Kraków

Polish pierogi 'dumplings', nom nom nom...

Well, I've posted a lot about Auschwitz, but there were some really lovely parts to Kraków, too. Pronounced Krak-ov, rather than the Americanised Krak-aw, apparently.

I stayed at the 70s Hostel just out of sheer curiosity. It was more of a 'room' than a hostel. Very small, but friendly. The kind of place you stay when you don't have much money and plan to be out 90% of the time. More than four people and finding sitting space becomes tricky. But it is situated in the old Jewish quarter of Kazimierz, which has a lot of character and is an easy walk from the old part of town.

I decided to upgrade to one of their apartments, which was more spacious:

Apartment room.

Funky light bulb.

Kitchen, through a suitably 70s string curtain.

Horses - of which there are many in Kraków.

Tower in the central square from whence
a trumpet sounds on the hour.

St. Mary's - large church in the centre.

Typical Polish church style.

Nice statues.

Krakóv castle.

Tributes one year after Poland's Prime Minister died
in a plane crash.

Percy Bunny chillaxing.

It's a nice town, but I think as far as pretty buildings go, and general atmosphere, I preferred Wrocław. There was a bit of a protest going on as it was the one year anniversary of the death of Leck Kaczynski, the Polish PM, in a plane crash. By all accounts he was a bit of a controversial character and there were protesters both in support of his regime, and against.

Still, nice to say I've been, and had a lovely meal in the square with two Swedish friends I made en route to Auschwitz: Annelie and her daughter Rebecka. We really needed that time afterwards to talk through what we'd seen. Visiting any genocide memorial is an extremely affecting experience - it's good to be able to discuss it, rather than bottle it up.

Auschwitz II

From Auschwitz we travelled up the road to Birkenau, which was the larger satilite death camp, where Jewish people were unloaded onto the platform then either sent to the left or the right. Left was the gas chamber, for mothers, children, the elderly and infirm. Right was the labour camp where many people lasted three or four months before starvation and sickness overcame them.

Entrance to Birkenau, the largest Auschwitz satellite camp.

Entrance from inside the camp.

Carriage used to transport prisoners to Birkenau. Donated by the son of a man beaten to death on the platform for returning to the carriage to collect his belongings.

When the Nazis ran out of bricks, they started constructing bunkers from wood.

Toilets.

Beds, six or more to a bunk.

Guard tower. My Swedish friend explained that it reminded her of the structures that people use in her homeland when hunting elk.

Model of the gas chambers. Crematorium above ground, gas chamber below.

Undressing room, now razed.

Memorial with triangle at the top symbolising the badges prisoners were forced to wear: green for German criminals, red for political prisoners, lilac for Jehovah's Witnesses; Gypsies, vagabonds and prostitutes wore black and homosexuals, pink.

The toilet drainage was insufficient to carry away all of the waste produced, and one surviving member of scheißekommando, the forced labour group in charge of scraping the excess waste into buckets, said that it saved her life. SS officers would leave her alone because of the smell - nobody wanted to come close - so she wasn't beaten as often, and it meant that she could use the toilet whenever she wanted. Many prisoners were executed for leaving their posts to relieve themselves.


See Also:

Auschwitz I

Auschwitz I

Sorry for the silence. Got wrapped up in writing - which I'm supposed to do, what with being on a writer's retreat an' all...then decided to take a drive down to Kraków.

My last trip to Poland was really interesting and, since I'm here, I may as well see the places I've wanted to.

Kraków was about a four hour drive south east of here. Quite a road trip. I stayed at a 70s Hostel (more on that to come in a future post) and booked myself on their tour to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the Nazi concentration camps.

Around 2001-ish, I worked for the Army Youth Services for a summer up in North Germany, and visited Bergen-Belsen where Anne Frank ended up. Incidentally, Belsen memorial centre is run by the same organisation that run the Gisozi Genocide Memorial Centre in Rwanda - the Aegis Trust, who work to prevent crimes against humanity.

Unplanned, yet somehow fitting to spend Rwanda memorial month at yet another site of world remembrance.

Wasn't at all sure what to expect. Hadn't read anything about it. Belsen hardly exists - it was razed to the ground as the Nazis left. The sonderkommando (prisoners forced to work the crematoria) of Belsen kept diaries right up until liberation, but were taken out and shot before the allies arrived. Their diaries were recovered afterwards.

At Auschwitz, the entire camp is pretty much still standing. The gas chambers at Birkenau have been razed, but the one at Auschwitz still exists. Here's a pictorial tour, you can enlarge by clicking on an image:

The famous sign: 'Freedom Through Work.' The original was stolen in December 2009 and returned in three pieces which have yet to be mended. This is a replica.

Along the barbed wire separating the main camp from the SS buildings and crematorium. 600 volts would have killed anyone who touched it and many prisoners committed suicide this way.

Our guide explaining that a band used to play by the main gate every day. The prisoners were not allowed to stop playing even when they saw the bodies of relatives being dragged back out at the end of the day. The idea was that marching music kept the prisoners moving at a steady pace through the gates. In return, the chosen musicians received better living conditions.

Main street and guard hut at Auschwitz. Originally military barracks before being turned into concentration camp lodgings, mostly for Soviet political prisoners. Jewish people were sent to Birkenau, the larger satellite camp.

