Would you visit Auschwitz?

Question

Would, or indeed could you? Do you consider the guided tour/sightseeing aspect a touch of gruesome voyeurism - to be shown a place where unimaginable attrocities took place, and violation of a massive "graveyard"?

Or, it it a pilgrimage, a necessary homage to those who died and a reminder of man's deepest evil capabilities?

What do you think, would you go and why?

Answer 1

My dad was a WW2 vet when most of my peer's dads had been in Korea or Vietnam, so one reason I would go is to get more of a sense of what was going on during his time in Germany and what our G.I.s were fighting for back then.

I would also go so that I could maybe more fully understand the suffering that those people went through and what it was like for them.

Answer 2

Of course, as a Jew and as a human being, I should go to see this place of horror and man's inhumanity to man.

But I always feel that I couldn't go - that it would just be too painful to see - that I wouldn't be able to stop crying and that the atrocities are just too much to bear.

So it's a dilemma for me and so far, I have not been put to the test.

Answer 3

I think it has to be a matter of personal choice. My husband went and said how interesting it was. I didn't join him. As a Jewish woman I have grown up hearing first hand stories of horror from camp survivors. My grandmother survived the camps and her only wish for her children and grandchildren was that they see nothing so ugly in their lifetimes. So out of respect for her wish I didn't go. It is a touch ghoulish but it is an important chapter of history that must not be forgotten.

Answer 4

Yes, Id Visit It. XD. I Was Supposed To Visit It On A History Trip, But I Couldnt Go. :P.

Answer 5

My grandfather was Russian and he was imprisoned in both Belsen and Auschwitz during WW2. He was "lucky"; he arrived at Auschwitz not too long before it was liberated.  I would go there if I got the chance as it is part of my family history.

Answer 6

yeah i did, it was great. you are meant to show your respect there and if you learn about your history you dont repeat it. it was kind of interesting i went there when i was anorexic and the prisoners ate more than i did each day.. tho i obviously didnt have to do hard labour...

Answer 7

Absolutely. I feel I'd be able to know a lot more about Auschwitz than just reading it from a book. I mean, you can't grasp what it's like by reading it books or looking at pictures...you'd need to see it in real life too.

Answer 8

Yes,I would,at least,I think I would.It wouldn't be out of morbid curiosity though.I have seen actual news footage from Germany.america and Britain,as the camps were being liberated.It is a lesson in how NOT to behave,sadly though,the extermination of six million Jews and other minorities,has not taught the world the lesson everyone hoped would be learnt.

Answer 9

I would be really interested in going but purely from a historic point of view.

Showing an interest in the matter doesnt mean you agree with what happened during the holocaust. It was sick and I feel for those people effected by it all.

But it shaped history, and anything that has done that is worth knowing about, or those people died for absolutely nothing, atleast we can do is honour them in history.

I hope that makes sense.

I wouldn't agree with tourist shops though... That would be a little sick.

Answer 10

i think I would go if I was around there.

My husband probably wouldn't want to go.

He was raised in Hungary and his mom lived through the war and he has heard many terrible stories from people.

Some things hit too close to home for people I guess.

There are many historical Jewish sites here in Budapest, one or two I have seen were places where the Jewish people would hide.

my husband grew up about a block from the old"Jewish Getto " where there was still parts of a dividing fence up when he was young.

I have seen many documentaries on this subject, they even upset me from my living room.

Answer 11

YES

Answer 12

Yes, i would go. All those people that say it's depressing and horrendous must go just to see the truth of what happened. This actually is a fact, not a glorified movie. Always beware of the fact that it could happen again, so it would be a shocking salutary "Event"?

Answer 13

Auschwitz should be considered a place of homage not just for the victims but also for the generations to come.

it should be a reminder to all,not just jews,of the evil man can inflict on his fellow man

Answer 14

I wouldn't go.  Going would depress me and ruin whatever trip I was on.

But I don't have a problem with anyone else going.  It might be cathartic for some to go.

I don't see it as sightseeing.  More like a reminder of what is possible, and what always to fight against.  

Answer 15

Yes I would go because it`s a chance to see the site of something that is known about worldwide.

Answer 16

Well, i cannot say as i would make a special trip to visit there (i live in the United States of America). However, i do believe that unless we mark and remind ourselves of the disgrace of man's inhumanity to man, and explain it to the generations who come after the atrocity, the likelihood of repetition is multiplied.



i believe strongly also in the visits of survivors and their family members, to speak and bear witness in our schools. My children, who are now grown ups, tell me that they will never, ever forget the silence accompanying the dignity of the man rolling up his sleeve and revealing  the numbers tattooed on his arm, right in their safe, warm little classroom.

Yes, i can understand your point of view that it could be construed or even used for  gruesome voyeurism....and those who approach it thusly would surely shamed and subdued by the tears and the sorrow of those who come in honor.

I like your choice of the word, "necessary".