Never met a museum we didn't love…read more This was part of our 40-person group tour and we could not have had the experience without him. Every person in the world should come here to see how inhumane man can be to man. There are many horrible examples of this of course, but coming here is a must if you are able.

This was my second visit to Auschwitz, and somehow I thought that it would make this visit less…read moreheavy. I was wrong. The tour guides get extensive training and testing, and are super knowledgeable about the history of this place and the holocaust. Our guide gave clear instructions, telling us the areas where we couldn't take photos, areas we could not go, etc. They gave so much information that a lot of the world just doesn't know, but should know. On this tour, we started out at Auschwitz. We saw the rooms that prisoners were kept in, the offices of the SS officers, the gas chambers, and the ovens that were used to burn the bodies (we saw the ones at Auschwitz, although there are some at Birkenau, too). The tour guide explained the procedures they followed. The blatant disregard for human life is chilling. We saw the places where cruel punishments occurred, as well as the place that prisoners were lined up and shot. There are rooms that have a glass wall and behind them are piles of shoes, suitcases, and eyeglasses, and medical devices like crutches of some of the people who were murdered at Auschwitz. To hear about the ways they tortured and abused people and how there was such a disregard for human life is emotionally overwhelming. We took a short break, then drove the short distance to Birkenau. The train tracks for the trains that brought prisoners go right into this concentration camp. This is the place you often see in movies. Very long buildings that were originally meant to house horses had three levels of bunks, some about a yard wide. Each of those bunks slept four to seven people, sometimes even more. The only cushion was hay, which was often caked with diarrhea and vomit, as the prisoners were constantly sick from eating soup made with rotten vegetables, working 16 hour days in freezing temperatures, malnourishment, and filthy conditions with rats who often gnawed on sleeping or sick prisoners. On this visit, I noticed the tour was shorter than our last visit. The last time we were here, we toured the place where Joseph Mengele did his experiments on prisoners. We also saw the room filled with hair shaven from the heads of prisoners' corpses after they were gassed (those chosen to work had their heads shaven while they were alive). The hair was used to make socks, ropes, and other items. We did not go through that room on this visit. The grounds of Auschwitz can be treacherous with the dirt around the cobblestones worn away. We were warned at the beginning to watch our step, which was excellent advice. Of course, the interiors of the buildings were fine. We were advised to bring our passports, and they were checked, so make sure you have yours. Also, be aware that Auschwitz is not in Krakow. The drive to get there is slightly over an hour. Make sure to reserve your spot on a tour, as slots fill up fast. This is a museum that anyone who comes to Poland MUST visit. It will not make for a cheerful day, but it will stir you in a way that is uncomfortable, but necessary to assure that what happened is never forgotten.

This morning a tour guide from the Auschwitz Jewish Center (which includes the synagogue/museum)…read moretook us on a tour of the synagogue (which was the last remaining one in the town and it comprises part of the Auschwitz Jewish Center), and he also took us to the (small) Jewish cemetery. We had arranged all of this in advance, including a private tour guide for Auschwitz & Birkenau - in addition to our driver, who picked us up at our hotel in Krakow early this morning and brought us back early this evening - via the Auschwitz Jewish Center employee at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in NYC (the AJC in NYC doesn't charge for making the arrangements, but they gratefully accept donations). She also arranged for us to have lunch after the tour, at Cafe Bergson (which is immediately adjacent to the AJC, and it's inside what was formerly the house of the last remaining Jewish resident of the town. His family donated the house to the AJC after his death, and a fundraising campaign enabled extensive renovations). Our tour guide from the AJC was a very well-informed and very enthusiastic young man (he's spending a year doing this in lieu of military service) and the cost was only 10 PLN per person (afterwards we met the director of the AJC [a very nice man] and we asked what was an appropriate amount to tip the guide [20 PLN]). We paid only 25 PLN/each for a *delicious* lunch (vegetarian sandwiches, cheesecake, mineral water and coffee). The young woman working at the café was very friendly, too.

I highly recommend visiting the Auschwitz Jewish Center Museum, especially if you are coming to…read moreOświęcim to visit the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The town of Oświęcim, and Poland as a whole, have a rich Jewish history that began long before the Holocaust which you will be introduced to if you visit the AJC. Also, check out their awesome smartphone app Oshpitzin! You can view historic photographs of buildings in Oświęcim with accompanying information and even a super cool 3D rendering of the Great Synagogue! This app is a must for anyone interested in pre-war Jewish life in Poland.

As a young Catholic with a prepared ticket for my trip to Poland for World Youth Day, I wasn't sure…read morewhat to expect and wasn't too excited about going, especially at 8am in the morning. However that is when there's no line! (Later on in the day it seemed like the line was out the window but this was also during World Youth Day so that's a hue influx of people) The museum was surprisingly really captivating and interesting- modernly designed and beautifully put together throughout four floors. No pictures or videos though so I can't share. They have various artifacts and ways of displaying media although after awhile the amount of reading was rather overwhelming. Also loved how every room had a different feel. I was definitely impressed and would recommend this to anyone traveling to Wadowice!

From the owner: Naše regionální muzeum vzniklo v roce 1997 po transformaci z původního Technického muzea Tatra…read more Spravujeme různorodé sbírky, které jsou vystaveny v několika expozicích a pobočkách. V současné době nabízíme čtyři různé expozice - Technické muzeum Tatra, Lašské muzeum, Muzeum Fojtství a Expozici Emila a Dany Zátopkových. Technické muzeum TATRA spravuje celosvětově unikátní sbírku, která typologicky mapuje 120 let tovární výroby automobilů v Kopřivnici. K vidění je kolekce výjimečných tatrovek spjaté s řadou osobností, událostí, konstrukčních a technologických inovací, včetně expozice závodnické činnosti olympioniků Emila a Dany Zátopkových. V pobočce Muzea Fojtství jsou vystaveny zejména regionální sbírky z dějin Kopřivnice a přilehlého okolí, kočárů a řady významných osobností kulturního a společenského života. V pobočce Lašského muzea se nachází expozice výroby kopřivnické keramiky a majoliky, a také umělecká tvorba rodáka a akademického malíře, Zdeňka Buriana. Na všech pobočkách pravidelně probíhají krátkodobé výstavy, které se tematicky vztahují se k dějinám regionu, osobností a automobilky TATRA. Těšíme se na Vaši návštěvu.