Fr Pat Sherlock SDB describes a recent visit to Auschwitz with students from Salesian College Farnborough
Photo: Brian Solomon

Two Year 12 students and the chaplain from Salesian College were selected to take part in this autumn's Lessons from Auschwitz project. On Tuesday 14th November 2017 they joined about 250 other sixth formers from South East England on a memorable day visit to Oświęcim and the SS extermination camps nearby.

The day began with an early morning charter flight from Gatwick to Kraków where five coaches were waiting to ferry the students and participating teachers to Oświęcim. On arrival the groups walked to the Market Square, where guides introduced us to the normal life of the residents (about 60% Jewish) before the Holocaust.

The coaches then drove us to Auschwitz I, the former Polish army barracks where existing brick buildings were used to house the first prisoners. We saw the gate with the chilling words 'Arbeit macht frei' (Work makes you free), the opposite of the fate awaiting those who passed under them, and the remains of the first gas chamber and crematorium. The buildings now house museum exhibits, evidence of the callous efficiency of the SS, including detailed documents and thousands of suitcases, shoes and other items taken from the men, women and children who met their death.

From there the coaches made the short journey to Auschwitz II or Birkenau, built to extend the killing to an industrial scale. We saw the railway line, passing under the iconic watch tower, on which cattle trucks transported thousands of Jews and other oppressed people from many parts of Europe. We saw the vast area once occupied by hundreds of wooden huts, housing those who were not murdered immediately after arrival. Reconstructed buildings gave us some idea of the terrible conditions. We saw the ruins of one of the four gas chambers and the building where prisoners were deprived of their dignity and identity before being forced into slave labour.

After nightfall, as it grew colder, we all gathered at the Memorial for a time of reflection, with readings from poetry and scripture and an address from a Rabbi, who also sang a Hebrew prayer. We lit candles and then walked quietly back along the railway line, to return to the coaches, reverse the journey to the comfort of our homes, and try to process our experiences. A long but memorable day.

The visit to Auschwitz was preceded by an Orientation Seminar and followed up with a further meeting to share impressions and plan for future action, including presentations by the participants to other students at their schools or colleges.

Fr Pat Sherlock SDB

College Chaplain