Auschwitz Death Camp, Lesson Learned?

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Auschwitz was the most notorious of the Nazi labor camps in WWII. There, a man or woman could expect at any moment to be sent to the gas chambers, used for medical experiments or given a phenol injection to the heart which would cause death in 15 seconds. If lucky, they would instead be used for exhaustive labor under the most grueling conditions.

A selection committee decided who was fit for labor and who would be used for medical experiments or exterminated. One 'doctor' drew an arbitrary height line of 5 feet 2 inches and any child who was not tall enough was sent to the gas chambers immediately.

Many were sent to the chambers directly upon arriving at Auschwitz. For that reason records do not exist for all of the people who were killed.

Their horrible suffering and the conditions they endured were beyond belief. People would tell each other lies just to give hope. "The allies have landed in Greece". The implication was that they would be rescued soon. There were many other stories concocted to keep one another from utter despair.

After Auschwitz was closed and the inmates released there was a reckoning. The Nazis were hunted down over the years and brought to account for their crimes one by one.

The time of Nazi Germany has ended. Yet, there exists forced labor camps in China today while Holocaust survivors still live. Have we learned nothing from history?

The labor camps in China, much like the Nazi death camps, are used to harm those whom the Chinese Communist Party does not like. They are also used to attempt to break the will and spirit of those who practice the peaceful meditation practice of Falun Gong.

From these camps the Chinese Communist Party derives a source of free labor. The goods are exported for profit and consumption around the world. Similar to the Nazi camps, these nightmarish dens of horror are a source of suffering, torture and death. Why are they tolerated? Isn't it time that they are dismantled and eliminated?

The famous poet Elie Wiesel, himself an Auschwitz survivor, had this to say, "I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

Simon Wiesenthal, another labor camp survivor who helped bring many Nazi criminals to justice said this. "For your benefit, learn from our tragedy. It is not a written law that the next victims must be Jews. It can also be other people. We saw it begin in Germany with Jews, but people from more than twenty other nations were also murdered. When I started this work, I said to myself, I will look for the murderers of all the victims, not only the Jewish victims. I will fight for justice."

The Chinese Communist Party is responsible for the use of forced labor camps that house many Chinese citizens today. To do nothing is to ignore the lessons of the past as well as the suffering of the present. Isn't it time to speak up?

Call a Chinese embassy or official and let them know what you think of their forced labor camps. Tell them to stop the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Do not remain silent.

By: David Snape

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Dave Snape writes for practitioners.blogspot.com and for All Things Pondered, allthingspondered.com

Introduction to Auschwitz-Birkenau

Located at Oswiecim in Poland, Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest of the concentration camps of World War II. Established in mid-1940, by 1942 it had become the biggest death camp under the Nazis. It is estimated that between 1.1 and 1.5 million victims died here.

The Victims

Throughout its existence it functioned as a concentration camp. Initially, the inhabitants were Poles who had been part of the Polish intelligentsia, as well as other political, spiritual and important figures.

However, as the war progressed, prisoners from other occupied countries began arriving at the camp. According to figures from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum which now stands on the site, around 400,000 people were kept in the camp at one time.

Of these, 200,000 were Jews, 140,000 were Poles, and around 20,000 were Gypsies from various countries. In addition, there were approximately 10,000 Soviet prisoners of war and 10,000 prisoners of other nationalities.

It is estimated that around 50 per cent of these registered prisoners died from starvation, exhaustion, disease, inhuman living conditions, torture or criminal medical experiments.

Structure

At its peak, the camp comprised three parts. The oldest, Auschwitz I, was constructed in the buildings of pre-war Polish barracks and housed between 15,000 and 20,000 inmates.

Auschwitz II, the second camp at Birkenau, held over 90,000 prisoners in 1944 and was the largest part of the complex. The majority of the mass exterminations took place here.

The third part, Auschwitz III, was made up of some 40 sub-camps in the area. This part held 10,000 prisoners.

Gas Chambers

There were a number of gas chambers and crematoriums around the complex where Jews, Gypsies and prisoners of war were gassed and then cremated. When Auschwitz-Birkenau began functioning as an extermination camp in early 1942, hundreds of thousands of prisoners were killed here without being registered.

They were taken straight from the trains and brought to the gas chambers - selection procedures targeted those who were considered unfit to work, including the infirm or elderly and children and pregnant women.

The camp was liberated in January 1945 by Red Army soldiers and the few thousand remaining prisoners were set free. Today, a museum and memorial mark its site.

How to get there

The memorial is accessible from Krakow hostels; the city is located just 60 kilometres from the camp, making it the gateway to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Before settling down and becoming a copywriter for HostelBookers, Paul Scottyn travelled extensively and stayed in numerous Krakow hostels and had time to visit the memorial.

