Krakow, Poland Day 3

Krakow, Poland Day 3

I am glad that I did not sit to write this blog after dinner. If I did, the last event of the night would have not unfolded. We needed to get tickets for the night train to Prague, so we went for an evening walk to the train station, which is just a 20 min walk away. We cut through a mall and busted right into the station. There was a single line for the international tickets and we got right into it. Within a few seconds a man came up and asked me some question in Polish. I told him I did not speak Polish and he switched to English. He was trying to get a ticket for some city I did not recognize and we started to talk. We never exchanged names, but the conversation was one of the more interesting ones that we have had in a while. He stood at maybe 6'7" tall with a golfer's hat with a nice suit jacket. We thought he might be a little younger, but he mentioned that he is 48. His accent was Polish, but he mentioned he spoke Russian, German, Czech, English, Polish, French, and some Ethiopian. Ok.... We have heard of folks like these and know to be leery of the massive languages they say they speak. We told him where we have been and he was interested. He told us about Poland over the past years and where they are going as a country. He was very optimistic and says things are going for the best. People are happy and spirits are high. I am thankful that we ran into a local with some thoughts about the country. It's one thing to just go into stores and restaurants and try to get an experience, but if you are lucky enough to meet a local that speaks English, you are in for a treat. He mentioned that he was married to an Ethiopian woman. I asked how that happened and what her family though of it all. He said that she is Catholic, and with Poland being predominately Catholic, he was in. He laughed and said, well most of us are. I took it that he was not that religious, but she was, and the family accepted him for that. Then, in a moment, he pulled out his iPhone to show us a picture of her. Wow! We all said his wife is really pretty. Then the bomb was dropped...she was Miss Ethiopia several years ago. Its funny how friendly he was and the conversation moved along in English with him. We could have had dinner and talked all night. Soon enough it was our turn in line. We got our tickets, and he did not. They were sold out for the train that he wanted. We said goodbye and wished him the best of luck in his travels. He was then off to the bus station to try his chances there.

That was the end of the day. It all started a little different and on a much less cheery note. We went ahead and booked a tour to pick us up from the hostel and take us to the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz -Birkenau. It was out in the country next to a small village. The drive was a little eerie knowing what we were about to see. I knew from pictures what would be there, but I knew that experiencing it first hand would be a different impression for sure. The entire Auschwitz area No.1 was the main entrance center and was built within an old Polish WW1 military site. The buildings were all aligned in rows and seemed to go on forever. They are brick with red colorings and each "block," as they are called, served a different purpose. The whole site was converted by the Nazis to be the "final solution" for the Jews, Gypsies, and native Poles. The second area that we saw, Auschwitz-Birkenau, they call No.2 and that is 3k away with purpose built camps made just out of wood. There were many chilling sights to see and the impact was immense. There were piles of hair that filled half a warehouse, shoes, suitcases, eyeglasses, and personal belongings. These were all preserved behind glass and look like people had just left them. Between two of the blocks was the "Death Wall" where people were tried in a makeshift court and taken right outside and shot on site. They say that hundreds died there. Now, it is still there with flowers and bouquets lying on the ground. All windows on either side of the corridor are covered to keep people from seeing the executions, and to keep bullets from coming inside. All the gas chambers and ovens at No.2 were demolished by the Nazis as they retreated, but there is still the main one at sight No.1. This is where you can actually go inside the gas room where the poison was dropped through the ceiling, people died, and then were lugged into the couple ovens just outside the door. This really made it personal seeing this first hand. Funny thing is, the Nazis did not do any of this work themselves. It was all done by slave workers that would end up having the same fate as those they put into the ovens. I could go on and on, but I believe you have to make a visit to get the whole perspective. The train that goes right up to Birkenau No.2 is quite a sight especially with the depth of view. The camps just go on and on forever. The scope of the sight is what is the most impressive. Yesterday, when we visited, was a beautiful mostly sunny day with cool temperatures. If all was removed, you would think it was just a beautiful pasture with birds chirping and the wind rustling the grass.

My intrigue is not "what" happened there at Auschwitz, but "how" it happened. People are very good killers, especially when brainwashed into believing what is right. The power of training and implanting thought is stronger than most people think. The best thing is a worldly education to build tolerance and a knowledge of the world's religions in my book. When people are forced into these things, and have no other perspective, problems ensue. In this case, it might be one of the greatest tragedies of the world. Just being a part of WW2 just makes the whole thing more depressing. People have a tremendous amount of power. It would just be a little easier if we all used it for good. The precursors to full blown genocide are happening all around the world today. If the fires are not put out, something much worse and encompassing could surely happen. From the looks of it, the Germans that participated or did not, just wanted to stay under the radar and not put up a fight in hopes that they would not be interrogated. Today, these situations come to us everyday on a much smaller scale, but the picture is the same. The agenda of just a few, whether religious or political, has the power to fully flatten mankind. That is what scares me.

I do not like writing about the Auschwitz visit. Hopefully, that is apparent.

Tomorrow, it's the salt mine for a change of pace.