I don't think that this is going to be an easy topic to write about, especially for a 21 year old.. however I feel as I have recently visited Auschwitz I must urge others to do the same.

I honestly did not expect Auschwitz to shock me as much as it did. I thought that I had prepared myself and I also thought that I knew what to expect. I was wrong.

Auschwitz is an hour or so away from Krakow on a bus journey, arriving there it looked very military and 'grey'. We entered the Auschwitz site and the first thing to hit me was the sheer size of the site. I expected it to be big.. knowing how many thousands and thousands of people were there.

The whole camp is signed very well, with information posts on every corner and outside every site. The signs are very informative, giving lots of detail on that particular area and sharing lots of history. You are able to actually enter the huge brick buildings and see how the beds, rooms and offices were set out. One of the rooms still sticks in my head today, the tiny room with beds crammed in. Some of the other buildings have the prisoners things in.. suitcases, shoes. Even a room full of artificial legs. I remember taking a step back looking at the huge pile of legs, and thinking to myself.. that was just the people who had artificial legs..? A tiny tiny percentage of people who were captured there..

You are able to enter some of the gas chambers too, which to be honest, is not a very nice experience. The rooms are very dark and cold, and all you can do is think about what went on in there.

It is free to visit Auschwitz and I would recommened anyone and everyone to visit. It is a massive part of world history and to be able to visit the site is a real honour. We must never forget such an incident and I feel the more people who visit the site - the likelyhood of the memories living on.