Auschwitz

An hour by train, from Krakow, is the town of Oswiecim and the remains of two of the three sites that made up the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp:
Auschwitz 1, created from a Polish Infantry Barracks, still survives, horribly as it was.
Auschwitz 2-Birkenau is ruined, the result of Nazi attempts to destroy the evidence.

We visited the camps in winter, with a group that included members of Belfast's Jewish Community and local politicians. We experienced these awful places for a few unpleasant and emotionally draining hours, and were able to leave by the (modern) gate marked ‘exit’.

The camps stand as a terrible memorial for those who had no way out.