Inside Auschwitz: The Wall

Going through the various exhibits that were within the Camp was overwhelming at times. From the "Arbeit Macht Frei" entrance to this point in the tour, I had seen only a glimpse of what life was like at Auschwitz. I was overcome with emotion when visiting a room full of charcoal paintings depicting life at Auschwitz during WWII. Other exhibits showed the awful living conditions--almost 1000 people forced to live in a drafty building, 3 to a bunk, and as seen in other photos, the inhumane and cold processing of personal items--including bags of human hair.

A large area between two buildings with a wall as a focal point was where executions were carried out in Auschwitz. I don't remember what one of the buildings was used for, but the other was the camp prison. It was in here where prisoners were tortured, suffocated, starved to death, mutilated and experimented on, and-or stripped of their possessions and clothes, only to be executed outside at "the wall."

By the time I had gotten to this point in the tour, I needed something to distract me from history and my surroundings, so I chose to take a picture of the bricks. Staring at the patterns allowed me to forget reality and let me enjoy a moment of escape--this is why I wanted to share this photo.
Read less