Auschwitz/Birkenau, Poland…we embark on a solemn day to the town of Oswiecim to visit the 2 concentration camps and sites of one of the most disturbing atrocities of modern times. I think a visit to Poland would not be complete without paying homage to the countless that lost their lives in the hands of the Nazis. It is important to make sure this kind of crime against humanity never happens again!

We all have faced some kind of prejudice at some point in our lives; but I cannot believe any of us can comprehend what the Jews, Poles, Russians, and Gypsies faced under the Nazi regime. The hatred, cruelty, and loss of human respect just doesn’t seem possible for anyone to inflict. How can something so vile have happened so shortly ago, only within the last century?

After walking these grounds, following in the footsteps of the over 1.3 million that were tortured and exterminated in these camps, I am even that much more dumbfounded! Seeing a film or reading about these atrocities in a history book doesn’t do justice to the numbers represented once you see the piles of personal belongings, the mounds of human hair, or the names written on the leftover victim’s luggage! I am overwhelmed with a mix of emotions that can’t be properly sorted in my head!

This piece of history can never be forgotten and this visit is not about just seeing the sight; rather, feeling the depth of these hallowed grounds should awaken in anyone the quest for acceptance of people of all races, religions, and lifestyles! I cannot change the holocaust, but I can pay respect to victims of this and every genocide by not allowing prejudice or hatred of any kind to take hold in my everyday life!

Once again, I am reminded how travel can stimulate your mind in so many profound ways!