I recently visited the beautiful city of Krakow in Poland with my wife, mother inlaw and father inlaw . The opportunity was there to visit the Nazi death camp Auschwitz and although I was reluctant to visit such an evil place I felt drawn with the sole purpose to experience the space and hopefully gain a further understanding of what happened there nearly 70 years ago . My father inlaw Ian and myself made the trip . I wanted to create a set of photographs that evoke a sense of dread and hopelessness and ultimately force the viewer to ‘look and think’ .
Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz 2 Birkenau was created with the sole purpose of genocide . . . to annihilate the Jewish race but it was not just Jews who were killed here, the Nazis also used the camps to gas Russian POWS, gypsies, and homosexuals . In total over 1.5 million people were sent here from all over Europe and murdered in the gas chambers .
I’m really glad that I took the time to visit this place as I learned and saw things that made me gasp with astonishment! I have not been able to sleep since but I suppose that is down to me being thoughtful about the images I wanted to present in this post.
I will never forget my visit and I will never forget the innocent people who lost their lives there .
The image below shows the main gate entrance to Auschwitz 1 displaying the sign “Arbeit Macht Frei” . . . In German this means “work makes you free” . This was designed to give the Jews false hope that they may make it our alive . In fact, work only prolonged their suffering as they were eventually sent to the gas chamber when they became too weak to work .
Zyklone B . . . the pesticide used to gas the victims .
Masses upon masses of human hair
The Nazis would constantly play mind games with the Jews . The image below shows the suitcases of the victims and the SS would tell the Jews to write their names and addresses on the cases so that ‘they would know which was theirs when they finally leave the camp’ . Again, it was all done to give the Jews false hope. I find this image particularly upsetting as the case in the lower left of the image is painted with the word ‘kind’, meaning child.
Shoes that once belonged to children
The court yard next to block 11 . In the distance you can see the shooting wall used to execute Russian POWs
The notorious block 11 . This is were the nazis brought what they called ‘serious offenders to the regime’ for torture and execution . The basement in this block was also used to conduct medical experiments on women and children by nazi doctors. 
SS guard sleeping quarters
Stairs leading to the basement of block 11
The gallows
The gallows were Rudolf Hoes, the commandent of Auschwitz was hung after the liberation of the camp
The chimney to the crematorium at Auschwitz 1
Inside the gas chamber at Auschwitz 1
The entrance to Auschwitz 2, Birkenau . It was through this single opening and single railway line that over a million people were transported to the gas chambers 
Over 100 people were crammed into these carts with no windows . Some Jews were transported from places as far away as Greece which could take up to 7 days! The carts remained shut and they were given no food and no water . Many people lost their lives even before they got to Auschwitz
The ruins of the gas chambers at Birkenau
The toilet block for women and children
Sleeping quarters for women and children
Engravings on the wall made by the victims
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There’s nothing to say that hasn’t been said by all the other people who have commented – harrowing, bleak, desperate. It must be a very difficult experience just visiting, never mind photographing there.
A fantastically gritty and thought provoking series of images Liam.
A powerful collection of images Liam.
thank you for this post Liam – so very moving,a testament and memory to all those who lost their lives.
Very moving Liam, chilling stuff.
I’m struggling to come up with something to say. I’m just amazed you could do this when I find it so hard to look at a pile of glasses.
Incredibly powerful, moving and tradgic Liam, I could not help but shed a tear when I thought of the incredible suffering and cruelty that the victims of one of the most tragic atrocities in human history must have had to endure. The dark moody look of your images enhances these feelings even further.
This is such a place that each member of the BNP should be forced to witness with their naked eyes I think…
I can’t even begin to put into words how those photographs make me feel. So haunting and bleak but I also want to show everyone I know in the hopes that it can stop anything like that ever happening again. Exceptional images that tell a harrowing story.
We do need to be reminded of such horrors and inhumanity, and your dramatic, cold images are powerful and moving. May such images stand as a warning, and an epitaph to the unimaginable number who suffered there.
Hope your nightmares ease soon!
A very moving post Liam.
Harrowing images. Your work conveys the sheer horror of the place, just looking at them makes me feel sad and scared in equal measure, I can only imagine what it must feel like to actually visit the camp. An extremely moving post.
Great imagery Liam offering an insight into the horrors of such a place.
Giving each image an individual setting on the blog gives us the viewer a chance to really take in each dramatic and poignant story to each photo.
I can understand why your having sleepless nights.
A very moving set of images, Liam, made even more poignant by both the weather conditions and your processing.
The camp has to stand as both a memorial to those that suffered there, but to show everyone what evils the Nazis were capable of and why something like this should never be allowed to happen again.