I went to the Oskar Schindler museum in krakow, I wouldn't say it I enjoyed it, some really awful history there, (an understatement if there was ever one), but I'm glad I did go. I couldn't go to Auschwitz, a step to far for me. I would like to think atrocities will never happen again but they have in virtually every decade since WWII.
The sonderkommando stories which the guide told us about were horrific to listen to. What those poor people were made to do to their own people was literally inconceivable. All that and then they were murdered anyway as they were considered witnesses.
Visited a few years ago when staying in Kraków (cracking city btw) before an England game in Poland.
Was a grey, miserable day and I had a hangover, which just seemed to add to the somber mood.
I wouldn't lie and say it affected me massively or literally upset me at the time, or afterwards really, but it was a sombering and informative experience - the stark thing for me, even now, is that it really wasn't long ago and that's hard to comprehend for me.
The room of hair and personal belongings and all the pictures really hit home most.
Also been to Chernobyl which was equally sombering but interesting all the same.
Sorry to jump onto your thread Clem, but if anyone is in the Limoges (Dept. Haute-Vienne) area of France, Oradour sur Glane is worth a visit if you are interested (in the same way you might be interested in visiting Auschwitz).
My wife surprised me a month or two back and told me we were going to Krakow just before Christmas for the markets. Sounds great I says. Btw she says...I've booked up for the Auschwitz tour for the Sunday. Gulp...
I have visited holocaust museums/memorials in Washington and elsewhere and indeed Oradour as mentioned so I am sure that I can handle the experience but they're not easy visits to say the least. I just feel that we are obligated to never forget the dreadful suffering endured by others and to learn more about this.
It is a fantastic experience. I took my two kids to Auschwitz and Birkenau in November 3 years ago when it was below freezing, when they were 13 and 17. The blurb on their website said recommended over 14's, but as a guide said during our trip round, nobody descriminated at letting children in 70 years ago. My youngest was actually the one who asked to go and probably got most out of it. I believe it is life changing. It is both awful and enlightening. What happend to a forward thinking country like Germany is amazing when you take in the whole history with the tour guide.
Birkenau did it for me. 'The shoes'. I genuinely feel it was a privilege to visit such a shrine to evil that ordinary people can do.
In February I went to Berlin and took in the holocaust museum there. Very informative but not an ounce of the atmosphere in Auschwitz and Birkenau.
I haven't visited Auschwitz, but I went to Sachsenhausen as a youngster and visited Oradour-sur-Glane this summer. Not pleasant experiences, but amongst the most humbling in my life. When reading about atrocities like this or seeing it on tv, it can be easy to get blasé about them. Standing in the place where they happened is more emotional and more memorable. These atrocities mustn't be forgotten: The best way to ensure that they aren't is to go there bear witness.
Not quite the same but when I was in Prague for a City Break I went and visiting Terezin Concentration Camp as part of a Day trip - Wasn't the same thing as wasnt used in quite the same way as Auschwitz (was one of the camps apparently used to show the Red Cross what a great job the Nazi's were doing by protecting the Jews) yet was still an emotional visit.
The only plus side of that trip was seeing the cell where Gavrilo Princip was kept for the rest of his life after he assassinated Archduke Ferdinand which started WW1 and everything that happened after then (i.e. WW2 / Korea / Cold War), did look a very cold and uncomfortable cell and was good to see the justice that he received for it all
The huge pile of suitcases with the names and addresses painted on them are pitiful. The victims were told to pack their belongings for later retrieval and mark them clearly, all part of the slick and sick trickery that the poor souls performed in total innocence.
For those who can't go, visit the imperial war museum, their Holicaust exhibition is excellent and leaves you very humble and reflective.
I'm glad you mentioned the Imperial War Museum, I was about to do exactly the same thing.
I went there during the summer holidays with my daughter a couple of years ago, not even realising the exhibition was on. I ended up swerving it with my daughter that day as she was only 8 or 9 at the time but I went back there a week or so later on my own to walk through it. Its well worth going to see.
I went to Yad Vashem in Israel a few years back. There is a haunting bit where you suddenly find yourself in darkness and unable to find your way. While you are there you hear the names of all the children who died being read out. That will always stay in my mind.
