This is a stop to make in silence. Auschwitz was the largest of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camps, built in occupied Poland on the edge of the town of Oświęcim, and between 1940 and 1945 around 1.1 million people were murdered here, the vast majority of them Jews from across Europe, along with Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war and others. The memorial and museum, which includes the original camp, Auschwitz I, and the vast camp at Birkenau, Auschwitz II, about three kilometres away, was listed by UNESCO in 1979 as a reminder of the cruelty of humanity.
A visit is overwhelming. At Auschwitz I, the brick barracks hold exhibitions with personal belongings of the victims: shoes, suitcases, glasses, hair. At Birkenau, the scale is staggering: rows of wooden and brick barracks, the railway tracks leading through the gate to the ramp where people were selected for death or forced labour, and the ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria, blown up by the Germans before they retreated. Allow several hours, and take your time.
Entry to the memorial is free, but reservations are required, and during the busiest hours visitors must join guided tours, which are available in many languages and are worth taking. Book well in advance, especially in summer. There are car parks at both sites, and motorcycles can be parked there. Dress respectfully and remember that it is a cemetery.
Oświęcim is a town of over forty thousand people, and it has a life beyond the camp, with a castle, a market square and a Jewish Centre, with a restored synagogue and a museum about the Jewish community that lived in the town before the war, when more than half the population was Jewish. It is worth visiting to understand what was lost.
The surrounding area is flat, with the Vistula and Soła rivers meeting nearby, and the roads are generally good, though traffic can be heavy, especially around Kraków, about sixty kilometres to the east. To the south, the Beskid mountains offer winding roads through forests and hills, a place to clear your head after the visit.
Oświęcim has fuel, shops and restaurants. Many visitors find they need time alone after the visit, and a quiet ride through the countryside, or a walk by the river, can help. Whatever you feel, it is important to have come.