Auschwitz I and II (Birkenau)

On Thursday, we traveled the 50km or so out of Kraków to the Polish village of Oświȩcim, renamed by the Germans as Auschwitz during WWII occupation; therein sits the infamous set of camps. For nearly 8 hours the students made their way through cobblestone alleys, and over the rutted and uneven paths that criss-cross these camps. Our guide, David Kennedy, was (as always) informative, patient, respectful, and welcoming of questions. We spent our first 3 1/2 hours at Auschwitz I. Here are some of the pics:

We then traveled the three kilometers to Auschwitz II (Birkenau) and spent about 4 hours there. Here are some pics:

Here are a few pics of the 5-person video/journalism team at work as they accompany our group. They will be producing some media pieces related to the tour which I will share as they become available.

We finished this long and most difficult of days with an extensive time of reflection and discussion back at the hotel.

Our agenda is winding down. Tomorrow we will go to the museum at the Schindler Factory. On Sunday, the students of Group 1 will head back to the states – and on Monday, Group 2 students will arrive in Berlin!