Inside Auschwitz – Birkenau in Poland

Birkeneu, Poland

Visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau was an emotionally charged and deeply poignant experience. The site, once a concentration camp during World War II, stands as a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

Auschwitz-Birkenau, also simply known more commonly as Auschwitz, is the largest of the Nazi concentration and death camps.

It’s difficult to write about the horrors Auschwitz, but I urge you to visit. It’s confronting, difficult, and challenging, but an essential exploration of history and remembrance.

During your visit to Auschwitz - Birkenau

Auschwitz I and Birkenau are located 3-kilometres apart and there is a free shuttle bus that runs every 10 minutes between the sites.

Auschwitz 1

I suggest beginning in Auschwitz I. This camp houses several museums that will deepen your understanding of the historical context and the human stories behind the vast number of lives lost.

You will see on display confiscated belongings, including shoes, eyeglasses, and hair. 

Birkenau

Birkenau has been left relatively untouched by comparison. Being inside and surrounded by barbed wire is a stark reminder of how the Jews were imprisoned with no chance of escape.

The camp still contains some of the small buildings where the prisoners slept, and running down the middle of the camp is the train track which would tragically help seal their fate.

Birkenau

You’re able to walk around the place freely and discover the horrific mistreatment of innocent lives under the Nazi regime. A regime which exacted its power through terror, oppression, forced labour and death. Over a million people were executed in Birkenau alone, a number that seems almost impossible to comprehend.

It’s hard to describe how I felt visiting the camp, words feel small compared to the gravity of its past. Instead, I took a few photos in black and white, which might encapsulate a sense of the place.

Birkenau, barracks

Auschwitz, Birkenau

Birkenau

Birkenau

Birkenau concentration camp, Poland

How to get to Auschwitz from Krakow

I visited independently from Krakow, but you have the option to visit with tour groups as well. 

Getting there by bus: Take a bus from the MDA bus station in Krakow to Oswiecim, which takes approximately 1 hour to reach. On arrival you’ll need to walk approximately 30-minutes’ way from Auschwitz. You can book your ticket on arrival or beforehand through Busbud.com

On arrival you also have the option of joining a guided tour of Auschwitz and Birkenau. These guided tours are conducted by professional guided with in-depth knowledge of history. 

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Hi, I'm Shing

Welcome to The Culture Map, a place where I share my travel guides, adventurous tales, and capture the inspiring diversity of our world.

5 Responses

    1. Hello! Yes, visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau is perhaps easier to convey through pictures than through words! Thank you for visiting my blog x

  1. I remember being there while in junior high school and despite having this part of history taught in details at school, the experience was overwhelming. And the saddest thing nowadays is that listening to some people and their hate towards other races or nationalities I have the impression we have learnt nothing.

    1. Hi Ola, unfortunately I agree with your concern, we live in a world where civil wars carry on and so fourth. If we can’t even treat our own countrymen with civility, then what hope is there for improvement?

  2. Hi, its hard subject, show places with pain. I was in Phnom Penh in Kambodia and i visiting in Tuol Sleng and Killin Fields. I wanted show people that is something that, you now, something that people must know and remember about it. But its nothing nice, so it should be delicated. Your text is short, only some photos, good photos. Its good job.

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