Kanada 1

In 2009 I took a solo trip to the Baltic States. I was recovering from cancer surgery and treatment and I needed to do something fearless so that I could shake that niggling voice in my head that kept screaming ‘I have cancer’.

So I booked a ticket for Tallin, Estonia with no planning, no reservations and the attitude that I had nothing to lose. After a week of visiting Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, I took the bus ride from hell to Krakow, Poland. Another 1 ½ hr bus ride brought me to Osterlitz, Poland. Osterlitz is the Polish name for Auschwitz. I wanted to see for myself. I needed to see the concentration camp for myself.

My 19 year old guide, Sophie, was dedicated body and soul to telling the world about the atrocities committed there. One of the many truths Sophie shared stands out. If you like it, please share it.

‘When people were being rounded up and put on trains bound for Auschwitz, they were told they could bring 15 kilos of their most precious possessions. Most people brought religious artifacts of gold and precious gems. Once they arrived, their possessions were confiscated and put in a wharehouse, to be eventually sent to Germany. The Nazis had a name for the wharehouse. They called it Kanada 1. When that wharehouse was full, they built a second one and called it – you guessed it – Kanada 2.’

I was speechless, felt a bit sick and asked Sophie why ‘Kanada’. ‘Because’, she replied, ‘they considered that Canada was the land of wealth and riches.’

It struck me that they were right.