Inter Faith officer visits Auschwitz

Facts and figures

For the world, the Auschwitz concentration camp in South Western Poland is a symbol of the Holocaust, genocide and terror. Never before in human history were so many people murdered in a planned way, in such a short time and in such a small space. Between 1940 and 1945 the Nazis deported over a million Jews, nearly 150,000 Poles, 23,000 Gypsies, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war and more than ten thousand prisoners of other nationalities to this camp. The overwhelming majority of them perished there. The systematic extermination of Jews took place between 1942 and January 1945.

The basic elements of Nazi ideology were hatred of Communism, Jews and democracy, and the conviction that the German nation was superior to all other nations. In their attempt to create a “racially pure” society the Nazis planned the extermination of Jews, as well as Slavs, Gypsies (Romanies) and others (including homosexuals, Jehovah’s witnesses and the disabled). One of the reasons behind German aggressions and the outbreak of World War II was the Nazi ambition to gain new territory, “living space” in which Germans could settle. As Adolf Hitler put it “In our case it is not a matter of vanquishing people, but of exclusively gaining space for agricultural purposes” (i.e. eliminating the people).

What is known today as Auschwitz had three main sections, the original former Polish army barracks just outside the village of Oswiecim, where a maximum of 20,000 people were detained at any time; the massive complex established on the site of the demolished village of Brzezinka (Birkenau) just over a mile away, which held over 90,000 prisioners in 1944, and which had several purpose built gas chambers and crematoria for the extermination of the Jews, and a third camp at Monowitz, 4 miles distant, which held approx 11,000 prisoners in 1944. There were also 47 sub camps.

These and many more facts explaining Auschwitz’s evolving wartime roles as 1) concentration camp for forced labour on a starvation diet in appalling conditions, 2) extermination camp in which 1 million died and 3) a place of cruel medical experimentation; and its current role as museum and memorial, are contained in the DVD and guide book I brought back with me. These are available from CTE for viewing/reading, so if you wish to borrow them please contact Lorraine Shannon. A great deal of further information can be found on the website www.auschwitz.org.pl.

My experience

At Auschwitz the buildings, the exhibitions of suitcases and pots and pans brought by people who had been told they were to start a new life, the pile of thousands of pairs of shoes, the two tons of human hair cut from the heads of female gas victims, the testimony of holocaust survivors, books, photos and footage help to convey the length and breadth of the horror which the place represents. Some of this I “knew” about already, but they are now fixed forever in my mind. What I was less aware of was the degree of systematic cruelty and degradation “achieved” in that place where the life expectancy of those in forced labour was barely a few months. I was already aware of the heroism of Maximilian Kolbe, the Polish priest who gave his life in the place of a man sentenced to death by starvation, but less aware of the immense cost of sharing even a piece of bread when you are starving, sleepless, filthy, cold, wet and exhausted – yet this was done and the doer punished.

Today’s task

A quote at the entrance to the museum/memorial says “If you don’t remember history, you will experience it all over again”. Hence the vital message of Auschwitz to the one million or so visitors who go there every year, the outreach to a world (still capable of genocide) through touring exhibitions, the internet and the International Centre for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocuast (ICEAH) which organises studies, seminars and conferences.

Another significant Centre is the Roman Catholic Centre for Dialogue and Prayer situated within walking distance from both camps. It was established in 1992 and is run by the Revd Manfred Deselaers, a German priest from the Diocese of Aachen, who lectures at the Pontifical Theological Academy in Krakow on “Theology after Auschwitz” and who is a member of the International Auschwitz Council. I had the privilege of meeting him and discovering a little about the quiet, deep and reflective work of the Centre, which has also hosted members of the Israeli army as well as student groups and high level conferences. He says the Centre should rather be called the centre for silence and listening, before being Dialogue and Prayer. His article “The Impact of Two Papal Visits on the Significance of Auschwitz and the process of Holocaust Reflection and Education” gives helpful information on the communist context, on Polish-German reconciliation, on Christian-Jewish conflict and Christian-Jewish dialogue, with deep insights into the delicate path of openness and understanding that can help to make our world a place of peace and fraternity.

Any small step we can take in our daily lives to treat people as our brothers and sisters, to affirm their dignity and identity as individuals, to recognise them as “part of me” and not as anonymous commuters or insistent callers, will be a big step towards genuine solidarity and happy living.

Celia Blackden
29.08.07