Paul Nesselroade

2026 Holocaust Studies Tour, Day 12: Auschwitz I & II

By 6:15 we were on the road to the Auschwitz camp complex. We met David Kennedy, my friend and incredible Auschwitz tour guide, along the way and toured both camps I and II between 8:30 and 4. It was a long, emotionally (and physically) taxing day. But the students did so well. I look forward to debriefing with them tomorrow. A few pictures are below. (Sorry, it was hard to be selective.)

Afterward, David and Basia, his fiancé, invited us to see and learn about the nearby International Youth Meeting Center – a place where both of them work. They were such kind and generous hosts. A few pictures are included at the end. (I might use this amazing facility as a place for future groups to spend the night, thus decompressing one long Auschwitz day into two….something to think about.)

New entrance as of about 3 years ago
Both camps are on this visual – Auschwitz I in the lower left and David is locating Auschwitz II (Birkenau)
The infamous gate
Evidences
so many students were diligently taking notes
More evidences
Carefully preserved garments
A new exhibit featuring testimonies of survivors
The wall
The Book of Names, thanks to Yad Vashem
New exhibits
A map displaying the Nazis long-term plans for the city of Auschwitz – a slave labor camp would be a semi-permanent feature
Preparing to enter the gas chamber at Auschwitz I
Approaching Auschwitz Birkenau
The end of the line, at gas chambers II and III
The remains of gas chamber IV
The Central Sauna
Discovered buried family photo albums – remarkable story
At the International Youth Meeting Center
Learning about the center