rewind.
“Work sets you free only if you die from working.” These were the words of my guide as we stood in front of the infamous gates of Auschwitz I. The original German, “arbeit macht frei”, translating to ‘work sets you free’. These cruel words are a sobering reminder of the place you are about to enter; their sinister connotation encapsulated perfectly by my guide as a mere euphemism for one of the greatest crimes in history.
The role Auschwitz played in the realisation of these crimes amounted to the deaths of around 1.1 million people – ninety percent of which were Jews. Its other victims included Poles, Roma and Sinti, Soviet Prisoners of War, and other ethnic groups from across Europe. A map in the museum showed the catchment of this camp spanned from Oslo to Athens and from Narva to Rome. The scale of the atrocity committed here is notorious yet almost unimaginable. How does a museum approach this paradox and the teaching of the dangers of hate without trivialising the victims and their experiences? These were among some of the questions I was considering during my tour of Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau (also referred to as Auschwitz II) in December 2024. In the remainder of this article, I hope to convey some of my experiences as a tourist but also as a student of history, and detail how the museum helped to shape my understanding of the Holocaust.
Firstly, a brief history the site. Auschwitz I, ‘Main Camp’, opened on the grounds of a Polish military base and was utilised to house mostly political prisoners, however, their forced labour went on to expand the camp. It was here that SS physicians carried out pseudoscientific experiments including the forced sterilisation of adults, Josef Mengele being one of their number. Auschwitz II was the main killing centre of the camp, and was constructed toward the end of 1941. It also saw the first ‘successful’ tests of Zyklon B gas on Soviet POWs in the September of that year. By the middle of 1942, it had become an efficient extermination centre. Auschwitz III (or Monowitz) was one of the largest sub-camps of Auschwitz (there were forty-four constructed up until 1944). It was built to aid the nearby IG Farben Synthetic Rubber Factory with forced labour. Whilst it was not a part of my tour of the site, it is still an important part of the history and demonstrates the economic imperatives that motivated the use of forced labour in the face of declining German reserves of manpower on the Eastern Front.
Exterminations at Auschwitz stopped in approximately November 1944 due to the advancing Soviet Army, and on the 27th January 1945 the camp was liberated. However, this was not before the retreating Germans had destroyed the gas chambers and crematorium of Birkenau and forced many inmates west on so called ‘death marches’ in an attempt to cover up their atrocities. The history of the site is inextricably linked to the ‘Final Solution’ and the eventual collapse of the regime that invented it. However, there is more to be learned than just history at this museum.
I was initially struck by the popularity of this site, 1.67 million people visited in 2023 alone, a number still below the pre-COVID-19 figures. Despite arriving at the museum entrance at around 8am there were large queues made up of a variety of tour groups, including school trips from local Polish schools. Nearly eighty years on from its liberation, the camp clearly has significant attraction to tourists and acts as a valuable place of education. Such popularity does raise the question, why? Naturally, understanding and knowledge of the Holocaust should be widespread and encouraged, however, in an age where all information is spread with as much ease as the click of a button, why does this site still attract so much physical footfall? I asked my guide this question at the end of the tour, and he attributed it to Holocaust-related media. Increased numbers of TV shows, both dramas and documentaries, have created an appetite for ‘something real’. Greater knowledge and awareness of the Holocaust has made the sites of its perpetration more popular.
It is important to remember that a trip to Auschwitz, like any other former death camp or site of genocide, is primarily a visit to a cemetery; a place where millions of people were murdered on an industrial scale unparalleled in modern history. Therefore, in the past I have been skeptical of the idea of such a visit. For myself however, the trip not only inspired this article but also enhanced my understanding in a way black and white footage scarcely achieves. Viewing the belongings of the victims was perhaps the most moving part my trip. One exhibit consisted of a room filled with over 80,000 shoes; only a small percentage of what was left at the camp. This was repeatedfor suitcases, glasses, combs, pots, pans, and prostheses. The silence that struck every tour group upon seeing these things cannot be replicated. Even the most disengaged and ignorant tourists would be dismayedby this spectacle in a way no lecture, TV show, or film could inspire. By no means is a trip here a comfortable or enjoyable experience, nor should it be, as the power of physical experience is precisely what makes it so valuable. You feel forced to contemplate where hate can lead as it is all round you.
As I am writing this, the 80th anniversary of the camp’s liberation is only weeks away, and I hope this article encourages other people to make a similar trip. It is an invaluable opportunity and wholly unique experience.
Bibliography
‘Death march from Auschwitz’, Ushmm.org., n.d., <https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/timeline-event/holocaust/1942-1945/death-march-from-auschwitz> [accessed 2 January 2025].
‘KL Auschwitz-Birkenau’, Auschwitz.org., n.d., <https://www.auschwitz.org/en/history/kl-auschwitz-birkenau/ > [accessed 30 December 2024].
Reynolds, Daniel P., Postcards from Auschwitz: Holocaust tourism and the meaning of remembrance (New York University Press, 2018), doi:10.1080/17504902.2020.1847791.
‘United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’, Ushmm.org., n.d., <https://www.ushmm.org/> [accessed 2 January 2025].