Sorry to jump onto your thread Clem, but if anyone is in the Limoges (Dept. Haute-Vienne) area of France, Oradour sur Glane is worth a visit if you are interested (in the same way you might be interested in visiting Auschwitz).
Been to many Ww1 and WW2 battlefields and places of interest Oradour sur Glane is on my list as is Auschwitz, hopefully next year although I'm booking up a dig in Latvia in spring, so it may get pushed back. For those who can't go, visit the imperial war museum, their Holicaust exhibition is excellent and leaves you very humble and reflective. Everyone should visit these places, history shapes our future.
I used to go to the Imperial War Museum with me dad probably twice a year, up until I was about 14. We used to walk up through the deer park to the Rotunda an all. I think that's now been moved down to the Arsenal?
Not quite the same but when I was in Prague for a City Break I went and visiting Terezin Concentration Camp as part of a Day trip - Wasn't the same thing as wasnt used in quite the same way as Auschwitz (was one of the camps apparently used to show the Red Cross what a great job the Nazi's were doing by protecting the Jews) yet was still an emotional visit.
The only plus side of that trip was seeing the cell where Gavrilo Princip was kept for the rest of his life after he assassinated Archduke Ferdinand which started WW1 and everything that happened after then (i.e. WW2 / Korea / Cold War), did look a very cold and uncomfortable cell and was good to see the justice that he received for it all
Interesting reference to Terezinstat. A book by HG Adler has recently been translated into English of his account whilst there. His son who is also an academic lives next door and I've been to several of his lectures on the Holocaust.
Not quite the same but when I was in Prague for a City Break I went and visiting Terezin Concentration Camp as part of a Day trip - Wasn't the same thing as wasnt used in quite the same way as Auschwitz (was one of the camps apparently used to show the Red Cross what a great job the Nazi's were doing by protecting the Jews) yet was still an emotional visit.
The only plus side of that trip was seeing the cell where Gavrilo Princip was kept for the rest of his life after he assassinated Archduke Ferdinand which started WW1 and everything that happened after then (i.e. WW2 / Korea / Cold War), did look a very cold and uncomfortable cell and was good to see the justice that he received for it all
Interesting reference to Terezinstat. A book by HG Adler has recently been translated into English of his account whilst there. His son who is also an academic lives next door and I've been to several of his lectures on the Holocaust.
I'll have to have a look into that...
What made Terezin interesting (and probably slightly different to Auschwitz) was the trip and what happened there wasnt restricted to the Concentration Camp... i.e. From memory it was spread out a bit so we were driven to the Camp, then driven to where the bodies were burned (It wasn't a Extermination nor did it have Gas chambers till close to the end of the war if I remember correctly)
We were then taken into Terezin itself as apparently the town was used as a Ghetto.
Definitely interesting for those wanting a Day trip out of Prague for the day
Sorry to jump onto your thread Clem, but if anyone is in the Limoges (Dept. Haute-Vienne) area of France, Oradour sur Glane is worth a visit if you are interested (in the same way you might be interested in visiting Auschwitz).
Been to many Ww1 and WW2 battlefields and places of interest Oradour sur Glane is on my list as is Auschwitz, hopefully next year although I'm booking up a dig in Latvia in spring, so it may get pushed back. For those who can't go, visit the imperial war museum, their Holicaust exhibition is excellent and leaves you very humble and reflective. Everyone should visit these places, history shapes our future.
I used to go to the Imperial War Museum with me dad probably twice a year, up until I was about 14. We used to walk up through the deer park to the Rotunda an all. I think that's now been moved down to the Arsenal?
France is a treasure trove of WW1 & 2 museums, sites & memorials to visit. These two are really good and only a short drive from Calais. Possible to do both in a day if you get out there early enough or book a night in somewhere like St Omer and make a fairly cheap weekend of it.
Sorry to jump onto your thread Clem, but if anyone is in the Limoges (Dept. Haute-Vienne) area of France, Oradour sur Glane is worth a visit if you are interested (in the same way you might be interested in visiting Auschwitz).
