6-27 Mauthausen concentration camp tour

Vienna – 27.6.17 - Mauthausen Concentration Camp

On 27.6.17, Our group visited a former concentration camp in Austria known as Mauthausen. Prior to our arrival, we traveled through the small town of Mauthausen by bus. As we got closer to our destination, the forest grew denser and the sight of civilization grew distant. Sitting on the quiet bus darkened by the rainy sky and thick overhang of the trees, the overall mood became weary. As we were traveling up the hill leading to the former camp, I could not help but think about the thousands of men and women whose last journey was up this very hill.

*Front/left view of former concentration camp, Mauthhausen.*

Our bus parked in the front and we got off, shortly thereafter greeting our tour guide, Hana. A timid voice, but a presence of conviction were present in Hana throughout the tour. Her emotional tone and nonverbal expressions added to the intensity of each part of the tour. We were lucky to have a such a knowledgeable historian to walk us through Mauthausen and describe the events that took place there.

Hana first described the old soccer pitch placed near the infirmary. She discussed how Austrians would come to spectate the games played by the SS Men adjacent to the camp’s infirmary - in sight of ill, elderly and dying prisoners who would almost never receive medical care. It was reported that approximately 400 people died at the infirmary in a single day at one point. This was hard to take in due to the small size of the area. She explained that Austrians would deny their knowledge of the horrors of the Holocaust until decades later. Hana stated how this is exemplified in the change of language in their History textbooks, as their phrasing from Austria being victims, to them being “annexed” by Germany.

We were led further around the exterior of the camp. We noted a large drop-off in the land in the distance, which was previously the scene of the prisoners main labor, where they were to collect granite and carry the large, heavy rocks up a staircase to the camp. The uneven, steep stairs from the quarry leading up towards the camp were referred to as “The staircase of death,” since so many of the prisoners succumbed to the excruciating pain of mining and carrying the rocks. We found it interesting that these stones were used to build the very camp these prisoners were forced to stay in, by the prisoners themselves. One thing that was surprising was that the camp was built beautifully. The scenery as well as the design of the camp is very impressive given the circumstances and the short amount of time that it was worked on. The passageway leading

Italy was most notable to us, with the many names and faces posted. Many of those from Italy came from Tuscany as a part of the Resistance Movement.

We then entered into the gates. A haunting beauty lay before us. Hana told us how the Nazi’s would show off these camps to the Red Cross and other groups, for they were a symbol of modern architecture. These remarks left us feeling uncomfortable with these past outsider’s skewed view of the camp. Hana showed us where the prisoners would line up off of the train, some not even making it past this area into the shower area.

*View of the gates from inside Mauthausen’s walls.*

We ventured around the grounds, checking out the brothel, barracks, and other areas. Our final area was the hospital, which possessed the cremation ovens and the gas chambers in the basements. A heavy and somber mood followed us throughout all of these scenes, particularly the latter two locations. We learned about how many of the women sent to the Brothel in Mauthausen would be promised freedom after spending 3-4 months in the brothel, only to be killed or sent back to the camp they came from after getting pregnant.

The final scene before exiting the hospital and completing the tour was a noose built into the wall, for those prisoners condemned to death by the S.S.

*The ovens used to cremate the people that had passed.*

We felt that the overall experience was one that produced introspection. It feels difficult to articulate words that can encompass the deepness of our questioning of humankind and what we are capable of doing. We feel that “sad,” or even “horrific” are words that fall flat in describing the Holocaust. Feeling these emotions and processing them can help us to understand that something like that can never happen again, not at our hands. Overall, this was an educational experience, but it was a lot more than just that. Mauthausen is a must see for future classes.