European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 27, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Continued from Page 6 tales of entire towns sickened by their local Industry were common in the months after the fait of communism. Babies were constantly ill. Laundry hanging on clotheslines was blackened by the air that dried it. Now with eyes watering and nostrils burning i could understand those stories. What i could not understand however was How people could live in such conditions. Shortly before noon i stopped for gasoline at a Rural station. There Are plenty of stations Many of them new so gasoline is not a problem. Receipts however Are another problem. I tried to make the attendant an old Man with a three Day stubble understand my request for a receipt but it was fruitless. Instead thanked him and moved on to a a krak6w, arriving at hotel Crak Ovia about 12 30 . A the hotel is about a 10-minute walk from the City Center and also has protected parking. A double room is about $40. My single was just under $30. The Day was misty and Gray but enough Daylight remained for a Brief walk around the City s old town which is Beautiful. Little has changed Here in the past three centuries. Enesco the cultural of the United. Nations placed Krakow s old town on its original list of the world s cultural is the town of Kings. In the Cathedral on the Hill nearly All polish Kings have been crowned and later buried. Pope John Paul ii was Bishop Here before moving to the Vatican. A Christmas Market surrounded the 15th-Century cloth Hall which is in the Center of the largest medieval Square in Poland measuring 220 Yards by 220 Yards. The Market was Busy especially at the Grill Selling polish sausages a Kielbasa. American Christmas music filled the Square. I smiled at the recorded efforts of singers to encourage everyone to sing along during a cheerful rendition of frosty the snowman. A Quick look around found no one participating in the sing along. Just before dark i booked a tour of the Auschwitz concentration Camp for the following morning. The Camp is about 50 Miles West of town. A great italian restaurant on the Square s Southeast Corner was my Choice for dinner. Italian red wine washed the filth of Katowice from my Throat. A guide and Driver met me at the hotel at 8 . For the hour plus drive to Auschwitz through Farmland and Small towns. Barbara Stojowski pointed out various architectural styles and sights along the Way but i wanted to talk about Poland. Quot we have a new problem a unemployment Quot she said. Quot we Don t know she said the jobless rate is about 15 percent in swans on the Wisla River Dine in the Shadow of the Castle and Cathedral on Warwel Hill Krakow. Quot socialism spoiled us Quot she said. Quot people used to go to work. But not the state no longer guarantees a Job. Now she said workers Are expected to work. I told her what i heard from Western europeans who hire employees from Eastern Europe. They often have problems with them and Tell me Quot they Are still communists in their Heads Barbara agrees. Quot this is the biggest problem we have to solve Quot she said. Inflation is also a new problem for Poland. Quot before we had quite a lot of Money Many of us. But we had nothing to buy Quot Barbara said. Quot now there is much to buy but we have no polish sausages were hot items at the Christmas Market. The Pope is big business in his Hometown of Krakow As Are Many religious items. We arrive at Auschwitz about 9 30 . Auschwitz is the German name for Oswie Cim. Barbara said there were three reasons for the concentration Camp to be located Here. A a first the town had factories and the germans needed cheap labor to operate them. Second there were plenty of rail lines for importing that cheap labor. And third Brick Barracks once used by the polish army were already available. Quot it took the germans Only a few weeks to prepare everything Quot she said. During the next three hours we toured the quiet horror that was Auschwitz plus made a Brief Stop at nearby Birkenas a if possible an even greater Nightmare. Wind and rain rattled the windows of the Barracks. We were nearly alone within the wire Fence. Barbara said the Camp should be visited Only on such a Day. In the Spring when the Sun shines and the Flowers Are in Bloom Auschwitz is too pretty. One room contains a Small Mountain of human hair turned Gray by the Gas that killed its owners. This is a tiny amount of the 7 tons found when the Camp was liberated All of it bagged and ready for shipment to Germany to be made into blankets and uniforms. Another room is full of shoes another has a Large pile of suitcases abandoned at the rail Yard by their owners who never returned. Wicker baskets and Metal bowls by the hundreds. Canes and crutches and artificial limbs. A tangled nest of thousands of eyeglasses. These commonplace items give witness to an unfathomable Nightmare. Auschwitz is overwhelmingly depressing. On the return drive to Krakow one item i had seen displayed at the Camp caused me to shudder. It was a ticket for the train to Auschwitz. Greeks brought Here to be murdered were made to pay for their own transportation. To relieve the depression i hustled to the University in Krakow s old town for the Day s final English language tour. On a previous visit to the City a guide casually mentioned that Copernicus had studied at this University in 1491 and 1492. I imagined him being teased by classmates Quot hey Copernicus i can t stand up. The Earth s spinning too fast. A a but during the tour the guide pointed out that Copernicus had developed his View of the heavens a that the Earth spins and rotates around the Sun not vice versa for example a during later study in Italy. My attempt to escape Auschwitz s Impact was unsuccessful the guide pointed out that on nov. 6, 1939, the occupying nazis invited 184 professors to a meeting at the University. They were arrested and sent continued on paged january 27, 1994 stripes Magazine 7
