learn, which required strength.
{Auschwitz}
Walking through the main gate was hell. As soon as I saw the words ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’, I began sobbing. Uncontrollably. And could not stop.
{Arbeit Macht Frei}
Images of families being split up forever sank into my heart. Mothers losing their children. Elderly, the disabled, the sick and even babies being discarded like trash. Most who entered left as ash. It was all too much to bear.
{Those who did not earn their freedom from Auschwitz}
Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest of the Nazi concentration camps and extermination centers. Over 1.1 million men, women and children lost their lives there.
{Our guide describing the loss of life at Auschwitz}
{Extermination}
{Gas chamber model}
{Auschwitz}
{Material Proofs of Crimes}
{Luggage}
{Shoes}
{Execution Wall. Note US House of Representatives wreath that was presented last week by the Speaker.}
{Infirmary}
{Auschwitz}
We were told about the inhumane ways prisoners were tortured. It was excruciating to hear. Then we went inside cell Block 11. There were cells measuring one meter by meter in the basement. Here, prisoners were forced to crawl through small doors only to stand four at a time in these windowless cells. If a prisoner was caught trying to escape Auschwitz, he would be sentenced to nine days and nights here. One of the cells was the starvation cell where prisoners stood without food or water until they died.
{Prison Block}
{Halt!}
{Crematory chimney}
{Inside a gas chamber}
{Furnaces}
{Chimneys or Gravestones?}
{Birkenau}
For the small percentage to last until January 1945, the ordeal was far from over.
As the German army began to retreat westwards during the last months of the war, Nazis began destroying evidence of the camps. Paperwork disappeared. Ashes were dumped into the rivers. Most barracks and gas chambers at Birkenau were destroyed.
{Only chimneys remain of hundreds of the barracks}
{Gas chamber remains at Birkenau}
Prisoners were marched and transported to camps in Germany and Austria.
On January 18, 1945, 66,000 prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau and its sub-camps were evacuated, first on foot and then by open top railway wagons. Many died along the way from illness, starvation, exhaustion or execution for failing to keep up.
{Birkenau “Death Barrack”}
{Birkenau}
On January 27, 1945, the Soviet army entered Auschwitz and liberated more than 7,000 remaining prisoners who were mostly ill and dying. It is estimated that at minimum 1.3 million people were deported to Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945; of these, at least 1.1 million were murdered.
{Inside a Birkenau barrack}
{Where SS-Obersturmbannführer Höss was hung in 1947}
As I write this, the tears continue to flow. They flow for the past. But they also flow for the present. They flow for those who endured such harsh treatment at the hands of the Nazis. They flow for the survivors and the families of the survivors. They flow because there are holocaust deniers. And because as each survivor dies, so does their direct story. And the ability to rewrite history grows.
{Remember: When injustices take place, when people are discriminated against and persecuted – never remain indifferent. Indifference kills.}
We must not forget. And we must never allow such evil to be tolerated again. Hitler did not come to power and lead these despicable acts overnight. The changes that were made leading to such atrocities were made slowly. Over time. One by one. People became used to restrictions. Brutality. They hoped and believed it could not get worse.
We must be careful and not become complacent. Or indifferent. We must speak up. Support one another and not allow others to create an “us vs. them” mentality. I pray for the future. For our children’s future.
Berlin Lubells: Stories of Life in Berlin from an American Expat Mom's First Experience Living Abroad 