BY visiting Auschwitz just once, you gain more insight and knowledge than you ever could by reading about it, writes Lucy Warrington and Annabelle Ireland

We had the opportunity to represent Peebles High School in the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz programme.

What we witnessed has to be reflected upon to commemorate the 1.1million lives lost there, in the hope we can spread the message of why this should, and must, never happen again.

Our group had no overriding expectations of Auschwitz.

While we all had ideas of what it would be like, identifying the meaning and significance of the Holocaust was not something we could pinpoint.

We had the privilege of meeting holocaust survivor, Eva Clarke, who was born only days before Auschwitz was liberated. Fifteen members of her family, including her seven year old cousin, were killed at Birkenau. Eva’s telling of her extraordinary story was an eye-opening experience, and put into perspective the sheer number of lives, stories and connections lost through the Holocaust.

Before visiting the camps, we first made a stop at the Auschwitz Jewish Cemetery, where Jewish soldiers had been laid to rest during the events of WW1.

The Jewish people had established themselves in this town, only for Nazis to destroy them and their heritage. The last Jewish person living there died in 2001. The legacy of Auschwitz still lives on today, although the Jewish community in this town has been destroyed due to the Nazi regime.

Auschwitz I was composed of former army barracks.

The famous Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Makes You Free) gate, was a chilling reminder of the events that occurred here.

The main purpose of our visit, we felt, was to re-humanise each and every victim, and there were numerous exhibits on show to emphasise the number of lives lost. Thousands of pots, shoes, glasses and prosthetic limbs helped show the multitudes of people who were imprisoned here. The suitcases on show particularly stood out, with peoples’ names and addresses marked on the front, each one symbolising a person, with stories, interests and an existence before Auschwitz. Focusing on specific items, you could not help but wonder about the person to whom they once belonged, and about the life the person had lived before arriving here.

The most striking room had a huge display case of human hair. When the Soviet Union liberated Auschwitz, they found seven tonnes of hair at the camps, used to make items including rugs. Small plaits of children’s hair could be seen among the masses, highlighting that even tiny infants were mercilessly murdered.

Ironically, there was, as the sign read, a “fire brigade reservoir built in the form of a swimming pool", being built for insurance purposes in case the camp caught on fire. Even though the purpose of the camp was mass destruction, the Nazis had insured Auschwitz, just in case.

In the corridors hung hundreds of prisoners’ photographs, and although everyone was different, they all shared the look of horror in their eyes.

The second camp, Birkenau, gave us greater insight to prisoners’ lives. The rows of blocks seemed endless, and everything was quiet. Although we had layers of clothes on, we were still cold inside one of the barracks into which victims were packed, and could only try to imagine how the prisoners felt in their thin uniforms.

When the prisoners arrived, they went through a selection process on the train platform. Those who were not seen as fit, particularly the elderly, women and children, were sent to take a “shower”, unknowingly taking their final walk towards the gas chambers. We made that journey, the difference being, we came back. Making the walk, we saw the remains of a gas chamber destroyed, on Himmler’s command, to conceal the aims of Birkenau. Young Israeli groups were also there when we visited, waving flags and taking selfies on the railway tracks. It was an act of defiance, showing that the Jews had survived the old Nazi regime. Although controversial, it seemed justified, after being held in terror for so many years under the Nazis, Jews could now stand up and have their voice heard.

At the end of our visit, the rabbi held a ceremony relating the Holocaust to events today. We were told of hate crimes in today’s society, and why we need to learn from Auschwitz.

We all placed Yahrzeit candles, part of a Jewish funeral ritual, on the railway track as an act of remembrance for the events at Auschwitz, which signified acceptance, commemoration, but, most importantly, hope that events like this will never happen again.

Speaking with others on the trip, we all had varying reactions to what we had seen. Visiting Auschwitz is a very personal experience which can never be described in enough detail. The Holocaust is still alive today, and only through teaching, learning and understanding can we truly stop events like these being recreated in the future.