Auschwitz was a massive complex of concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland. Established in 1940, it initially housed political prisoners. It later served as the primary site for the Nazis’ “Final Solution,” where over one million people, predominantly Jewish, were systematically murdered in gas chambers. Thousands of other prisoners were subjected to forced labor, starvation, and deadly medical experiments. The camp was liberated by the Soviet army on January 27, 1945, and today stands as a universal symbol of the Holocaust.

I visited the camp today and was left numb after learning about the level of depravity and cruelty inflicted on humans by humans. The displays helped to convey the sheer magnitude of the atrocity.

Located less than 2 miles away was Birkenau, the largest of the concentration and extermination camps, enclosing a vast area of over 350 acres. It functioned primarily as a mass extermination center where victims were gassed daily, 2000 at a time, and their bodies incinerated. While the majority of victims were Jewish, the camp also held tens of thousands of Poles, Roma, and Soviet prisoners of war in conditions characterized by deliberate starvation and rampant disease.

It was seemingly appropriate that we experienced torrential downpours throughout the tour, creating a dark and chilling atmosphere.