Day 24: “Je me souviens” – Auschwitz Concentration Camp

(Him: Charlie)

I never really understood why Quebec has “Je me souviens” as the province’s motto, until today. At Auschwitz, “Je me souviens” is the reason why this camp still exists and is being preserved. Built by the Nazi Germany, Auschwitz was the world’s largest concentration and extermination camp, in which over 1 million people perished during WWII.

The visit to Auschwitz was intense and depressing. Not only the museum shows prisoner’s inhumane living and working environment, it also displayed mountains of victim’s suitcases, shoes and even hair. No words can describe how terrible the crime was committed by Nazi Germany. When the evidence is right here in front of you, the impact of the war becomes so real, and you would realize that nothing is worth destroying lives.

I have a proposition, maybe the next UN Security Council meeting should be held at Auschwitz, and invitation should specifically be extended to people such as Bashar al-Assad, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Benjamin Netanyahu. I bet these people have sat in their office for so long that they forget the cruelty of wars!

We shall remember that WWII started only because one group thought they were better than others.

"The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again" – George Santayana.

Day 23: Intense history reminder in Krakow, Poland

(Him: Charlie)

As it turned out, Krakow is a bit of a letdown, architecture-wise. It is supposed to have the most beautiful structures in Poland, but I am disappointed. Compared to the other cities we went to, buildings in Krakow are not as colourful and are more run-down. However, the visit to Krakow is still very worth it, notfor buildings, but for intense history. Krakow was one of the epic centres of war crime during WWII. Not only there was Jewish ghetto, lots of torture and murders, the infamous Auschwitz is just 40km outside of Krakow. Subsequent to the war, the once shriving Jewish community in Krakow became a ghost town. And at the latest check, there are only 97 Jewish remaining.

On the second day in Krakow, we visited Schindler’s Factory. Famed by Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, which was shot in Krakow, the factory is a major tourist attraction (maybe tourist attraction isn’t the right word, but you know what I mean). Today, the factory has been turned into a museum that showcases the tragic history of Krakow during WWII.

For those who have seen the movie, unfortunately, I have to ruin the heroic story depicted by Steven Spielberg. The fact is, Schindler was a rather sly business man, who took advantage of the war and cheap labour to make money. Although his factory was sheltering the Jewish people, he wasn’t the one who prepared the list (at least not single handedly). However, nonetheless, he still played a critical role in saving the 1100 Jews.

Day 21: We like Poland!

(Him: Charlie)

After 3 cities in Poland (Warsaw, Gdansk, and Wroclaw), we can comfortably say that we are really enjoying Poland! This country has so much to offer – from deep history for those who wish to look back in time, to a variety of landscape for outdoorsy enthusiasts, to great food for those with savory taste buds. These days, Poland is also busy prepping for Euro 2012 (you can even feel the excitement in the air!!).

I cannot stress enough that the buildings in all three cities we’ve been are gorgeous. I just don’t get tired looking at those colourful buildings. Although I don’t recognize the architectural significance (I can’t even tell the difference between Baroque, Classical and Renaissance styles), I can still appreciate the delicate ornaments and sculptures on those buildings.

As we approach Krakow on a bus, we are looking forward to another satisfying stay at this former capital of Poland. It is supposed to have the most amazing architectural buildings in the whole Poland.

Interesting fact of Vodka:

Polish claimed that Vodka was first made in Poland, while the Russians also make the claim. During the communist period, Vodka was pretty much the only drink available, and it led to a lot of social problems. In the post-communist era, beer and wine became the elegant and social drinks. However, Vodka is making a comeback these days, as Polish once embrace Vodka and feel proud about this traditional drink.

Day 19: Expectation exceeded in Warsaw, Poland

(Him: Charlie)

After 4 days in Gdansk, a laid-back coastal town of Poland, we are on the move again. We are heading south to Wroclaw on the southwest. Over the last 4 days, we were essentially catching our breaths and recovering from the exhausting traveling in the first two weeks of the trip. At the peak of the frenzy, we traversed through 6 cities in 48 hrs. St. Petersburg – Helsinki – Tallinn – Riga – Vilnius, and then Warsaw. At that point, we were so thirst of some relaxation at the coast that we zipped through Warsaw in less than 24 hrs.

Poland is a country with profound history, which for the most part, is quite depressing. It is a country literally emerged from debris and ashes. A lot of cities were almost completely destroyed during WW II. Take Warsaw as an example, the city was over 80% flattened by both Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, so almost everything in its old town was reconstructed.

Before we got to Warsaw, we didn’t think highly about it. People keep saying Warsaw is not as pretty as Krakow and that it is not worth visiting. However, I don’t think that’s true. Jo and I actually enjoyed Warsaw. I am particularly amazed by the reconstruction of its old town. All the buildings so really nicely rebuilt and the sculptures and ornaments were so meticulously and carefully crafted that they can easily rival Riga and Tallinn. In fact, the reconstruction was so impressive that UNESCO designed the old town as a historical site!! Ironically, the reconstruction was credited to the communist regime. If a democratic government was in charge after the war, the rebuilt efforts may not have been so dedicated.

************************************************************************************** In Warsaw, the Uprising Museum is not to be missed. The museum was founded to commemorate the patriotic Polish fighters during WWII against Germany (they had a brief uprising against German occupation, but it ended tragically of course). For visitors like us, it was a history review of how brutal the ruthless the war was. The museum details the sequence of tragic events that Poland suffered, including the double occupation from German and Russia. On the other hand, the museum also showed us how dirty and despicable that the Soviet government was at the time. Yes, the Soviet Government! I used to think Germany was the culprit of Poland’s devastation, but as it turned out, Soviet Russia played a major role too! Here’s the part of history that I didn’t know before:

After Germany invaded Austria, before it started invading Poland, the Soviet and German governments held a secret meeting and reached a pact over the occupation of Poland. Shortly after Germany started attacking Poland from the west, the Soviet followed on the east side and bombed Warsaw. Subsequent to that, Poland was divided in two halves. Later on in the war, Russia joined the rest of the world to fight the Nazis. Towards the tail end of the war, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stallin had a meeting to discuss the world order in the post-war era (without participation from other European countries of course!). Due to an advantageous position that the Russian had, it eventually overtook most of Eastern Europe under its wing, which later became the Eastern Bloc. Poor Poland, when they welcomed Red Army in January 1945 for the liberation, little did they know that the “liberation” eventually lasted well over four decades!!