A Human Face

Today, my class and I took a five-minute walk to Auschwitz I to spend the day. The four hours we spent there was an out-of-body experience. My feet moved me, as my body was hesitant to follow. My head told me to just follow the tour guide while my heart could not bear some of the things that I felt and saw.

We got our headphones and radios while our tour guide, Aggie, put on her microphone. Our first stop was in front of the famous gate that read “Arbeit macht frei” or “Work will set you free”. We’ve all seen it in our history textbooks, but to see the words above my fellow classmates’ heads was an image I will never forget.

We passed the kitchen first – the best place to work. Prisoners who worked there had more access to food and warmth. The prisoners did not receive enough food and in many accounts, the survivors talked about how hungry they were all the time. Today, I found out just how much food they would receive. Below is a picture of a model of the soup, coffee and bread that they would be given everyday. Aggie also showed us pictures of some of the survivors. Most of the people featured lost at least half of their weight in only two years in the camp.

 We then went into some of the barracks that were rehabilitated into museum settings. Aggie brought us around the different showcases and pictures. The barracks were regular two-story brick buildings. Auschwitz used to be a Polish military base but since there was no more military, the Germans took over all the buildings and made it into the concentration camp.

One picture that Aggie pointed out to us left an impact on all of us. It was a picture of an older man with a cane at the front of the selection line. The SS guard had his hand pointed to the left. Aggie told us about the guard directing the man to his assigned group. When the guard was 21 years old he decided that he wanted to be a doctor so that he could save lives. However, here he is now - sending the man to the gas chamber. He betrayed his profession and dreams. See picture below.  

Aggie reminded us that the cattle cars transported Jews for hours! They had no light, no food, and no bathrooms. All they wanted to do was shower and get something to eat when they arrived to the location of the “better life” they were promised. However, some people were promised a shower but found themselves in the gas chamber. Others were given showers, haircuts, tattoos, and striped pajamas.

I thought back to when we got to the center after hours of flying in a comfortable airplane that had multiple bathrooms, televisions with games, movies, music, and the news, and dinner, breakfast, numerous drinks, and snacks. I was exhausted, tired, and smelly and my trip was nothing in comparison to the cattle cars. I could only imagine the discomfort that those prisoners felt. 

One showcase showed us the pieces of “Zyklione B”, the toxin that had been used for clothes and schools to clean them and get rid of lice. The Nazis also used this poison in the gas chambers. The toxin was released as a gas when it was in temperatures higher than thirty degrees Fahrenheit. So the SS guards would force about 2,000 people in the gas chamber each time so that the human body heat would start the toxin. Below is a picture of the poison and of a showcase of some of the “Zyklione B” tins that they found after the Holocaust. 

                                   

We saw showcases that had suitcases, shoes, shoe polish and brushes, children’s clothes, glasses, etc. But the setting that was extremely powerful was the display with the hair. 

It was real life human hair of the prisoners. 

Before prisoners were sent to death, all of their hair would be cut off. The Nazis braided the hair bundles and sent them to Germany to be made into fabrics. While looking at the thousands of bundles of hair, I saw the reflection of my hair in the glass. The bun that I had tied it into sat right at the top of my hair placed a shadow on the dead and forgotten hair. I reflected about the two times I had donated my hair to “Locks of Love”. As a woman, I would be very insecure if I did not have my hair. As a prisoner of Auschwitz, it was not just your hair; it was your self-esteem. Your self-esteem was what kept you going. It kept you alive.   

"Remember only that I was innocent, and just like you, mortal on that day, 

I, too, had a face marked by rage, by pity, and joy, quite simply, a human face!" 

- Benjamin Fondane, murdered at Aushwtiz-Birkenau, 1944.

All of the exhibits that we saw in Auschwitz were supposed to remind us that the prisoners were humans, too. They were just like us. We all have the same basic needs but all of theirs were taken away to dehumanize them. 

Though the term that prisoners saw when they entered the camp was “work will set you free”, freedom meant death. The Nazis never planned to release the prisoners from the camps. Unlike the prisoners, we left the camp today after an emotionally and physically draining day. Anxiety was high, tears were still flowing, and minds were racing. We were still trying to wrap our minds around the things we saw and didn't see. 

P.S. I purposely did not mention that we also stopped in the gas chambers, crematorium, hanging posts, standing rooms, starvation chambers, and torture chambers. This blog could have been pages longer if I wrote about those places. Maybe I’ll write about it tomorrow... Birkenau, also known as Auschwitz II, tomorrow!

I always like to end these sentimental blogs on a positive note. So, James brought delicious cookies baked by the “church lady” Linda. Shout out to Linda for making the perfect snack after a very long and emotional day!