I think I will be visiting Auchwitz the day after tomorrow

[rockymountaindem]

I'm in the Czech Republic right now and I'm going to be taking a quick excursion to Krakow starting tomorrow. I plan on seeing Auchwitz, barring any unforseen difficulties. I have no idea how I'm going to handle this, being Jewish and everything. Has anyone else here visited Auchwitz or any other concentration camp or massacre sites? What should I expect?

It's like, I know this is something I should do, but at the same time I really am not looking forward to it. I went to the Holocaust museum in D.C. and I think I did ok with that, but I imagine this is a totally different animal.

[GirlinContempt]

1. Well, as a jew

Birkenau would probably bother you more, no?

[dpbrown]

2. Auschwitz 1 is like a museum, Birkenow is very stark and empty

The tours at Auschwitz 1 take you through the buildings and show you the original small cremation ovens. Birkenow is mostly torn down with just foundations indicating where the barracks were but for one or two. The gate house survives as well as the unloading platforms. The cremation facilities are gone. When I was there I walked down the tracks to the unloading platform area and looked back to the gate house, and also went to one of the barracks that survives. I went with my father who helped liberate Dachau and he told me what it was really like, and the description was very graphic. Perhaps you won't have that addition to your tour.