I visited Auschwitz on a very wet, dark, and cold day. Whatever your views on such a "tourist" site, I found the museum to be a respectable tribute to the victims of the Holocaust.

"Work makes you free" Entrance

The retreating Germans never managed to destroy any of the camp, unlike it's neighbour, Birkenau, so the camp is pretty much as it was in 1945.

A Watchtower

The displays containing thousands of suitcases, cut hair, spectacles, and photos of prisoners remind you of the terrible destruction of generations of families.

The Crematorium

Although there were many groups visiting when I was there, the camp retains an almost smothering silence of somewhere trapped in time.

Death Strip

The guide never tried to impress to us about one nationality or religion more than the other, just recalled events. The Polish suffered too, tens of thousands of Poles, possibly more, were executed against this wall.

Execution Wall

Despite the events that it reminds you of, I would recommend a visit to anyone travelling to Poland. Auschwitz will always be a terrible place. However, shocking as it is, it remains an important historical, emotional, and educational place to look at and remember a terrible episode of the 20th century.

The vast site at Birkenau (Auschwitz II)