Been to many Ww1 and WW2 battlefields and places of interest Oradour sur Glane is on my list as is Auschwitz, hopefully next year although I'm booking up a dig in Latvia in spring, so it may get pushed back. For those who can't go, visit the imperial war museum, their Holicaust exhibition is excellent and leaves you very humble and reflective. Everyone should visit these places, history shapes our future.
I used to go to the Imperial War Museum with me dad probably twice a year, up until I was about 14. We used to walk up through the deer park to the Rotunda an all. I think that's now been moved down to the Arsenal?
The IWM was completely renovated in 2015, it now boasts 5-6 floors I believe, plenty of interactive stuff, the Lord Ashcroft collection of Victoria Crosses (he owns the biggest collection of VC.s) on the top floor is stunning, as is the WW1 exhibition. Gone are the days of dusty old display cases, it really is excellent and FREE! You will need two whole days to see it all.
Sorry to jump onto your thread Clem, but if anyone is in the Limoges (Dept. Haute-Vienne) area of France, Oradour sur Glane is worth a visit if you are interested (in the same way you might be interested in visiting Auschwitz).
Been to many Ww1 and WW2 battlefields and places of interest Oradour sur Glane is on my list as is Auschwitz, hopefully next year although I'm booking up a dig in Latvia in spring, so it may get pushed back. For those who can't go, visit the imperial war museum, their Holicaust exhibition is excellent and leaves you very humble and reflective. Everyone should visit these places, history shapes our future.
I used to go to the Imperial War Museum with me dad probably twice a year, up until I was about 14. We used to walk up through the deer park to the Rotunda an all. I think that's now been moved down to the Arsenal?
The IWM was completely renovated in 2015, it now boasts 5-6 floors I believe, plenty of interactive stuff, the Lord Ashcroft collection of Victoria Crosses (he owns the biggest collection of VC.s) on the top floor is stunning, as is the WW1 exhibition. Gone are the days of dusty old display cases, it really is excellent and FREE! You will need two whole days to see it all.
I'll have to pay a visit to the IWM if its free now... Not being cheap but with kids on the way I certainly have to watch the money outgoings at the moment.
Sorry to jump onto your thread Clem, but if anyone is in the Limoges (Dept. Haute-Vienne) area of France, Oradour sur Glane is worth a visit if you are interested (in the same way you might be interested in visiting Auschwitz).
Been to many Ww1 and WW2 battlefields and places of interest Oradour sur Glane is on my list as is Auschwitz, hopefully next year although I'm booking up a dig in Latvia in spring, so it may get pushed back. For those who can't go, visit the imperial war museum, their Holicaust exhibition is excellent and leaves you very humble and reflective. Everyone should visit these places, history shapes our future.
I used to go to the Imperial War Museum with me dad probably twice a year, up until I was about 14. We used to walk up through the deer park to the Rotunda an all. I think that's now been moved down to the Arsenal?
France is a treasure trove of WW1 & 2 museums, sites & memorials to visit. These two are really good and only a short drive from Calais. Possible to do both in a day if you get out there early enough or book a night in somewhere like St Omer and make a fairly cheap weekend of it.
Can understand why he did it yet its a shame that Hitler destroyed the location of where the WW1 Armistice was signed (unless in my ignorance it was rebuilt) - Would be a fascinating place to visit if it had been preserved
Sorry to jump onto your thread Clem, but if anyone is in the Limoges (Dept. Haute-Vienne) area of France, Oradour sur Glane is worth a visit if you are interested (in the same way you might be interested in visiting Auschwitz).
Been to many Ww1 and WW2 battlefields and places of interest Oradour sur Glane is on my list as is Auschwitz, hopefully next year although I'm booking up a dig in Latvia in spring, so it may get pushed back. For those who can't go, visit the imperial war museum, their Holicaust exhibition is excellent and leaves you very humble and reflective. Everyone should visit these places, history shapes our future.
I used to go to the Imperial War Museum with me dad probably twice a year, up until I was about 14. We used to walk up through the deer park to the Rotunda an all. I think that's now been moved down to the Arsenal?