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Book Review - Kent Johnson - Lyric Poetry After Auschwitz

Duncan and Levertov had a falling out over Levertov's anti-Vietnam poetry. He argued he wasn't against 'political' poetry, but he believed Levertov's anti-war poetry fell short because the speaker was outside of what she/he was critiquing. Kent's poems do a great job of asking how poetry matters in a time of war (not to be confused with Gioia's book). He takes to task people and poets who attempt a self-righteous outsider stance (i.e. Berstein's reaction to Sam Hamill's Poets Against the War site (and anthology).

Berstein complains of the self-righteous stance of poems with unquestioning political content (perhaps in a similar way to Duncan back in the day). But the irony of his own self-righteous stance (the moral presumptions of poems with overtly political content) is not discussed or acknowledged. Bernstein is a very intelligent man and perhaps is aware of this. But I think it is very healthy to challenge this assumption and re-open the debate of poetry in a time of war (even if it means losing good friends much like Duncan lost the close friendship of Levertov).

Another aspect of Lyric Poetry After Auschwitz that I find compelling is how the poems feel lived/experienced. I know Kent was/is not a soldier in Iraq etc but I get a sense of lived experience in the poems. Perhaps Kent has experienced some of the horrors of war? I think I remember reading (was it in Lyric Poetry After Auschwitz? that he witnessed a bit of literal war.

The book is very consistent in its call for an honest look at ourselves as writers and persons. How the poems are constructed are not neglected for 'content.' Kent/the speaker walks a razor-thin tightrope between nihilism and hope as did all the great post of European existentialists.

All I can say is thank you. I really needed this book right now. It is an ongoing struggle to unite life/art, the common failure of the avant garde. Kent continues this vital and always unfinished project of the avant garde.

WILFRED JOHN
BOOK REVIEW

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Wilfred John - EzineArticles Expert Author

Once Golden, Again Golden Poland

From a global and historic perspective is seems as though Poland had reached its golden era around the 16th century during the wealthy and powerful Jagiellonian Dynasty and that it has been largely downhill ever since. The Polish have taken a tremendous beating during the second 500 years of their existence but have had remarkable and admirable success pulling their vast and stunningly beautiful land back together to make up today’s modern Third Republic. Travel to Poland to experience fast-pasted cosmopolitan centers like Krakow, rewind in time in the horse-and-carriage countryside or lose yourself completely in one of the forested national parks.
Poland, Pillage and Plunder

Whether Poland has been synonymous with bridge or battlefield to its surrounding neighbors, the results have not been pleasant. As early as the 13th century, Polish states were ravaged by Mongolian raiders due to the lack of natural boundaries and its strategic position between east and west, which would again become a curse during the World Wars and the Cold War. There were few cities that emerged from WWII unscathed, but the baffling restorative reconstruction has left even the locals duped by the perfectly replicated Baroque and Gothic architecture. Thriving cities like Krakow and Warsaw are hubs of both traditional and modern Poland, showcasing contemporary art, classic jazz and an unfettered youthful spirit. Auschwitz Nazi Concentration Camp and Holocaust Museum is located just outside Krakow, which became the epicenter for the Nazi battle against Europe’s Jews. Also in this area is a World Heritage Site known as Southern Little Poland where an enchanting collection of medieval wooden churches still stand among the Carpathian Mountains.

Hillside, Countryside, Seaside
Poland has a unique draw due to its positioning on the Baltic Sea and its shared borders with Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Russia. Poland today is finally the more tranquil, dynamic and cheaper cousin of its neighbors. Visit the Great Mazury Lake District in the northeast where nearly 15% of the area is covered by pristine lakes and canals, dotted with picturesque villages. This is a haven for cycling, canoeing and hiking. Don’t miss the 13th century Malbork Castle, the headquarters for the Order of the Teutonic Knights, which holds the title as the largest medieval castle in Europe. Then, as you find your way to some of the Baltic seaside resorts, stop along the coast in Gdansk, the historic medieval Hanseatic trading city that was perfectly restored in the 20th century. While you make your way east to visit Bialowieski National Park in order to see Europe’s last surviving native Bison, stop in the 14th century town of Torun to pay homage to Nicolaus Copernicus’ place of birth. For skiing and hiking, the Sudeten Mountain Range winds through part of southern Poland, including the popular escapes in the Tetra Mountains.

Although the ravages of the 20th century are behind Poland, they are certainly not out of mind. The Polish have a blossoming culture that emerged vehemently from the violence and repression of the Cold War. The reactive and eager populace finally has found a place to shine artistically, politically (as part of NATO and the EU) and domestically with open arms to those curious about the Polish way of life. Travel to Poland and discover a proud and established nation that is equally as excited to finally welcome you!

For more information, visit http://www.cfares.com.

By: Frank Johnson

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