SS canteen on the left, Crematorium I on the right, in very close proximity.

Entrance to Crematorium I.

Looking out from the undressing room. Last view before the gas chamber.

Hole in the roof through which Zyklon B was dropped.

The gas chamber in Crematorium I.

Adjoining crematorium.

Empty tins of Zyklon B, blue crystals still encrusted around the rim. Four tins were enough to kill an entire crematorium at Birkenau. Estimates suggest the four crematoria at Birkenau were capable of 'processing' 8,000 people per day.

Pile of victims' glasses.

Children's shoes.

Adult shoes.

Gallows where, fittingly, Rudolf Hoess was hanged.

'Wall of Death' against which prisoners were shot. Nearby are wooden posts where prisoners had their hands tied behind their backs and were strung up, causing dislocation of the shoulders which, in turn, meant they could no longer work and were then executed.

Pictures of some of the first prisoners. Male on right wall, female on left wall - most lasted for about three months before conditions in the camp killed them.

And so ends the first leg of the tour. One of the most haunting images was a glass wall containing two tons of human hair, used in bomb fuses and U-boat officers' socks, cut from the heads of female prisoners. It was starting to grey with age and out of respect we were asked not to take photographs of it.

See Also:

Auscwitz II 

Orange Gnomes

I promised escapades and shenanigans.

Yesterday I got back from Poland. Not just over the river for a drink, but Poland proper. After our drink, I managed to convince my friend, Philip, to forego his last train home and continue drinking at my place. So, the next day, I drove him home to Wrocław - the capital of the Silesian Empire.

In the Selisian museum in Görlitz I had seen the model of the town hall at Wrocław. Now I have seen the real thing!

The model.

The real thing.

Like Görlitz, Wrocław is full of pretty and colourful buildings:

You can also climb to the top of a very tall tower in the local church:

Very tall tower.

And look out across Poland:

One of the most interesting features are the wee gnomes dotted around the streets.

These are The Famous Gnomes of Wrocław:

Let’s take a step back to 1981, when an underground anarchic movement, called the Orange Alternative in po polsku called Pomarańczowa Alternatywa. This non-violent movement arose in Wroclaw thanks to its initiator and leader Waldemar Fydrych. The Martial law had been declared in 1981 by the government in order to fight the political opposition that was rising against the communist rule. In reply to that the Orange Alternative movement started painting ridiculous graffiti of gnomes on the facades of public buildings or to cover up anti-communist slogans on city walls.

Not only that, but they were street entertainers and musicians. Skimming just within the law to oppose the communist regime.

Today, Wrocław is home to the largest international festival of street art, called Buskerbus. During my night in Poland it was my privilege to share a drink with one of the founders, an Orange Gnome (and one time political prisoner) - in a true writer's joint: Art Cafe Kalambur, also affectionately known as The Piano Bar. It was incredibly smoky, the beer was cheap and there was a guy playing the piano in the corner. Brilliant!

Fascinating night. Far too much alcohol was consumed (so just the right amount) and quite a long drive back in the pouring rain the next day. But very much enjoyed the experience.

Rübezahl

The above is a carving in the Silesian Museum at Görlitz. There's quite a few carvings there, but I like this one best. It's by Paul Mutter (1920-1970), made c.1945.

I hadn't heard of Rübezahl before, but he's a popular folk character around these parts - in Poland as well as this area of Germany, which was all Silesia.

The entry in the guidebook explains:

Rübezahl, Lord of the mountains, is the most famous inhabitant of the Sudenten Mountains (German: Riesengebirge). Early stories portray him as a demon and ghost of the mines, or even a devil. Later he became a moral figure who helped those in distress and punished wrongdoers. More recently, the growing tourist industry has put Rübezahl to use as a publicity figure.

The Rübezahl character is renowned not only in German-speaking areas but also in Poland, where he is known as 'Duch Gór' and in the Czech Republic, where he is known as 'Krakonŏs'.

There's a section on Nazi occupation is which a little girl fleeing her home thought to take just one possession with her - her toy Rübezahl, which was recovered and displayed below.

When I crossed over into Poland, and Wrocław - the capital of Silesia - I saw many more examples in the street markets.

 

 Interesting titbit of local mythology.

Singing in the Rain

Görlitz main square.

On Wednesday I spent the day in Görlitz, enjoying the sights and sounds. I tried last Saturday but it was absolutely pelting down. On that attempt, I ended up walking around the central square, trying to find shelter, when suddenly I heard this glorious voice ring out.

Listening from under the shelter of a shop doorway, I came to the conclusion that the man must be English, so I went over to say 'hello'. The encounter seemed even more like a work of fiction when he announced his name to be Fairweather!

This chance encounter led to a burgeoning friendship. Originally from Exeter, Philip has lived in Poland for the past nine years and is an integral part of the street entertainment community. You can check out his website.

Görlitz itself is a beautiful town which is half in Germany, half in Poland. You can literally walk over the river and the price of beer drops substantially.

It's part of the Silesian Empire - which, until that day, I had not even known to exist. Thanks to the Silesian Museum, however, I now know loads!

Here's some pictures from my walkabout:

In Görlitz, even the buildings have eyes...

The church is in-spiring.

The streets are beautiful.

The houses, colourful.

So, this is the town in which I made my new friend. Escapades to follow...