Issue Number 04 | November 2019
Lessons from
Auschwitz
Written by Samantha
Wight, S6
Oświęcim is a small
town,
located
in
southern Poland an
hour from Kraków.
However, it is more
commonly known by
its German name,
Auschwitz.
I was given the
chance to represent
the school in the
Lessons
from
Auschwitz
programme, and on
the 7 th of November
flew out to Poland for
the day.
Our day started with a
visit to the town of
Oświęcim,
which
before the Holocaust
had a thriving Jewish
community. This was
to show the extent of
their integration into
society before the
Holocaust, and the
damage that had
been
permanently
done to the European
Jewish
population
due to the Nazis.
The camp Auschwitz
showcased some of
the possessions which
the Jews had brought
with them to the
camp; and seeing
the masses of shoes,
children clothes, and
simple
household
items
was
eye-
opening to the more
human side of the
Holocaust. We also
went
into
a
reconstruction of the
first gas chamber
used there, a surreal
and
upsetting
experience. Another
featured exhibition in
Auschwitz promoted
hope, as it showed
the
families
of
survivors.
Auschwitz
Birkenau
was a lot bleaker. The
second camp was
much quieter, the
scale and size of it a
surprise.
The
reconstructed
huts,
and the rubble that
remained
from
destroyed
gas
chambers, were an
upsetting reminder of
how
meticulously
planned
out
the
genocide of millions
was.
18
A memorial at the
camp featured a
plaque, which read:
“For ever let this
place be
A cry of despair
And a warning to
humanity
Where the Nazis
murdered
About one and a half
million
Men, women and
children, mainly Jews
From various
countries of Europe.”
When the sun set, we
participated
in a
candlelight memorial
led by a Rabbi to pay
respect to everyone
who had sadly lost
their lives there.
Now the trip is over,
the Lessons from the
Auschwitz
programme has left it
up to those who
participated to pass
on what we learnt
that day in Poland
and teach others that
this level of tragedy
simply
cannot
happen again.