My Experience at Auschwitz

Winston Churchill once wrote, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Of course, this is a take from other quotes, but considering that Churchill was a prominent figure in Britain during WWII, I think he’s well-aware of its importance.

I learned in 2008 that my dad’s side of the family has Jewish roots – from his father’s family. The truth is, I never knew my ‘opa’ (grandfather) since he died about 10 years before I was born. However, we were able to connect with other relatives on that side while going on a family trip to the Netherlands that same year. For reference, our family in the U.S. spells our last name as Zwarensteyn, but this was changed during the Holocaust. We still have relatives in the Netherlands and other parts of the world who spell it the original way: Zwarenstein. 

Since then, I’ve wanted to learn more about that side of my family’s history, and after October 7, 2023, it was clearer than ever that my next European visit should also help me further reflect on our family's history and just how lucky I am to be here. For this reason, I added Poland to my trip, with a very specific destination for one of my days there: Auschwitz. 

This was where other Zwarensteins died during the Holocaust, including my paternal great-grandfather Salomon Zwarenstein and great-grandmother Truida de Jong. My grandfather was able to escape the camps, but other family members of his did not. 

From Kraków, I took a train to the town of Oświęcim, which is where the camp is located. Even right after getting off the train, you can feel the emptiness and sadness of the area. As a reminder, Poland was invaded by Germans, and people had already been living there before the war. However, people still live in this town, which kind of surprised me. I just can’t imagine wanting to stay after what happened there. 

From the train station, I walked to an area near the camp where they have food and shuttles. I thought I could walk to the entrance, but you do need to book a shuttle, but it’s only like 10 Polish złoty (their currency). 

When you book a tour, you actually see two camps. This was something I never knew. The location you start at (and need transportation to get to) is called Birkenau. Auschwitz is actually a different location, and you go there after touring Birkenau, so expect a full day to see all this.

Birkenau was originally a Polish military base until the Germans invaded and used it as a concentration camp. A tour guide takes you around both camps, and I really lucked out with ours. He was incredibly kind and respectful of the painful past of where we were. You see everything, the gas chamber, victims’ belongings – it’s haunting what went on there. But I am at least glad that the Polish people have made it an important place to bear witness to the heartbreaking reality of the Holocaust. 

Auschwitz is the camp with the train tracks going in through the entrance, which you may have seen in history pictures. This place was constructed by the Nazis to enable a large-scale genocide. It’s horrific. It’s basically an open field with small buildings constructed in rows. 

My heart broke there. Not just for my family but the millions of other Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis. The truth is, had my grandfather not been able to avoid being captured, I probably wouldn’t be alive today and neither would my own dad. I imagine what my grandfather must have been like before the war, and I cannot fathom how it changed him. And sometimes I wonder if it took a toll on the relationship between my grandparents.

But I do realize how being alive is a blessing, and with so much pain and suffering around the world, it’s easy to fall into anger and hate. But if being at Auschwitz and Birkenau taught me anything, it’s how important it is to not give into that. I am proud of my Dutch roots, and I am proud of Jewish roots. May we all be kinder to one another.