Auschwitz is situated near Krakow: Poland’s main tourist destination. It’s an old city mainly catering to stag/hen parties and British/Russian tourists looking for cheap alcohol and solid food. The underlying feeling is: should you be having fun while Auschwitz is nearby?
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Auschwitz claims to be an “educational” experience. This is clearly false. Nobody learns anything at Auschwitz they don’t already know. The guides repeat facts and figures that were drilled into every tourist during school and repeated time and time again in the media.
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Education isn’t the point. The purpose of visiting Auschwitz is religious merit pure and simple. The chance to go home and tell people how moved you were, how shocking it all was, and your new mission is to make sure this NEVER EVER happens again by voting Trump or Brexit.
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The fact that Auschwitz is an ultra-capitalist profit-seeking tourist enterprise only further cements its status as modern religion, for what use is anything in our accelerated age if it doesn’t contribute to the economy and an extra digit to Poland’s GDP?
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It’s worth browsing through Tripadvisor reviews of Auschwitz. The cognitive dissonance is extreme. 5-star reviews spout how worthy the visit is but carry hints of boredom and rip-off. Angry 1-star reviews complain of the commercialism of what should be pure of worldly concerns.
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Just outside Auschwitz... is a McDonalds. Is there any better symbol of the ideology that dominates our age than a car park with Auschwitz on one side, and a fast food joint on the other? Thus our physical and spiritual bugman needs are jointly served in one handy excursion.
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This thread is mere observation and not meant to disparage what happened at Auschwitz. I am no Holocaust denier. If touring Poland it is certainly a worthwhile place to visit. Even try the attached café - the mini calzone is particularly good.
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Yet if you do go, pay attention to what is really happening when visiting the camp and you will probably learn a lot more than what is printed on the signboards or recorded on the audio guides, for it is the sacred nativity of a religion that doesn’t claim to be a religion. END
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PS Damn... what a shame I forgot my Arbeit McFrei pun for the McDonalds tweet.
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End of conversation
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