Birkenau

As a teacher I always say to my students there is nothing like 'real life'. So a visit to the area of Auschwitz, Germany has certainly opened my eyes to the history of the Jewish people, as well as Poland. The enormity of the Birkenau Camp is just astounding, all in all 175 acres - as you can see from my photos the area stretches for as far as the eye can see. This camp was the site of mass extermination of Jews, each gas chamber held 2000 people. In total the camp could hold up to 200,000 prisoners at any one time. Although the Nazi's attempted to destroy the camp, there still remains many of the buildings - including the barb wire fences and rail line leading into the camp. I really didn't have any idea as to the size and impact of Auschwitz and the surrounding camps until now.