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View Full Version : Auschwitz I & II Aug 2010



Krypton
31-08-2010, 03:24 PM
Went here last month again, as last time i had a disposable camera lol fail.

Didnt feel comfortable taking pictures inside the buildings, so outside shots will have to suffice.

Its safe to say that these are probablys the most depressing places ive ever been too,

These were also before my camera went retarded and i quite like dome of them, i shot them on manual too, which was a bit of a risk but was happy when they came out ok :D

So firstly,

Auschwitz I

Brought into action in 1939 for Polish Political Prisoners, soon after started taking every other race, religion, lifestyle, sexuality the Nazis wern't happy with.

This was where the famous sign was stolen from, this has now been retrieved.
Its well worth a look, id like to go back once more in the winter without a guide, in the village there is also loads of derelict factories and offices from the war which look good :thumb

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/4944693583_669c1756ea_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4945211354_3543eb8f24_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/4944600805_9af9ce3fb1_z.jpg
Dont know what i was thinking when i took this!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4944593027_a8b9bccbe3_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/4945150342_9d85c3d135_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4944558201_05e236ea22_z.jpg

AUSCHWITZ II Birkenau

Not a lot remains apart from the chimneys and a few reconstructed wooden huts.

The remains of the crematoria can be seen in they state they were left after being blown up by the SS in 1945. This camp opened in 1943.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/4944671105_eeb31df35c_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4944690151_6b58305641_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4945236610_233cc1beb8_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4945226438_2cdfeaa6f1_z.jpg



Thanks for looking...

ERNIE99_UK
31-08-2010, 07:05 PM
Ill never go to Butlins again after seeing that! Youve got some good pictures of a place with a horrible history- the wonky angles can work well

freebird
31-08-2010, 07:10 PM
Thought provoking!

Krypton
31-08-2010, 07:15 PM
Yeah wonky angles were mainly to avoid unwanted people in the shot!

joybee
31-08-2010, 09:26 PM
Went here last month again, as last time i had a disposable camera lol fail.

Didnt feel comfortable taking pictures inside the buildings, so outside shots will have to suffice



Yeah, that's why the request is NOT to take pictures. (In numerous places) It ain't rocket science!

Krypton
31-08-2010, 09:32 PM
Actually, for your information, if i had wanted to take pictures i could have done. There was NO rule saying you couldnt. The guide told me that there was two places you couldnt take pictures. One was of the human hair and i cant remember the other. You could take pictures EVERYWHERE on site inside and out apart from the two spots i have mentioned. It aint rocket science!

georgie
31-08-2010, 11:12 PM
good stuff ive got a return trip planned here i took some shite pics last time i was here and will returning with proper stuff this time i got stopped last time for taking pics but cant remember where about i think one place was the building which housed the cells just big enough for a human to get into (the one where they was made to stand for hours)

boxfrenzy
31-08-2010, 11:22 PM
Without doubt a horrible place, but always good to see a report of this place because of the horror that took place here, and why it should never be forgotten.

joybee
01-09-2010, 06:45 AM
Actually, for your information, if i had wanted to take pictures i could have done. There was NO rule saying you couldnt. The guide told me that there was two places you couldnt take pictures. One was of the human hair and i cant remember the other. You could take pictures EVERYWHERE on site inside and out apart from the two spots i have mentioned. It aint rocket science!

It's called respect and that IS rocket science (clearly)

Krypton
01-09-2010, 07:16 AM
Sorry but i dont see how it is respect at all. Georgie is right the other place was the solitary confinement cells in block 13 (i think).

I think its important that these places are documented so others that cant go can see. If your going to be like that then you may as well say that there should be no photos outside, because plenty were murdered outside of the buildings as well as inside.

It was up to me if i wanted to take pictures, i didnt have the balls and deemed it inapropriate.

If it had been down to respect, they would have told us clear, as clearly the museum curators know about respect and what they deem appropriate for the museum and for the view of the general public.

My personal opinion, but i dont see how taking pictures inside a building is deemed unrespectful (and yes i know the history).

Plenty of people died in Asylums.
People take photos in cemetarys etc...

