Auschwitz-Birkenau

From the point of view of our whole Europe trip, I think there is no question that visiting the murder factory known as Auschwitz-Birkenau created the most apprehension for both of us.
When we left our boutique hotel in the old section of Krakow we both knew we were heading into hell on earth that our forebears died in and the very few that survived from there ultimately gave us life.
The real question for both of us was...why are we even going there? What advantage for us was available there to justify such a visit?
I suppose for Sol it was an important part of his re-living and re-enacting his father's journey of ultimate survival. He had promised his father he would do so once his father passed away.
For me there was no such motivation. My sole purpose in this visit was to acknowledge to all the family I lost as a result of this genocide that we the Jewish people live. We will continue their legacy and will ensure our undivided support of the only Jewish State in the world, Israel. Our future survival rests heavily on the success and viability of Israel.
We learned that the rest of the world, although sometimes sympathetic, has no vested interest in ensuring Jewish survival. As G-D tells us..."I will help those that help themselves".
My own personal visit was about telling the spirits of my family members that I will always remember them. I will always love them and there was no question in my mind and my heart that they were present with us on the whole journey, not just in places like Auschwitz, Majdanek and Treblinka.
When I discovered my families home address in Parczew Poland I was basically instructed through this knowledge to do this trip. There are no coincidences and I firmly believe in the fact that our lives are a planned event.