Michaels Berlin/Krakow pics

[shelley]

Mikey has recently come back from a school history trip. Absolutely amazing! he had the time of his life.





At Checkpoint Charlie! This really impressed him.





Berlin Wall.





He said this place was moving! it was a momument to Jews in Ghettos... if you look the the labryinth has staggered stones. Mike said as you walked through them the stones got higher and narrower, giving the perspective of the Jews wandering lost and alone



My Boy!. He loves his soviet hat!





With good friends!

















The human hair that they shaved off the jews before sending them to the gas chambers. He said he didn't think it aproppiate to take pics of the gas chambers and crematoria.... He said it was horrific in there. You could see the silhouttes of the victims that had clung to the wall as the gas enveloped them.



He laid his flowers here... But his batteries ran out so couldn't get the pic of him laying them.

He said that Auschwitz was totally moving, but amazing. He said that he kept getting prickles down his spine and that the atmosphere was just so heavy, he said he stood on the rail way ramps looking towards the Birkenau entrance where selection took place and just felt pure misery, he said it looks intimidating now, and god knows how it felt standing there being separated from your family He said they all came away quiet, he said he just didn't know what to say or think.... I think he's still getting his head around it tbh, it may be a while before he opens up about it. He said he was glad he went though, and hasn't ruled out visiting in the future.

Glad he had a fantastic trip though!. With some good friends and Teachers who allowed them a little bit of freedom to explore

[David]

Great pics Shelley, thanks for sharing. I imagine visiting Auschwitz changes people permanently.

[shelley]

Originally Posted by David

Great pics Shelley, thanks for sharing. I imagine visiting Auschwitz changes people permanently.

I think it's altered his perception on how we view each others place in the world, and be mindful of how important it is to resect our fellow humans regardless of race and colour.

He said that to him Auschwitz Birkenau doesn't stand as a death camp, but a tribute to the human soul, to hope and the sheer determination to live, which was the biggest f'ck you they could of ever given the Nazis. Many survived, went on to have children, many survivors are involved in the preservation of the camp, the guide that took Mike and his party around used to be a prisoner there, so they were very privileged to have had a first hand account of what life was like in the camp.

He said he got upset at the block dedicated to children and seeing their clothes and toys on display, and learning about the experiments that took place on them by Mengele. He was also moved to tears standing on the selection ramp, he said the guide made them stand on the left and imagine how it felt to torn away from your family never to be seen again. They followed the path from there and walked down to the remains of krematoria 1 ( the Germans bombed it to try and get rid of the evidence when they discovered they'd been rumbled ) which is also on the left ( sent to the left meant death, the right meant hard labour )

He said it's an experience he'll never ever forget. And hasn't ruled out visiting again in the future.

[Skaa]

Great pics Shelley, thanks for posting them. One of my daughters visited Auschwitz with her partner a couple of years ago and found the same thing with the prickles on the spine. She also mentioned an eerie silence around the place where even the birds don't sing.
It wouldn't be my choice for a holiday but I can imagine it would be a serious education

[shelley]

Originally Posted by Skaa

Great pics Shelley, thanks for posting them. One of my daughters visited Auschwitz with her partner a couple of years ago and found the same thing with the prickles on the spine. She also mentioned an eerie silence around the place where even the birds don't sing.
It wouldn't be my choice for a holiday but I can imagine it would be a serious education

I'd love to visit myself sometimes, it's a lesson to mankind. The Holocaust takes up so much of the History GCSE, it was invaluable experience academically as well as personally for him. Luke is taking History for GCSE as well, I so hope he gets as much out of going as Michael did

Michael said the same about the lack of noise, they were told that the birds don't fly over because the smoke from the crematorias drove them away, years later and birds still don't fly over.