Oświęcim, POLAND

Today was a moving day (no earthquakes here) at the German death camps of Auschwitz. This is some place we all must see, and try to understand why this all happened while the world looked on.
Its been several hours since my visit, and I can't seem to stop thinking about Auschwitz. If today's experience didn't shake me...then nothing will. It sure did!

If you don't recall your history class, let me refresh your memory:

The German forces, occupying Poland during WWII, established a concentration camp on the outskirts of the town of Oświęcim in 1940. The Germans called it Auschwitz. Over the next few years it was expanded into three main camps: Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Auschwitz III-Monowitz and more than 40 sub-camps. The first people to be brought to Auschwitz as prisoners and murdered here were Poles (Polish people). They were followed by Soviet prisoners of war, Gypsies and deportees (the latter included convicts and homosexual people) of many other European nationalities from as far south as Greece and as far north as Norway. However, destroying the Jewish population of Europe was the main goal of the Nazis. The majority of people sent to Auschwitz were Jewish (Hungary had the highest number: 400,000+ people). Being transported over several days from far away destinations like cattle in goods trains, the deportees were greeted with a "nice shower waiting". The fit were sent to hard labour in nearby German factories, and the Jews and the weak (including women and children) were immediately sent to be executed. After forced to undress, up to 2000 people at a time were shoved into the underground "showers" (gas chambers) at which time poisonous gas (Zyklon-B) were pumped in. It took less than 20 minutes for people to die - men, women, and children. After death, bodies were dragged out and stripped of any valuable items such as hair (used in German textile industry), gold teeth, and artificial limbs. The bodies were then incinerated in nearby ovens. Between one million and 1.5 million people lost their lives here in Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945. When the camps were liberated by the Soviet Red Army in January 27, 1945, they only found about 10,000 people still alive - most dying of starvation.

As I was walking around the grounds, inside the rows of houses where people were packed to capacity, and inside the gas chambers, I could not help but to think that while this was 60 years into the history, these inhumane atrocities continued since Auschwitz and they are still happening...and likely will continue far into the future. While the world looked on, millions of people have been brutally and senselessly killed since Auschwitz. Do you remember .....:

- 1965 to 1973, Vietnam: a grand total of between 4 and 5 million casualties. This does not included casualties in neighboring Cambodia and Laos.
- 1992 to 1995, Bosnia: over 97,200 victims of the war just in Bosnia. Total for the war in the Balkans region is well above this number and could be as high as 200,000.
- 1994 Rwanda: an estimated 800,000 people were massacred (total killed from 1959 to 1995 was 1,350,000.
- Current, Iraq: a totally unjustified invasion of Iraq has now left more than 70,000 Iraqi's dead. An invasion by the self-proclaimed "leader of the free world".....in its quest to secure oil.
- 2003 to current, Darfur region of Sudan: an estimated 200,000 people killed and 2.5 million left homeless

Other atrocities are those in Ethiopia (1962-92): 1,400,000, Nigeria (1966-70): 1,000,000, Bangladesh (1971): 1,250,000, Cambodia, Khmer Rouge (1975-1978): 1,650,000, Mozambique (1975-1992): 1,000,000, Afghanistan (1979-2001): 1,800,000, Iran-Iraq War (1980-88): 1,000,000 and the list goes on and on.

The above is by all means not a comprehensive list of atrocities since Auschwitz. History is history and nothing can be changed. What we can change is to open our eyes and not allow a repetition of history in modern times. I can only wonder what places and numbers will be added to this list over the next 60 years! Its almost unimaginable - and scary!