/horrors-of-auschwitz/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=horrors-of-auschwitz travel. eat. write. Tue, 17 Mar 2015 20:41:11 +0000 hourly 1 /horrors-of-auschwitz/#comment-14718 Wed, 17 Sep 2014 00:11:09 +0000 /?p=3812#comment-14718 I can definitely see how Dachau would be traumatizing for a young person! I went as an adult and found it deeply disturbing.

]]> /horrors-of-auschwitz/#comment-13142 Sun, 31 Aug 2014 18:28:28 +0000 /?p=3812#comment-13142 I still remember when I visited Dachau years ago, the experience was so different from what you experienced at Auschwitz..
Our school had those obligatory trips to Dachau during 7th grade, all 7th graders went there in buses. We were the only group there, and expect for us and a few solo visitors the place was mostly empty. That one trip traumatized me a lot, all of us were no older than 14 (most of us 13) and the tour guides kept adressing us directly as if we were the ones who had commited those horrible crimes..as a German, I learned about the Holocaust during almost all history lessons I’ve ever had, we barely talked about anything else in history class. and even though i already knew all those facts, going there as a 13 years old, being told by the tour guides exactly where people where killed (and them showing us blood stains and belongings of the people there) and being adressed so directly all the time, it was horrifying. It left no time to think, no time to pay respect and it as just really really scary. They even made us go inside one little cell, apparantly used as a punishment, that was so tiny you couldn’t sit upright, or lay down, you could just crouch. Dachau surely leaves a strong impression on the visitors, as they’re allowed to walk around freely and it’s not as commercialized as Auschwitz seems, but as a mandatory trip for 7th graders, it was just traumatizing for me.

]]> /horrors-of-auschwitz/#comment-8633 Tue, 08 Jul 2014 14:36:44 +0000 /?p=3812#comment-8633 [...] total fail. Although Warsaw wasn’t my favorite place I’ve ever been and I felt a little disappointed by my trip to Auschwitz, I immediately fell in love with [...]

]]> /horrors-of-auschwitz/#comment-8632 Tue, 08 Jul 2014 14:32:28 +0000 /?p=3812#comment-8632 [...] Featured, Hungary No Comments After failing to connect with Warsaw and a tour of Auschwitz that left me feeling uneasy, I was more than ready for a change of scenery. Or in this case, a [...]

]]> /horrors-of-auschwitz/#comment-8546 Tue, 01 Jul 2014 08:27:43 +0000 /?p=3812#comment-8546 Yeah, I definitely saw some bizarre behavior at the Killing Fields as well. If you go to Auschwitz, definitely go in winter or late afternoon when you don’t need a guide!

]]> /horrors-of-auschwitz/#comment-8475 Fri, 20 Jun 2014 23:05:01 +0000 /?p=3812#comment-8475 I can totally understand where you are coming from–there were people (well, one person) at the Killing Fields snapping smiley photos in front of the tree (you know which tree when you’ve been there), and it was just….disheartening. I’ve always wanted to go to Auschwitz, so this post is a great heads up (maybe go in March/the winter it seems)? I’m sorry you that the experience you did, but hopefully for those that want to ponder and wander in reflection, this will serve as an important fyi.

]]> /horrors-of-auschwitz/#comment-8414 Mon, 16 Jun 2014 08:48:35 +0000 /?p=3812#comment-8414 That is also very true, though I think a lot of these people wouldn’t have visited had it not been for the huge tour buses bringing them in. I guess such is life though!

]]> /horrors-of-auschwitz/#comment-8325 Thu, 05 Jun 2014 11:30:05 +0000 /?p=3812#comment-8325 Really interesting, Amanda. I had no idea it was so commercialized, although it’s not surprising considering how many things are going that way now. I suppose you’d have to wonder what might happen if these hoards of people were all wandering around on their own? You’d hope they would be respectful, but if they can’t even do that with a guide, imagine how they would be if they weren’t on a tour.

]]> /horrors-of-auschwitz/#comment-8306 Mon, 02 Jun 2014 14:23:57 +0000 /?p=3812#comment-8306 Yeah, from what everyone has said it seems that visiting at a time where you don’t have to take a tour would have been the way to go to really get to take it all in.

]]> /horrors-of-auschwitz/#comment-8305 Mon, 02 Jun 2014 14:23:09 +0000 /?p=3812#comment-8305 Ugh yeah, the Killing Fields were emotionally disturbing but a good example of how to do dark tourism well, I think. They were educational and profound.

]]>