Chronicle April 2016

8 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau By Sixth Former Aaron Gruen

‘It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say.’ Primo Levi, Auschwitz survivor

Waking up at four o’clock in the morning is not everyone’s perfect idea of how to start a Leave Weekend, but for 24 pupils in the Sixth Form and four members of staff this is exactly how it began on a cold January day. A two-hour plane journey took us to the town of Krakow, still well preserved from the war with a slight ‘boutique’ feel to it. It was hard to believe that the mass murder of around six million people had taken place only a one-hour bus journey away from this pleasant town. After lunch, we walked to Krakow’s beautiful Wawel Cathedral, where Pope John Paul II was a Bishop, and then enjoyed a relaxing afternoon of free time before heading to the oldest Jewish restaurant in town where a group of Klezmer musicians accompanied a hearty meal. This sounds like an idyllic trip and, as a matter of fact, up until that point it seemed to be just so (apart from the -15°C temperature!). None of us were prepared for the excruciating six hours that would be spent completely outdoors at Auschwitz. Our first stop was the

camp of Auschwitz I – this is the camp with the infamous Arbeit Macht Frei sign that all visitors pass under as they enter. It is impossible to express the emotions sparked inside me after viewing the exhibitions that now take up some of the barracks. In one room the decaying hair of 15,000 prisoners was piled behind a large glass screen. It sickened me to think of the ways in which these innocent men, women and even children suffered and eventually died, helpless. The final part of the Auschwitz I tour was the Book of Names . This was a 16,000- page book that had the names of all the known people who were murdered at Auschwitz inscribed in it - around 15 million people. I found the name of one of my ancestors in this book. The day grew colder and no-one really wanted to eat much for lunch. We still had the camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau on our agenda, which is the bleakest, most dismal and horrifying place that I have ever seen. Seeing the camp in real life is so much more horrific than any description or pictures. Imagine

seemingly endless rows of barracks on either side of train tracks with nothing else but a watchtower in an otherwise barren plateau. The train tracks lead directly to the gas chambers, which no longer exist. Some prisoners never actually saw the camp itself - they were taken straight to the gas chambers and exterminated like livestock entering a slaughterhouse. There will never be a day when the memories of this overwhelming experience will not haunt me.

Pictures by Tom James

Aaron was previously at Munich International School.

At the memorial in Birkenau. Above, Grace Allen ( Dragon )