This is a picture taken at the gates of Auschwitz Concentration Camp the words above say "Arbeit Macht Frei" which translated means "Work will set you free".
This is a moving account written by a member of the society after his visit to Auschwitz.
As I got off the coach in the autumn sunshine I felt a nervous excitement within the group, after reading and hearing so much about this place we were finally there.
When I walked through the gates there is a sense of sadness, a shiver went down my spine. We were taken by the guide to the first block, you could almost feel the suffering that these walls had witnessed. We went into a block where there were thousands upon thousands of records of the Jewish people that had come to the camp, camp? What a poor use of the word, "hell” would be a better description.
We then moved to another block that had been sectioned into smaller rooms piled high with reading glasses, hair, shoes, teeth and even suit cases, the guide told us that the human hair was used for mattress, this was due to the lack of creature comforts we all take for granted.
We then went to a place called “Torture Block” one of the punishments was to be locked in a room with standing room only, about 3 feet wide, and a small air hole in the ceiling, therefore causing a slow death. I cannot even begin to imagine what it was like to be left in this room, I felt emotional and almost suffocated and the door was open.
We stopped at the "Execution Wall" There were a few flowers left near the wall where the strike marks were still visible, God only knows how many people died here.
As the tour continued, I could feel myself becoming more anxious, My heart was racing and I didn't understand why, Yes, I had seen some of the places millions would have died but couldn't work these feelings out, That was until we entered the Gas Chambers, I can't remember much about this, I am glad in a way, I didn't want this to be a lasting memory or even my last memory unlike the lost souls who died in this evil way.
I was thinking about what it would have been like? How long did they suffer for? Why? I thought alot about my family and how I couldn't wait to see them again just a small hug, a smile, something that these people longed for and never got to see again.
I wouldn't want to go back, but there was so much I missed probably because of my private thoughts, We are given the chance to see where so many people died yet our minds cannot comprehend what happened here, there is so much we may never know about Auschwitz.
I am proud to be british, proud of the men and women who fought and died to stop this evil and to make sure I never have to suffer like that in my lifetime.
Memorial Stone