Auschwitz and outlook

Hello subscribers!

It’s the second Newsletter of the new year and again I can report a recent return from travels (last time it was from Taiwan) – this time from a short spontaneous trip to Poland, more precisely to Kraków. And from there I also made an overnight excursion to Oświęcim in order to revisit Auschwitz (both Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz-Birkenau) in depth.

Earlier today I uploaded a substantial new Blog post about Auschwitz based on this recent visit. A lot has changed at the sites since my first visit to Auschwitz back in 2008. And the new Blog post concentrates primarily on outlining those changes. Amongst them are physical changes, e.g. the fact that the main entrance was moved to the other side of the Auschwitz 1 compound (a change not yet covered by Google Maps – and that had quite a logistical impact on my trip). And then there were all those strict rules and regulations, tough security measures enforced by stern guards and all the “crowd management” measures in general, which somewhat dampened the experience.

These measures are unfortunately necessary because Auschwitz these days suffers from so-called ‘overtourism’. And even though it was the most off-season one could go, the place did indeed feel overrun at times – even in mid-January in harsh wintery weather. On the other hand I gathered lots of information and did on occasion manage to get several good photos without people in the frame. The photo above is one of my favourites, primarily for its wintery atmosphere, and with the focus on the lamp at the top (with its icicles) while the double barbed-wire fence drifts into bokeh in the background (i.e. is blurred).

The new Auschwitz post features a total of 23 photos (a relatively high count for this Blog) and lots more details of changes and current developments are covered – do go and take a look!
  

Incidentally, the fact that I made this new Blog post go up on this date is of significance and it was planned that way – namely to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day on today’s date, 27 January. This official memorial day was chosen because on that date in 1945 the Soviet Red Army reached Auschwitz-Birkenau and liberated the camp – 79 years ago today.
  

Of course I now have the additional task of rewriting and expanding the Auschwitz entry on my main website, and then drafting new chapters and updates for Kraków, also quite a bit of work (four all-new site chapters have to be added, and several changes made to the city entry in general). And all that on top of covering those dozens of new sites in Taiwan from my previous trip … lots to do indeed!

As for further travels, not so much is actually planned at this stage, just a weekend in Copenhagen in early March and then family visits at the end of the month and early April. Hopefully I can slot in at least a little bit of DT during those trips, but it’s not the main focus on these occasions.

And as for how to use the longer time window there’ll be in the summer … nothing’s concrete yet. I have a couple of ideas, but haven’t really started planning yet. I first have to find time to do more research. But if my health issues continue to be manageable it could potentially be a big trip.

In addition, there are technical issues and design questions to resolve for my main website. So, no sign of a chance for boredom anywhere on the horizon for the foreseeable future.
  

So much for this time.

Best wishes,

Peter