A visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum is a deeply moving glimpse into one of history’s darkest chapters. On this half-day excursion from Krakow, you’ll journey to the site of the former Nazi concentration and extermination camps, now preserved as Poland’s most significant UNESCO World Heritage Site and a powerful place of remembrance.
After pickup in Krakow, you’ll travel to the memorial in Oświęcim, where over a million men, women, and children lost their lives during the Holocaust. Following a self-guided tour allows you to go at your own pace with ample time for quiet reflection. Walk through the grounds, including barracks, watchtowers, and railway tracks that once brought victims to the camps.
Inside the exhibitions, you’ll see haunting remnants including personal items such as shoes, suitcases, and photographs that bring individual stories to life and emphasise the human cost of genocide. The experience offers an unflinching look at the living conditions endured by prisoners, as well as the systematic horrors that took place here.
Visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau allows a deeper understanding of history, and the importance of bearing witness. This sobering excursion leaves a lasting impression, encouraging reflection on the importance of memory, tolerance, and the need to ensure such atrocities are never repeated.