The IWM was completely renovated in 2015, it now boasts 5-6 floors I believe, plenty of interactive stuff, the Lord Ashcroft collection of Victoria Crosses (he owns the biggest collection of VC.s) on the top floor is stunning, as is the WW1 exhibition. Gone are the days of dusty old display cases, it really is excellent and FREE! You will need two whole days to see it all.
I needed that in the old one, me old man read EVERYTHING! Including the Fire Escape signs ; )
Sorry to jump onto your thread Clem, but if anyone is in the Limoges (Dept. Haute-Vienne) area of France, Oradour sur Glane is worth a visit if you are interested (in the same way you might be interested in visiting Auschwitz).
Been to many Ww1 and WW2 battlefields and places of interest Oradour sur Glane is on my list as is Auschwitz, hopefully next year although I'm booking up a dig in Latvia in spring, so it may get pushed back. For those who can't go, visit the imperial war museum, their Holicaust exhibition is excellent and leaves you very humble and reflective. Everyone should visit these places, history shapes our future.
I used to go to the Imperial War Museum with me dad probably twice a year, up until I was about 14. We used to walk up through the deer park to the Rotunda an all. I think that's now been moved down to the Arsenal?
The IWM was completely renovated in 2015, it now boasts 5-6 floors I believe, plenty of interactive stuff, the Lord Ashcroft collection of Victoria Crosses (he owns the biggest collection of VC.s) on the top floor is stunning, as is the WW1 exhibition. Gone are the days of dusty old display cases, it really is excellent and FREE! You will need two whole days to see it all.
I'll have to pay a visit to the IWM if its free now... Not being cheap but with kids on the way I certainly have to watch the money outgoings at the moment.
Sorry to jump onto your thread Clem, but if anyone is in the Limoges (Dept. Haute-Vienne) area of France, Oradour sur Glane is worth a visit if you are interested (in the same way you might be interested in visiting Auschwitz).
Been to many Ww1 and WW2 battlefields and places of interest Oradour sur Glane is on my list as is Auschwitz, hopefully next year although I'm booking up a dig in Latvia in spring, so it may get pushed back. For those who can't go, visit the imperial war museum, their Holicaust exhibition is excellent and leaves you very humble and reflective. Everyone should visit these places, history shapes our future.
I used to go to the Imperial War Museum with me dad probably twice a year, up until I was about 14. We used to walk up through the deer park to the Rotunda an all. I think that's now been moved down to the Arsenal?
France is a treasure trove of WW1 & 2 museums, sites & memorials to visit. These two are really good and only a short drive from Calais. Possible to do both in a day if you get out there early enough or book a night in somewhere like St Omer and make a fairly cheap weekend of it.
Can understand why he did it yet its a shame that Hitler destroyed the location of where the WW1 Armistice was signed (unless in my ignorance it was rebuilt) - Would be a fascinating place to visit if it had been preserved
He destroyed the original railway carraige where the Germans signed the armistace in 1918 and the French signed the "armistace" as they call it in 1940 but it has been recreated and can be visited at Compiegne now.
Unless you are @Addickted who can be trusted not to start an international incident during Armistace commerations.
Sorry to jump onto your thread Clem, but if anyone is in the Limoges (Dept. Haute-Vienne) area of France, Oradour sur Glane is worth a visit if you are interested (in the same way you might be interested in visiting Auschwitz).
Been to many Ww1 and WW2 battlefields and places of interest Oradour sur Glane is on my list as is Auschwitz, hopefully next year although I'm booking up a dig in Latvia in spring, so it may get pushed back. For those who can't go, visit the imperial war museum, their Holicaust exhibition is excellent and leaves you very humble and reflective. Everyone should visit these places, history shapes our future.
I used to go to the Imperial War Museum with me dad probably twice a year, up until I was about 14. We used to walk up through the deer park to the Rotunda an all. I think that's now been moved down to the Arsenal?
The IWM was completely renovated in 2015, it now boasts 5-6 floors I believe, plenty of interactive stuff, the Lord Ashcroft collection of Victoria Crosses (he owns the biggest collection of VC.s) on the top floor is stunning, as is the WW1 exhibition. Gone are the days of dusty old display cases, it really is excellent and FREE! You will need two whole days to see it all.
