Auschwitz-Birkenau

We could not pass a trip to Krakow by without going to Auschwitz. Although Joe had decided not to take any pictures I wanted to capture a few that we could share with family in the future and pass on this piece of history.

After spending the morning at Auschwitz I, the original camp, we got the bus over to Birkenau. We were not prepared for the sheer scale of this camp.

Construction on Auschwitz II-Birkenau began in October 1941 to ease congestion at the main camp. It was larger than Auschwitz I, and more people passed through its gates than through Auschwitz.

This photo is of the tracks into the camp in which incoming prisoners were transported from all over German-occupied Europe by rail, arriving in daily convoys. They were divided into those deemed able to work, who were sent to the right and admitted into the camp, and those who were sent to the left and immediately gassed. A single red rose can be seen on the tracks.