Somber, lonely Christmas at Auschwitz-Birkenau

Barracks at Auschwitz II-Birkenau, Poland

It’s awfully easy to sit back and enjoy the holidays surrounded by family, good food, festive decor & congenial company…and forget about those who happen to be alone or suffering from circumstances they can’t control. For them, the tiniest gift can be so special. Minutes ago I brought a carton of eggnog and plate of cookies to a man living in a nursing home. His face brightened and his grin lasted during the entire hour-long  visit. He hasn’t been home or tasted eggnog in over 5 years. It was a simple gesture, but oh so appreciated.

It made me think of the book I just finished reading, “I Survived Auschwitz” by Krystyna Zywulska. Her first-hand account of being imprisoned for several years in the notorious concentration camp, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, is a haunting, moving and vivid memoir. When you have absolutely nothing, every scrap of food, sock, woolen cap, or a stale piece of bread is prized as gold. Hundreds were shoved into barracks where they slept 10 or more to a platform on all three levels like you see above.

Working in gruesome conditions and unsanitary surroundings, prisoners toiled long hours without food, water or warm clothing. Many were barefoot throughout the winter. And the daily nourishment? Some weak broth and a piece of bread served in the late afternoon. Here is a poem she wrote on her last Christmas Eve in the barracks, 1945, at the urging of her bunk mates.

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“And here we are locked in a wire cage, We have our Christmas Eve, we have the sacred tree, Victimized by longing, sadness and poverty, Today we break our wafer together, With you, who are fighting away from their homeland, Whose African sun heat burns, Siberian frost chills, the north wind cools, Take a break you all…Today, God is being born…

 

And with children who may have gifts, but are sitting pathetically in the shade of the Christmas tree, without the loving care, without their mothers’ caresses, And with you…That you, like us, are in the cage, You who know the depths of poverty and the despair of man, And you, my Mom, you only one, far away. In the brightness of this star, which rises for everyone, We salute you…Today, God is being born.

 

Resentment, hatred and grief will pass, In the holy brotherhood of unity will come true, The desire to silence will unite us all, All suffering in the same captivity, The dream of peace will reconcile us all…God is being born.”

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Railroad tracks inside Auschwitz II Birkenau concentration camp leading to either gas chambers or prison barracks

 

As I wandered around the barracks and followed the railroad tracks toward memorials near the gas chambers and crematoriam at Birkenau, my somberness grew heavy with each passing step. I had bypassed the guided tours on offer (lasting 2.5 to 3.5 hours) choosing instead to read autobiographies before and during my visit in Poland to let the survivor’s words be the guiding force to help me understand the impact of what happened here and absorb the atmosphere with their voices ringing in my ears.

 

It is not an easy place to visit. But I think important to go. Lest we forget…

 

 

Allow 2 hours at both sites. For more information about visiting, logistics from Krakow, and guided tours check out the Auschwitz-Birkenau site. Search for Holocaust autobiographies on Amazon or bookstores near you. And attend any talks given by Holocaust survivors if passing through your town to hear their moving accounts in person.