New IWM is great and has a fantastic collection of art.
Sorry to jump onto your thread Clem, but if anyone is in the Limoges (Dept. Haute-Vienne) area of France, Oradour sur Glane is worth a visit if you are interested (in the same way you might be interested in visiting Auschwitz).
Been to many Ww1 and WW2 battlefields and places of interest Oradour sur Glane is on my list as is Auschwitz, hopefully next year although I'm booking up a dig in Latvia in spring, so it may get pushed back. For those who can't go, visit the imperial war museum, their Holicaust exhibition is excellent and leaves you very humble and reflective. Everyone should visit these places, history shapes our future.
I used to go to the Imperial War Museum with me dad probably twice a year, up until I was about 14. We used to walk up through the deer park to the Rotunda an all. I think that's now been moved down to the Arsenal?
The IWM was completely renovated in 2015, it now boasts 5-6 floors I believe, plenty of interactive stuff, the Lord Ashcroft collection of Victoria Crosses (he owns the biggest collection of VC.s) on the top floor is stunning, as is the WW1 exhibition. Gone are the days of dusty old display cases, it really is excellent and FREE! You will need two whole days to see it all.
I'll have to pay a visit to the IWM if its free now... Not being cheap but with kids on the way I certainly have to watch the money outgoings at the moment.
Sorry to jump onto your thread Clem, but if anyone is in the Limoges (Dept. Haute-Vienne) area of France, Oradour sur Glane is worth a visit if you are interested (in the same way you might be interested in visiting Auschwitz).
Been to many Ww1 and WW2 battlefields and places of interest Oradour sur Glane is on my list as is Auschwitz, hopefully next year although I'm booking up a dig in Latvia in spring, so it may get pushed back. For those who can't go, visit the imperial war museum, their Holicaust exhibition is excellent and leaves you very humble and reflective. Everyone should visit these places, history shapes our future.
I used to go to the Imperial War Museum with me dad probably twice a year, up until I was about 14. We used to walk up through the deer park to the Rotunda an all. I think that's now been moved down to the Arsenal?
France is a treasure trove of WW1 & 2 museums, sites & memorials to visit. These two are really good and only a short drive from Calais. Possible to do both in a day if you get out there early enough or book a night in somewhere like St Omer and make a fairly cheap weekend of it.
Can understand why he did it yet its a shame that Hitler destroyed the location of where the WW1 Armistice was signed (unless in my ignorance it was rebuilt) - Would be a fascinating place to visit if it had been preserved
He destroyed the original railway carraige where the Germans signed the armistace in 1918 and the French signed the "armistace" as they call it in 1940 but it has been recreated and can be visited at Compiegne now.
Unless you are @Addickted who can be trusted not to start an international incident during Armistace commerations.
It was 11th November in the Compiegne forest. Four respectful Brits, all wearing poppies, paying our respects.
From the way the French pay theirs, they seem to forget that anyone but France was involved in defeating both the Kaiser and Hitler. I was just a bit peeved off.
I went to Yad Vashem in Israel a few years back. There is a haunting bit where you suddenly find yourself in darkness and unable to find your way. While you are there you hear the names of all the children who died being read out. That will always stay in my mind.
It's amazing how scary such situations can be, even though rationally you know that you are in a place that is safe and that there's no need to be worried. As a teenager I saw the Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht play The Rise And Fall of Mahogany in Berlin (This was on the same trip that I visited Sachsenhausen). The play, a political satire, was written in the late twenties and was banned by the nazis in 1933. The production we saw took on a distinctly anti-nazi theme, as did much of what we were shown in East Germany. At the end of the play we made our way out of the auditorium but our route to the foyer was blocked. From behind each door two armed stormtroopers appeared to halt our progress. For a second or two we were absolutely terrified. Then they stepped back and reality dawned. They were actors. It was just one last piece of theatre before we went home. I can't imagine anyone pulling a stunt like that in the current climate, but then and there it was accepted. That experience stayed with me forever though. If I could feel so frightened in one instant, what must it have felt like for those people who experienced such terrors for years on end and who knew how very real the threat was. I find it hard to imagine just how awful it would be.