S8
01-09-2010, 08:56 AM
It's called respect and that IS rocket science (clearly)

I feel you need to calm down a bit mate. Granted this place was horrific, but if we didn't take photos, how would people know what was there. And based on your logic, we shouldn't take photographs of half the places we visit.

Rochester
01-09-2010, 09:39 AM
This is one place that is on the list to visit, I would take take pictures too as many thousands do. Joybee at the end of the day people have a choice to take pictures or not, I respect your choice as I do Kryptons.

Krypton
01-09-2010, 12:55 PM
Thankyou!

joybee
01-09-2010, 01:33 PM
This is one place that is on the list to visit, I would take take pictures too as many thousands do. Joybee at the end of the day people have a choice to take pictures or not, I respect your choice as I do Kryptons.

Thanks from me too. If the very polite requests to not take pictures have indeed been removed, then so be it. This is now obviously a tourist attraction and you pays ya money, ya takes ya choice.

Krypton
01-09-2010, 01:36 PM
It has been a museum/memorial/tourist attraction since about 1947 :lol:

joybee
01-09-2010, 01:48 PM
It has been a museum/memorial/tourist attraction since about 1947 :lol:

Not sure this is the right place for it then! (There's a few folks on here who fit into that category too ....thought I'd lighten the tone a little :lol:)

Krypton
01-09-2010, 02:00 PM
I posted as some people dont and never will get the chance to go and see it :)

the_undertaker
01-09-2010, 04:57 PM
Indeed Krypton. I myself have posted camps in the past for the very same reason, along with the fact that although the goings on there were atrocious, they should never be forgotten.

georgie
02-09-2010, 12:19 AM
the wall of death was strange when i went in the gate it was only me there then i turned around and there was about 50 people just standing there silent with there heads bowed

that swimming pool was spooky aswell just at the top of the camp

joybee
02-09-2010, 06:44 AM
the wall of death was strange when i went in the gate it was only me there then i turned around and there was about 50 people just standing there silent with there heads bowed

that swimming pool was spooky aswell just at the top of the camp

I visited the same day as a group of Jewish school kids. I've never known a group of young people to be so quiet.

You're right, that swimming pool was surreal as was the positioning of the commandant's house and garden, where his children played, within spitting distance of the other activities.

Krypton
02-09-2010, 07:05 AM
There was thousands of jewish kids there with the flags draped around them and that and the little hats on, but they wernt as quiet as the ones you were talking about!

joybee
02-09-2010, 07:15 AM
Well we know we were there on different days, don't we? :lol:

Krypton
02-09-2010, 07:17 AM
Ever the comedian!

joybee
02-09-2010, 07:23 AM
A joke always hides a sadness

Have a good day

Dystopia
02-09-2010, 10:15 PM
A sad place but as already said, it should never be forgotten. I went to Buchenwald when I was in Germany. Everyone should visit one of these places at least once and as someone in our tutor group said, all teenagers should be made to visit a former concentration camp. Personally, I didn't take pics in Buchenwald and spent my time looking around. We didn't have a lot of time, as it was part of OU and I decided I would devote what little time I had there to see as much as I could because I felt it was important to see this place and appreciate how terrible it truly was.

Two things that disturbed me were how the commanding officer had a pretty zoo built to "distract from work" whilst the prisoners lived in conditions way nastier than the animals and the execution area decked out to look like an examination room. Basically, they would tell a prisoner they were being measured and at the back of the ruler was a hole. An SS Officer would be in an alcove behind with a pistol and could shoot a prisoner in the back of the neck without having to look in the eyes. There was also a crematorium in Buchenwald. When the place was opened, they would have prisoners cremated in the municipal crematorium and sent to their families. However, they were killing too many so they brought in portable ovens. This wasn't enough so they build the crematorium to keep the fires burning 24/7. In the end, no one knew when a loved one perished there. :(

If anyone is going there, try to see the art exhibition. There are some amazing paintings from prisoners that are horrifying and tell stories straight from the captives. Buchenwald is easy to get to from Weimar train station on the bus. Amazingly, no one in the town would believe what was happening out there and American forces rounded up 1000 citizens and made them see what had happened.

Munchh
05-09-2010, 01:37 AM
A good report on a difficult subject, well done Krypton.