Frank’s inadequate attempt to bear witness, pay his respects, and honor all who suffered beyond suffering at Auschwitz-Birkenau…
Table of Contents
About Frank’s Photography
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Thumbnail History
Located in the Polish town of Oświęcim (fifty kilometers West of Krakow, Poland) the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex is more accurately called an extermination camp, designed by the Nazis in order to systematically eliminate “undesirable” elements on an industrial scale. It is estimated that over one million human beings, primarily Jews, were tortured and killed at this single camp alone during the Holocaust.
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Special Note from Frank
Bigotry, scapegoating, blind obedience, and conformity are not evils of the past. They still conspire to produce horrific injustice and violence in our world this very day. And so, my pilgrimage (for lack of better word) to this place of horror and sadness invited me to ask: What am I doing in my daily life to honor the spirit of “Nie Wieder”!” (“Never again!”)? I can begin, at the very least, by getting to know those who are “different” than me and by rejecting obedience to “authority” and conformity with the herd.
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— WARNING —
*** Disturbing Images below
(beyond heartbreaking & infuriating ) ***
But despite the horrors and sufferings preserved here, it’s a history that must be preserved in order to remember, to honor, and to teach.
I will allow the images to speak mostly for themselves…
Main Gate (“Arbeit Macht Frei”)
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Roll Call
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Slave Labor
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No Escape
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Birkenau Barracks
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The Dividing Platform
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The Black Wall
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*** WARNING: Beyond heartbreaking, infuriating images below ***
The Gas Chambers
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The Crematorium
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Real Human Beings
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Precious, Innocent Kids with Names and Dreams
*** WARNING: Beyond beyond beyond heartbreaking, infuriating images below ***
(It’s ok to stop scrolling)
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Block 11
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Nazi Plunder & “Trophies”
A miniscule sampling of the stolen possessions of millions of precious human beings…
Intimate Glimpses
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Liberation (27 January 1945)
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I visited Auschwitz in 2016. A profound and shocking experience. It was when I saw the glass case of shoes and the Guide said that this incalculable amount of humans was from one day of extermination at Auschwitz. It was then that I could begin to comprehend the full scale of the holocaust. I knew the death yoll numbers but imagining those numbers was difficult. But the shoes and only one day!! Horrific.
But we must all confront the awful reality or else we never learn to resist and prevent it again.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing that, Amanda. I feel the same way. Being there among roomfuls of the actual personal effects of so many innocent, precious humans beings penetrated me beyond words. My pilgrimage there continues to inspire much of what I choose to do with my time each and every day. Peace.
This was hard to view; horror beyond words. Thank goodness for you and others who share information and images to keep reality present.
Hard to view and horror beyond words, indeed, Kath. I actually screamed and cried and dropped f-bombs out loud while I was there. Anyway, thank you for not shying away from this and for appreciating the importance of preserving the memories of those who suffered and shining a light on the evil some humans are capable of perpetrating.
There is no limit to humanity’s inhumanity.
Alas, we still have lots of work to do.
What am I doing in my daily life to honor the spirit of “Nie Wieder”!” (“Never again!”)? The ultimate question asked by all the mirrors in all our homes. Thanks, Frank.
100% yes to that, Gerald. Thanks and peace.
Fifty years, Henryk Gorecki composed his third symphony titled “The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.” The lyrics of the third movement are words that were etched on a wall by an inmate at Auschwitz. There are a few recordings of this Gorecki opus. My recommendation is the London Sinfonietta with David Zinman and Dawn Upshaw.
Thank you for sharing this, Michael. I just finished listening to the Zinman rendition. Heaviness upon heaviness, sorrow upon sorrow. I have nothing to add.
Never forget……
Thank you for sharing this post, and for taking the trip there to “bear witness, pay respects, and honor all who suffered”! It is these memorials, as well as the efforts of those, like yourself, who ensure the victims, as well as the perpetrators of such violence and inhumanity, are not forgotten! And this is what ultimately helps to change the world!
Thanks for the resonance, Anita. Alas, we still have lots of work to do. Big big hug.
Frank, I just checked the stats over on the Substack platform. Your book has been republished there not once, not twice, but six times. No way of tracing all the readers that will create. Congratulations ~ your message is heading into the world.
I was, am, and remain uncommonly inspired by you.
Long warm hug!
These camps are incredibly confronting and moving. I visited for the day and defy anyone to leave without tearful eyes. I couldn’t believe travellers taking selfies at pertinent points, or anywhere for that matter. Shows you what humanity is like, on so many levels.
A great write-up Frank.
I like your choice of words “confronting”, Nilla… in so many ways.
And I hear you loud and clear about the selfie thing. Beyond disheartening. Alas, I’ve need to confront others many times in such hallowed places laughing and carrying on like they were in effing Disneyland.
Thanks and peace.
It reminds me of visiting a Commonwealth War Cemetery in Thailand a while back. A solemn place, but 2 locals dressed in bizarre outfits with a photographer taking selfies and being quite loud. I was about to go and tell them to have some respect, when they left!
Alas, we still have lots of work to do. All the best to you in travels and life.
It’s unfortunately getting easier to understand how that could have happened.
Thanks for adding that, JT. Alas, most humans remain easily manipulated by the powers that be. Obedience to “authority” and conformity with the herd so easily crush slightest impulse to freedom and responsibility.