[1/3] Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial & Museum is located on the grounds of the former #Nazi concentration & extermination camp in the town of Oświęcim (Auschwitz is a German exonym). Self-guided visits are free; paid guided tours with “educators” are offered in various languages (tours can also be taken online). Entry passes are limited/ for specific times, so advance online booking is a must. A “Multibook” online course¹ is provided as pre-visit prep. The camp is in three parts: Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II–Birkenau & Auschwitz III–Monowitz. Pre-existing military barracks were initially selected in 1940 to house Polish political prisoners; the camps greatly expanded during WWII. An estimated 1.1M people were murdered here—mostly Jews, but also other nationalities, minorities & (often overlooked) people with differences e.g. disabilities.

The main Auschwitz I entrance gate, as we saw at Dachau, carries the propoganda slogan „Arbeit macht frei” | “Work [will set you] free” (📷1). In reality, most were set free in the camp’s ovens (📷2). The gateway at Birkenau wasn’t a waypoint on a resettlement journey (📷3); for most it was simply the end of the line (📷4).

A clip from a survivor in the Multibook observes that most Europeans share Judeo-Christian values (whether believers or not) & proposes an 11th Commandment:

“Thou shall not be indifferent”.

One only need look at our less-than-glorious history since, or access the current news, to gauge that humanity has learned very little from this shameful place; that indifference is highly prevalent & that acts of #genocide continue. #theHolocaust. #Armenia. #Rwanda. #Cambodia. #Bosnia. #Darfur. #Holodomor. #Guatemala. #Gaza. And more… so many more.

Why do we the majority keep enabling the minorities who orchestrate mass murder? How do we overcome individual & collective indifference, or suppress the errant socio-political mechanisms that encourage it?

¹ https://multibook.auschwitz.org/przygot-en/

🇵🇱#poland 🚐#campervan 🚀#travel