Auschwitz, Warsaw, and Berlin

Today is Sunday and we have nothing scheduled, which is nice. I slept in until 11:30 after a crazy day of traveling and sight seeing, but I will get into that soon. Sometimes I feel guilty sleeping in while I am Europe, but today it was necessary.

Last Monday we took a trip to Auschwitz, which is located about an hour and a half outside of Krakow. I slept for most of the ride out there, until right before we pulled up to the camp. Pulling up to the camp gave me chills, the image of all the empty barracks and and train tracks was a haunting one that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Auschwitz consists of three separate camps, Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II or Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Auschwitz III. In the morning we toured Auschwitz-Birkenau. This was the biggest of the Nazi concentration and death camps. Over a million people were killed here, with 90% if them being Jews. Our tour guide was a German history teacher who spoke only German. Luckily Gabrial, our guide for our time in Poland, spoke German and was able to translate. I cannot convey to you the size of the camp, it was massive. Part of it has been reclaimed by the people who lived on the land before they were kicked off by the Nazis, so the area I saw wasn't even the full size of the camp. One thing that I noticed instantly was the train tracks. The tracks were laid right through the main gate into the center of the camp, where people were brought in, unloaded, and sent to the concentration camp or immediately to the gas chambers. With every train load of new people, the Nazi doctors would sort out the people, sending the young and strong into forced labor, and the old, the weak, the children, and the pregnant into certain death. The second thing I noticed was the conditions. We visited on a day in early October and it was pretty chilly. I was wearing my warmest jacket and a thermal underneath and I was still a little cold. These weather conditions must be mild compared to what it is like in the dead of winter. And the people forced to live in this camp had little more than a few rags for clothing, and most did not have shoes. On top of this they were forced to work, usually outdoors, for the majority of the day. Between the conditions and gas chambers, death was lurking around every corner. We saw the inside of one of the sleeping barracks, absolutely dismal. These barracks were standard German army horse stables that had been converted by the Nazis to hold people. Next to the sleeping quarters was the bathrooms, about 40 makeshift toilets for something like 4000 people, and the only time you were allowed to us the toilet was either in the morning before work started or at night after work was done for the day. From the living area we walked around to where the gas chambers and crematoriums. All that remains here now are the shells of the crematoriums which the Nazis blew up before leaving the camp. We walked along a path from the concentration camp and through a gate into the death camp. Our guide shared a story which I will pass on to you. There was a Jewish jazz musician who was fairly famous in Berlin before the war. Once the war started this man found himself being shipped to Auschwitz. One of the SS guards recognized him and assigned him, with a few other musicians, to play in a band at the gate that we walked through. One day this man reported to his job of playing music for those on their way to their death. Only on this day the man watched his wife and children walk past him into the gas chambers. Tragic. This is just one of the millions of tragedies that occurred during World War II. Auschwitz-Birkenau is separated into several areas. There is the main part, where all the slave laborers were housed. Adjacent to this was the part of the camp referred to as Mexico, which was called this because it was absolute chaos. It was like the main part of the camp, only a lot worse. There was the area where the gas chambers and crematoriums were, and next to this was the part of the camp called Canada. Canada was the part of the camp where the Nazis kept the valuables of the people who entered the camp, particularly Jews from the west. Before being brought to Auschwitz-Birkenau, people were instructed to bring a suitcase full of their personal possessions, especially valuables. The Nazis took these suitcases, telling the people they were putting them where they would be safe during the people´s stay in the camp. In reality the Nazis had no intention of ever returning these items, and knew that the people would not survive the camp to ask for their valuables back. This is just another example of the lies perpetuated by the Nazi machine during this time. In the afternoon we toured Auschwitz I with our German guide. This camp was more of a concentration camp for political prisoners, people the Nazis considered dangerous, communists, but no Jews. The conditions here were slightly better than those at Auschwitz-Birkenau. This camp is notorious as being the place where Zykoln-B, the gas used in the gas chambers, was first tested. This camp was filled this shocking images and parts of the things that occurred in the concentration camps. One example is what the Nazis did with the hair shaved off people entering the camps. When entering a concentration camp, the Nazis shaved any body hair longer than 2 cm. After collecting this hair, it was sold to companies who would then use it to sow the collars of shirts.

