Have you been to Auschwitz? How 'moved' were you?

Are you glad you went? Were you moved to tears?

Someone asked "Why?"
Because we are going to Kracow in July and I think it is important for us all to know and learn about the horrors of history and maybe learn something.

yes i was there (and to one or two other Nazi concentration camps that are located in my country-Poland) and i must tell u there is this specific atmosphere there that u cant really describe, so many ppl suffered there thats why i think there is this strange energy, u just gotta go there on ur own n experience it urself,

it just feels so weird when u see all these objects n belongings of the ppl who were kept there, u walk the paths they were passing, u see/can touch the buildings that were touched by ppl who were kept there, u see the stoves where ppl were burned n it puts u in a specific mood

i dont even think that ppl who take pictures there feel like smiling,

u just walk there n think how cud that happen, why no1 helped these ppl there, all were passive!
its shameful that ppl were so indifferent to those kept there for yrs! treated worse than animals n then u realize that its true that if one cant benefit from doing sth s/he wont do it- there wasnt a country who wud like to help cos they didnt see any benefits in it

when i was there i felt sad depressed also angry n surprised that such things were goin on all knew bout it n no1 helped

shame to entire humanity

I haven't been, but seeing it on TV was enough..

i haven't been personally but a mate of mine has and he said he was glad he went and said that it was an emotional experience

I have not been but i can imagine the emotion involved being somewhere were all those people died. Not only that i also know how they were experimented and abused to an unimaginable level.

Never been there, but I recently visited Berlin. I visited a Jewish museum close to the parliment building which was very humbling.
also visited Anne Franks house.

Whenever I hear anyone being racist in anyway I always challenge them to visit Berlin. It would change anyones view as far as Im concerned.

im going in march...will be very intense and i expect i will be moved to tears but i will have friends around me so will probs be ok
apparently its so big u cant see the end of the fences =S scary...

I am a History teacher and have been numerous times with A level students. It is a very sobering experience and one that I and the students will never forget.....

no but been to the underground hospital in jersey now that was sobering

Haven't been to Aushwitz but went to the Jewish cemetary in Prague that was very moving.

Yes I've been to Auschwitz, I was surprised how "quiet" it was. There were no birds, no sound, there was an atmosphere of absolute silence, the feeling of a million souls in utter an absolute despair, it is an oppressive feeling. I have also been to Mauthausen, Belsen, Sobibor, Dachau, Berchenau - the smaller camp next to Auschwitz, and they all had exactly the same atmoshphere. I am glad I went, it puts your own life into perspective when you see just how worthless human life was.

No I have not been,but a story I remember from an ex-army colleague, who had been there with the forces not,long after the war ended
, He said that one day as he was walking with some friends unknowingly near, to -one- of these concentration camps,
They suddenly realised that there was complete silence all around,it was a most eerie feeling
Only when they got back to camp they found out where they had been stood was on the site of the demolished camp,I had no reason to disbelieve him as he was one of the hardest guys I had ever met.not emotional in any way.I have just read English skin; exactly, how my old pal described it to me long ago

I've never been, but I have a feeling it may be one of the things I have to do in my lifetime. I'm not a full Jew, but my grandparents were - I'm not playing the 'it means so much more to me because of that!' card, I promise, but I feel a sort of connection to it somehow...my dad has photographs taken around that time, and the heads have been cut out of the photos to render them unrecognisable as Jews. It's just so terrifying.

I remember reading that nothing grows there - few trees, no birds. It's like the land will never forget, and I think that's a powerful force - so if it moves folk to tears, it's just echoes of the past and I think it just shows their humanity. I don't agree with the answer above mine that tells us to not be so selective. The concentration camps were a beacon of evil - no ifs, no buts, that is what they represent. No one could argue against that. And that's not to ignore or sideline Iraqis who have lost their lives. But I believe that each war needs its own recognition.

You know I also read that they actually rent out the former SS offices. Apparently humans live there - nothing else does, but people do! I don't know whether they do anymore but it seems unnerving to me...

I went there twice in one week. During the first visit the tour guide told us that to truly see it one should walk around without a tour group. With the tour, however, I got a good historical feel for the place. I took her advice and came back to walk the grounds alone. She was wise. The time I spent in an introspective walk around was important to me. It allowed me to get beyond the cold historical aspect of the place and events and let me think about myself and the sorts of things I could do to help prevent them from happening again. So, yes, I was moved by the experience.

Not yet but I plan to go this year. I know I will cry but it will firm up my resolve not to let it happen again.

Two years ago, I went to the Imperial Museum in London, which has a permanent Holocaust Museum. I really gave myself time to take things in and understand the horror of what happened. I cried and sobbed several times as I tried to imagine it happening to me and my family. I resolved to never it happen again.

In the same trip, I went to the Jewish Museum and the Jewish Cemetery in Budapest. It really changed my life.

maybe people should look at this link before decideing,the question still remains>>>>>> who supplied hitler with the gases to kill the , gypsies, soviet citizens, etc........ and why did george bush's father supply saddam with the nerve gases which he used on the iranians first then the kurds. it makes you wonder why the nazi's had saddam executed so quickly the only reason for that is was to stop him telling the world who supplied him with the gas, THERE IS NO PLACE ON THIS PLANET FOR NAZIS, THEY SHOULD BE WIPED OUT WITH NUKES, BIO WEAPONS FOR GOOD.

i was really glad i went but when i went it was blistering heat so there was no spooky glumness. it was an eye opener but i was surprised they had made most of it into a museum i think it would have been better if they had left some of it.

I went fifteen years ago. I would suggest reading a survivors account before visiting and you should take the time to walk to Birkenau, it鈥檚 very moving.

I was VERY moved...When you see the mounds of human hair, suitcases with peoples names and native countries, the execution wall, punishment cells etc... You will be moved as well...I would suggest taking a guided tour, and then spending time in there on your own...>The tours are great...Very informative. But you need time alone to read and truly appreciate the horror that took place here.

Bikenau should be visited as well....And will be included should you take the tour available through most of the krakow hotels.

Krakows great...be sure to check out the main church in the center. It is awesome!!!

If you are Krakow,then you should go to Auschwitz so that we never forget the atrocities that was committed there.

in my region it was obligatory school trip for all fourteen's. i was deavstated before i had to go there cause my father was a judge over Hitler crimes so I knew what I was going to see. i couldn't sleep all night, when I was there I closed myself and I didn't focus. personal choice.

I've been there twice, and IMO even once was more than enough. I's a very, very sad, depressing experience.

Now, I can't say I'm "glad" of it. But definitely it's one of those places everyone should visit at least once.
To see what a human cand do to an another human.

I have been to Dresden and saw a city in which within one week US chicken hearts bombed and burnt 400.000 men, women and children in cellars -

Auschwitz has no monopole of horror - just like Hiroshima and Nagasaki - If you're moved to tears don't be too selective - by the way be moved to tears by the 2.000.000 irakis who were killed since 1991 - it will rinse you eyes