"The term concentration camp refers to a camp in which people are detained or confined, usually under harsh conditions and without regard to legal norms of arrest and imprisonment that are acceptable in a constitutional democracy. In Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945, concentration camps (Konzentrationslager; KL or KZ) were an integral feature of the regime."
Basically, what that means is people were forced out of their homes and were forced to live in terrible conditions. The most notorious of the many concentration camps was Auschwitz I & Auschwitz II, also known as Birkenau. Here, many people lost their lives.
We spent the entire day walking around both camps. At Auschwitz I we followed a tour guide. She was a really great tour guide because she based all of her facts on survivors testimonies, or stories that survivors told. She knew when we were good times to give us information and when it was a good time to just be quiet and leave us all with our own thoughts.
After a 3+ hour tour of Aushcwitz I we boarded the bus and made our way to Auschwitz II, Birkenau. This came is much, much, much larger than the first. Here's a Google Earth image of Birkenau:
You can see just how large this camp was. We had a short tour here, then only about an hour to walk around on our own. A few of us managed to make our way around the upper part of the picture above.
There are many people who believe the Holocaust did not happen and that it is all lies. After seeing what I did, and experiencing what I did, how anyone could deny that it happened is absurd.
There's a lot more that I would like to say about my day spent at Auschwitz... but this isn't the right place to do that.
If you are interested in learning more about the Holocaust, with your parents you can check out the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
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