My time at Auschwitz was thought provoking. Since then I have spent a lot of time in prayer and reflection, especially about World War II. This tragic history has already been written and the best I can do is remember and honor all those who lost their lives to the Nazis during this period, the Jews, the Roma, those who the Nazis did not see a place for in their new society, and the brave men who fought against the Nazis, the soldiers and those who resisted in Europe. All these people must not be forgotten, and this must not be allowed to ever happen again. One thing that I have been struggling with recently is that acts of genocide have occurred since the end of World War II, in Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur, Cambodia, and other places. How can the world turn a blind eye in light of one of the biggest acts of genocide in the world? How do the world leaders tolerate ethnic cleansing? In light of the evils of this world I have become more and more convinced of the brokenness of the world we live in, where people are still exterminated because of their religion or ethnicity, where people can still be bought and sold, where nothing seems to be stopping gross injustices. This world is in desperate need of Christ and the salvation He brings. As a Christian I am committed being the hands and feet for Christ until the day He returns to make things right. I believe this is one of our charges as Christians. Seeing these places where injustice has occurred has only deepened my conviction to serve as a peacekeeper, to be a voice for the oppressed, the widow, the orphan, and those in need. The world is in need of people who are committed to action, and I pray that I would have the courage to be one of these people.

After a short stay in Krakow, we moved onto Warsaw, Poland last Wednesday. The highlight of our time in Warsaw came on Thursday. Here a little bit of background is in order. During World War II, Warsaw became occupied by Nazi Germany. On August 1, 1944 the Polish Home Army intiated an uprising against the occupying Nazi forces in an effort to reclaim Warsaw. This struggle, called the Warsaw Uprising, was intended to last only a few days until the Russians arrived in the city from the east. Instead the struggle lasted for 63 days. The Soviet army reached the Vistula River on September 16, 1944, which was onlz a few hundred meters from the city, but did not advance any further. It is claimed that Stalin did not move his army into the city because he wanted the insurrection to be crushed and so that he could claim Warsaw for the Soviet Union. Over the 63 days of the struggle, 18,000 Polish soldiers were killed with another 25,000 wounded, and 120,000 to 200,000 civilians were killed. The Nazis lost 17,000 men, with another 9,000 wounded. During the course of the fighting, 25% of urban buildings were destroyed. Following the Polish surrender on October 2, 1944, the Nazis systematically destroyed the city, block by block. Coupled with an earlier uprising in the Jewish ghetto in 1939, between 85 and 90% Warsaw had been destroyed. When the Soviet army finally entered the town, Warsaw had essentially ceased to exist. Since then, and under communist rule, Warsaw has been rebuilt, largely in the communist style of huge, ugly buildings. On Thursday we walked throughout Warsaw, seeing the few places where the original buildings still stand. Our guide Gabrial gave us a book of photos taken immediately after the city had been destroyed. there were only a handful of original building still standing, and like Sarajevo, there is still evidence of fighting on these buildings. One buildings is almost entirely intact, except for the upper left hand corner, which was completely blown off. The communists simply patched up the building with new bricks, and it is obvious that this building had been around during the fighting. The old town of Warsaw has been completely rebuilt since, with no help from the state because it was rebuilt during the time of communist rule. Walking around the old town, I would have never guessed that it had been destroyed a little over 60 years ago. Thursday was a testament to the will of the Polish people. They are an incredibly strong and prideful people, and despite being held down many times in their past, they refuse to give up.

Friday night we all borded an overnight train to Berlin. This was quiet the experience. I have only rode a train a few other times in my life, and I can only think of one other time I rode one for an extended period of time. Riding an overnight train is a new experience in being uncomfortable. Each sleeping car is designed to sleep six people. If you cram six guys into an 8´by 8´by 6´cube, there is going to be problems. Not only did we all have to sleep in this car, but it had to fit all of our luggage. Then once we were all situated, we had to get some sleep. I was woken up about every two hours by the noise or the movement of the train. Then at 6 AM we crossed the border from Poland into Germany and there were boarder agents who demanded to see our passports, not a pleasant way to wake up. We arrived in Berlin at 8AM and we all felt miserable. By 9AM we were checked into our hotel, and by 10:30AM we were off on a walking tour of Berlin.

I really like Berlin. It is a young city and a lot is being built or rebuilt, especially in East Berlin after the fall of communism and the Berlin wall. Yesterday I saw parts of the Berlin wall and stood on the line that separeted east and west Germany, it was pretty amazing. Last night we went and saw, or rather listened to, the Berlin Philaharmonic, which was incredible. Today is the first day we have had off in a while, and I am going to spend the rest of the day studying for a test on Wednesday.

I am doing really well. I really enjoyed the time I spent in Poland, it was very interesting. I am not looking forward to studying for another test, but it will be fine. I hope you all are doing well. Thank you to those of you who have been praying for me. I mentioned I thought I might be getting sick, but have managed to avoid it for the most part, other than a stuffy nose. Please keep praying for my health and the safety of our group. You are all missed.
Love and Blessings,
Mikey