Birkenau concentration camp

Birkenau, monument to the deliberate genocide of the Jews by the Nazi regime (Germany 1933-1945) and to the deaths of countless others bears irrefutable evidence to one of the greatest crimes ever perpetrated against humanity. It is also a monument to the strength of the human spirit which in appalling conditions of adversity resisted the efforts of the German Nazi regime to suppress freedom and free thought and to wipe out whole races. The site is a key place of memory for the whole of humankind for the holocaust, racist policies and barbarism; it is a place of our collective memory of this dark chapter in the history of humanity, of transmission to younger generations and a sign of warning of the many threats and tragic consequences of extreme ideologies and denial of human dignity.

























Andy

Its a grim place for sure,and in my opinion best viewed in B/W..to see it portrayed in colour somehow doesnt give out exactly how cold and soulless it was/is.

Sobering stuff indeed. The only camp I have ever visited was Belsen. But without the wire, railroads and buildings, it somehow doesn't generate quite the same horror. Even though the mass graves are prominent, the fact that they are simple mounds is somewhat insulating from what went on there.

Great set of photo's and the B&W pictures certainly add an atmosphere about the place it gives a desolation that you can feel.

Seahorse said:

Sobering stuff indeed. The only camp I have ever visited was Belsen. But without the wire, railroads and buildings, it somehow doesn't generate quite the same horror. Even though the mass graves are prominent, the fact that they are simple mounds is somewhat insulating from what went on there.

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We were given a tour of Belsen in 1980 whilst guests of the Dukes in Fallingbostel..Belsen numbed me to the bone specially inside the hall displaying the photographs taken during liberation.

Both places are utterly horrendous, I would with out a doubt, never, visit again, these pictures are around five years old, I have only looked at them a couple of times, and was unsure wether to post or not.


Andy

thekatt said:

Both places are utterly horrendous, I would with out a doubt, never, visit again, these pictures are around five years old, I have only looked at them a couple of times, and was unsure wether to post or not.


Andy

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They can never be posted often enough. If we try to forget, we risk letting those who would deny it ever having taken place rewrite history for future generations.

Seahorse said:

They can never be posted often enough. If we try to forget, we risk letting those who would deny it ever having taken place rewrite history for future generations.

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Well said and sadly so true!