One of my most "valuable" possesions. Not because it has any real sale value but for what it stands for, its story and the connection to my mum.
It was given to my Mum in Berlin in 1947 by a Jewish man who had been married to an "Ayran" (sic) woman and had so survived. My mum didn't speak German and he didn't speak English but that was the story as she understood it. She had taken some food, clothes etc to the man who was a relative of a friend and this was all he had to give her.
Sorry to jump onto your thread Clem, but if anyone is in the Limoges (Dept. Haute-Vienne) area of France, Oradour sur Glane is worth a visit if you are interested (in the same way you might be interested in visiting Auschwitz).
Went to Oradour-sur-Glane over ten years ago with @Imissthepeanutman. We just parked up by the side of the road as the village was completely open, no one was about and it was an eerie feeling just walking about a deserted village knowing what the Nazis had done there.
Went again a couple of summers ago with the missus. The French have gone to town with it, with fencing and gates, visitor centre and large tourist car parks. It was really busy.
For some reason, in every house there were sewing machines strategically placed, even amongst some of the ruins.
Comments
It's truly numbing to think about.
I actually think it's somewhere everyone should visit. Puts life into perspective that's for sure.
Strangely since my visits I've discovered through ancestry searches that I've had some fairly distant family (great uncles) murdered there.
We had a survivor do a talk at our school. It was very moving. Nobody in the room wanted to stand up afterwards.
Was a grey, miserable day and I had a hangover, which just seemed to add to the somber mood.
I wouldn't lie and say it affected me massively or literally upset me at the time, or afterwards really, but it was a sombering and informative experience - the stark thing for me, even now, is that it really wasn't long ago and that's hard to comprehend for me.
The room of hair and personal belongings and all the pictures really hit home most.
Also been to Chernobyl which was equally sombering but interesting all the same.
Birkenau did it for me. 'The shoes'. I genuinely feel it was a privilege to visit such a shrine to evil that ordinary people can do.
In February I went to Berlin and took in the holocaust museum there. Very informative but not an ounce of the atmosphere in Auschwitz and Birkenau.
The only plus side of that trip was seeing the cell where Gavrilo Princip was kept for the rest of his life after he assassinated Archduke Ferdinand which started WW1 and everything that happened after then (i.e. WW2 / Korea / Cold War), did look a very cold and uncomfortable cell and was good to see the justice that he received for it all
The victims were told to pack their belongings for later retrieval and mark them clearly, all part of the slick and sick trickery that the poor souls performed in total innocence.
I went there during the summer holidays with my daughter a couple of years ago, not even realising the exhibition was on. I ended up swerving it with my daughter that day as she was only 8 or 9 at the time but I went back there a week or so later on my own to walk through it. Its well worth going to see.
What made Terezin interesting (and probably slightly different to Auschwitz) was the trip and what happened there wasnt restricted to the Concentration Camp... i.e. From memory it was spread out a bit so we were driven to the Camp, then driven to where the bodies were burned (It wasn't a Extermination nor did it have Gas chambers till close to the end of the war if I remember correctly)
We were then taken into Terezin itself as apparently the town was used as a Ghetto.
Definitely interesting for those wanting a Day trip out of Prague for the day
http://www.leblockhaus.com/en/
http://www.lacoupole-france.co.uk/
You will need two whole days to see it all.
Unless you are @Addickted who can be trusted not to start an international incident during Armistace commerations.
From the way the French pay theirs, they seem to forget that anyone but France was involved in defeating both the Kaiser and Hitler. I was just a bit peeved off.
That, and six bottles of Bishops Finger.
One of my most "valuable" possesions. Not because it has any real sale value but for what it stands for, its story and the connection to my mum.
It was given to my Mum in Berlin in 1947 by a Jewish man who had been married to an "Ayran" (sic) woman and had so survived. My mum didn't speak German and he didn't speak English but that was the story as she understood it. She had taken some food, clothes etc to the man who was a relative of a friend and this was all he had to give her.
Went again a couple of summers ago with the missus. The French have gone to town with it, with fencing and gates, visitor centre and large tourist car parks. It was really busy.
For some reason, in every house there were sewing machines strategically placed, even amongst some of the ruins.