In one day, inmates would often no more than half a litre of so called ‘coffee’, coupled with soup often cooked with rotten vegetables, and later 300 grams of bread, 30 grams of marge and a drink brewed of herbs. The caloric value for the entire day was 1300-1700 or often less.

We also visited the supposed ‘prisoner’s toilets’, if that is what you can call them. They were situated inside another wooden barrack and consisted of three long stone troughs running down the left, right and centre of the barrack with a few hundred circles carved out of the top of them. For a long time the camp had no sewerage or water systems. There was a special regulation in the camp that limited each inmate to ten seconds when using the toilets. Sarah and I were told stories of up to three people sharing one hole at once, and fairly often, people would get pushed of the toilet when using it.

Sarah and I did not visit Block 25, however, Kitty Hart Moxen informed us of the atrocities that took place there. This barrack was isolated and used for women who were ill as they awaited their turn to go to the gas chambers. However, whilst in the barrack, the SS guards didn’t feed the women and they were often in there for several days under extremely poor sanitary conditions, many died there. 

At the end of the railway are the remains of 2 crematoria and gas chambers. In the ruins it is still possible to discern the underground changing room, where the victims were made to undress before being killed. Our guide spoke of children’s toys that were still being found at the sight to this day. This was extremely moving and upsetting as it made Sarah and I consider all the friends and family that people would have lost.

Between the ruins of the crematoriums stands a monument built to help us remember the victims of Auschwitz. Sarah and I, along with the rest of the group, stood by the monument and reflected upon the Holocaust following a ceremonial ritual carried out by a Rabbi. Finally, we walked back along the railway leaving candles on the side. In total, 1.5 million people died at Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp. It was hard to grasp the reality of this number at first, however, seeing the evidence and remains of such a terrible event in history helped slightly. I still don’t feel I can ever fully grasp and come to terms with the number of lives lost at the camp; however, when the Rabbi informed us that if one were to give just one minute to each individual that died at the camp, they would be stood there for over three years, I nearly began to grasp the scale.

I’d say that if there was one positive thing that I have gained from this experience, it is that I now feel a greater need to make a difference about the prejudices and discrimination that still exist within the world. I can’t imagine anything worse than more people suffering, and more lives being wasted on the racism and discrimination that continues to pervade the world.

- Aggie