DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Going to Auschwitz Poland

For my Thanksgiving Holiday... Was the one trip I wanted to do before leaving Germany next month...

Not one to hang out much in the Tailgate lot but wanted to know if anyone had been there before and if there was anything else that I should make a point of seeing while I am there...

The first leg of my tour will be an over nighter in Krakau... I hope to atleast grab some good Vodka there...

I'd ask my brother in law for you (he's from Poland), but he's actually there now visiting his father.

That is probably the one place in Poland that I really would like to visit though. The significance of it is huge.

I know... During the beginning of my tour here, I took 4 days and went to the Normandie beaches in France and many of the other historical sites there...

Will throw a different perspective actually going to a Conc. Camp... One rumored to be responsible for 1/4th of the Holocaust...

What part of Poland is he from?

Arthur's from Warsaw and he'll be there until Christmas. Wish I could take that much time off work to visit my Dad.

Anyway, I agree. I do enjoy visiting historical sites. I want to go back to Pearl Harbor. Last time I was there, I think I was too young to appreciate the impact of it. Plus, it was after that visit that my Grandfather told me that he was supposed to be in Pearl Harbor that day, except that his boat was delayed in leaving San Diego. Thank goodness for that bit of Naval delay or I might not even be here now.

Aushwitz, Normandie, and a few other places are ones that I would love to visit sometime in my life. Somehow, I need a job that sends me to Europe.

Funny thing about Normandie Region, I thought that it was a "place" rather than an actual region or state... After going there though, I realized that this "place" was hours away from the beaches... IF/WHEN you go there, there are two MUST see places other than the Omaha and Utah beaches and of course the cemetary... Check out Point De Hoc and also drive abotu an hour south to Lemont St. Michel... Lemont Saint Michel has nothing to do with WWII but it is an amazing place that will make the drive WELL worth it...

I have always wanted to see Pearl.. I will make it there one day when I go back over to the Pacific... You did go to the USS Az. memorial right?

It would be amazing to see,,, no doubt,, but maybe a little creepy too,, Good luck with your visit,, take pics!

Will do bro...

I am sorta hyped up for the emotional roller coaster with the place... People that have been there have described alot of the stuff in detail so I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little uneasy about some of the aspects...

I just feel it would be one of those things I would regret once I leave here next month if I were to back out of the opportunity... The camera will be with me BTW so I will have lots of pics to share...

I went to Mauthausen in 2006. Although it was more of a work camp, walking through the quarry where so many people were worked to death, seeing the old "dorms" and going through the gas chamber is something I'll never forget. It wasn't as emotional as I was expecting; it was more of a constant eerie feeling.

What is amazing about Point Du Hoc is that the Rangers who went up the cliff were under point blank fire from the Germans while climbing a wet rope up 100 foot verticle cliff. It is indeed an awe inspiring place to visit . I had the honor of doing a jump recreation into Normandy twice and both times it was magic. We got to talk to the vets who were there , visited some hedgerows which were the one thing that wasn't taken into account before the invasion , and also went to Pegasus Bridge where the Brits held a crucial point of attack and miraculously held it I might add. I also got to go to Anzio to see that battlefield and the American cemetary. I envy you the Auschwitz trip as it is a very powerful place when you think about the amount os suffering that went on in that place .

Well we made it back at 0600 this morning... What a bus ride it was... Took a 9-10 hour trip by car and parlayed it into 17!! YUK!!! ONLY downfall of the trip...

During day 1, we arrived into Krakov Poland (Krakow for us Americans) and hit the ground running... We got to see where Pope John Paul II house was, we also visited the Royal Castle there and finished off with a trip to the Jewish Ghetto and Oskar Schindler's factory... Once we fit all of that in, we managed to go to a "Shisha Bar" which featured Bong's with flavored tobacco and some hot little belly dancers...

After hours of drinking and socializing, we turned into our hotel and got some sleep before our two hr. bus ride to Auschwitz...

Once we got about an hour away from the town, there was a dense fog as the sun tried to peer through... We stayed in it for what would be the rest of the bus ride and come to find out, the entire day as well...

When we pulled into the place, I could not help but notice the smell of coal that was "sticking" to the fog... The drizzle of rain, fog and the smell in the air gave a bleak feeling of the place... We took a bunch of pictures of the outside and the museum is very ademate about prohibiting indoor pictures in many of the other places... We did however get to take pics inside one of the gas chambers at Auschwitz and the living quarters at Birkenau...

I HIGHLY suggest any WWII buff or history buff for that matter to check out the site if/when they ever make it to Europe... As sad as the day was, it was something I will never forget and something I am glad my wife and I went and did...

I've been to Krakow and Auswitchz. Talk about two different places. Poland's a blast. Especially if you're a young single guy. Best place to pick up girls in Europe because they actually like Americans!

Then you go to Auschwitz and you wonder how an advanced society like theirs could ever do something so inhumane. You really don't understand how bad it was until you go there and check it out. It makes you feel sick to your stomach. Moreso than what you might get from a movie or a book.

The way they made these people sleep (we're talking lots of people on a small board), the fact that they were treated worse than dogs. It's truly unbelievable. They probably would have been better off dying in the first place rather than going through the suffering.

After going there I've always thought that may be Israel should have been made out of Bavaria. What happened there was absolutely disgusting, and i hope we don't forget.

I'm a WW2 and history buff, but there's a lot more at that place than just history. Everyone should go there and learn about that.