Prior to this trip, I have already visited two concentration camps, Dachau and Mauthausen. I was excited to take my previous experience with Nazi camps and look at Auschwitz and Terezín from a different perspective than the rest of my classmates. Upon entering Auschwitz I, I was hit with a feeling of deja vu. Both Dachau and Mauthausen both have “Arbeit Macht Frei” written somewhere in the camp and seeing this brought back memories and emotions from visiting those camps. As we were taking our tour, it was crazy how similar everything was across the three camps. All of the barracks look pretty much identical, as if they were copy and pasted from another. This does make sense because Dachau was the model camp for all concentration camps. Auschwitz I was still very different. The other camps did not have the museum feeling that I got here. While it did come off as a negative for some of my classmates, I liked how to showcased the personal belongings of those who lost their lives here. It documented each individual in a way that just preserving the camp and touring it cannot do. Auschwitz-Birkenau was very similar to the rest of the camps I have visited, but it still felt so different. Neither of the other camps I visited before this trip were used as mass murdering centers, they were labor and prisoner of war camps. I believe that preserving the camp in the way that it was on the day of the liberation is the most effective way to pay respect to the millions of people who died there. It allows visitors to connect more with their emotions because there is no information being thrown at them, rather they can explore and make the experience what they want. The way that Auschwitz-Birkenau was presented is more similar to Dachau and Mauthausen. However, Terezín was completely different from all of the camps I have visited. Terezin was a preexisting prison that the Nazis took over when they occupied what is today the Czech Republic. It was so interesting how different this camp was than the rest. The Nazis came in and used what was there instead of having to build from the ground up. They did have to add in some barracks due to not being able to hold enough prisoners. It was also different because it was built on an old military fortress. This also prevented the Nazis from having to add extra security measures. Terezín was so unique in this sense and gave off a totally different feeling than the other camps did. It truly felt like a prison not a Nazi concentration camp. It was also not very museum-like which allowed this prison-like feeling to remain. I hope to one day visit other camps and continue to compare them to each other and continue my education on the Holocaust and Nazi Germany. 

 

One stop on our trip that I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did was the Documentation Center/Nazi Rally Grounds. Everything that we had seen up to that point was nicely preserved and aimed at making it clear that the Nazis were the bad guys. The Documentation Center and Rally Grounds were different from the concentration camps we have visited in many ways. These grounds were not maintained and looked almost abandoned. I think that is a good way for the Germans to handle an area with such a morbid past as the rally grounds. However, one thing that made these places stand out to me was they we saw the speeches and rallies that took place here in movies we watched in class. Then we went there and were able to stand exactly where Hitler stood and addressed his followers. While my view of the grounds as a racetrack and festival venue was very different from Hitler’s view over thousands of people, I was still able to picture just how many people could fit in those rally grounds. It really put into perspective how powerful Hitler’s words were and how while his intentions were horrible he was a great public speaker and leader. He had thousands and thousands of followers who were devoted to him and believed he would change Germany for the better. It is also important to note that Hitler did not vocalize what the SS men were doing in concentration camps, rather. Being able to stand where he stood was a breathtaking experience and really brought everything we learned in class and throughout the trip into perspective. When you are able to experience something that you saw in movies many times first hand, the feelings are overwhelming and it is something that everyone who experiences it will remember forever.