The purpose of my trip to eastern europe had much to do with exploring my heritage and where my family lived before they were displaced by the war, against their will. Thus, today after spending two days exploring the beautiful city of Krakow we set the day aside to go to Auschwitz. The camp is situated 60km outside of Krakow and by luck our bunkmates were also going there via car. We took the trip up to the camp and immediately the mood changed. I was concerned with confronting the ghosts of my family, as well as visiting the camp my grandmother, along with her sister overcame but their four brothers never left. Although it was a somber experience it was odd to see the life that exists there now. Despite the hate and ignorance that created the camp, the grass is now growing and covering up the evidence of what once existed. I visited Dachau in Munich (also a location my grandmother was interned at) but Auschwitz and Birkeneau are very well perserved and left with haunting remains. To think that one man's hatred fuelled a nation to killed millions of people based souly on their religion (not race) merely nothing that an individual can control, created such bloodshed. The prison gates are labelled, "work will set you free" when in actuality the whole thing could have been avoided if individuals would have spoken against the regime. It was silence that attempted to kill an entire culture. We walk through these ghosts and we cannot believe that something like this has happened or was allowed to happen. And yet, it still occurs today- in Bosnia, in Cambodia, we continue to live our everyday lives as people suffer. Do not let silence be your biggest regret.
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