Poland

Poland is a country still trying to escape its recent past. Both the echoes of the Holocaust and Soviet rule are still very present here. My trip to Poland was not fun, per se, but it was very meaningful and powerful experience. I know Poland isn’t a bucket list destination, but it’s an important trip that everyone should make at one point.  

The Concentration Camps

I went to three concentration camps in Poland: Treblinka, Majdanek, and Auschwitz-Birkenau and all three offered different experiences. Treblinka, about 2 hours drive north of Warsaw, was incredibly powerful because of the thousands of stones circling one central monument, creating a moving memorial to those who died there. Majdanek, in the town of Lublin, is the most preserved of the concentration camps, so much so that you can still see the blue stains from the Zyklon B gas used in the gas chambers. Auschwitz-Birkenau, just outside of Krakow, is actually 3 camps, a combination work/extermination camp at Auschwitz I, and an extermination camp at Auschwitz II – Birkenau and a work camp at Auschwitz III. Auschwitz I was the first camp built and it is now a museum dedicated to holocaust education with separate museum buildings for each group that was persecuted during the holocaust. This camp has the infamous “Arbeit Mach Frei” (work will set you free) sign that the Nazi’s put up for false hope among the prisoners. Auschwitz II – Birkenau demonstrates the massive scale with which the Holocaust was put on. Although many of the buildings are now in ruins, the scale of this place is terrifyingly massive; it’s one kilometer from front to back and easily more than two kilometers from end to end.

Krakow

Krakow is the most tourist-friendly city in Poland and, if you need a break from Holocaust-related sites, this is where to do it. The Wieliczka Salt Mine is a surprisingly interesting experience that’s just outside of Krakow. Also, the Kazimierz neighborhood is home to a well preserved Jewish quarter and old buildings. The Oskar Schindler Factory is also worth seeing; this is where Schindler saved over 1000 Jews during the holocaust, a story which inspired a Steve Spielberg film. 

Warsaw

To be completely honest, Warsaw is kind-of a dreary city that is skippable save for one site: the POLIN Museum of Polish Jews. This absolutely fantastic museum tells the story of Jews in Poland, from ancient times to modern day. Think of the Museum of African American History in DC, but for Polish Jews and really all Jews across Eastern Europe. Other than the museum, the remains of the Warsaw Ghetto are worth seeing for its historical significance.