Auschwitz-II, Birkenau: the "Crematoria Waiting Room" and Josef Mengele's office.

[CARL]

is there any thread about the SS experiments done to inmates? i've heard many things but i'd really like to tell apart the myth and the fact as many of the things that have been said look like they have been brought out of a horror movie and not real events! I'd like to read about Mengele's carreer during the TR and what happened to him afterwards...

As mentioned above, there are many works out there that cover Mengele and his "work". I would suggest reading up on book reviews - this will assist you in choosing what to buy.

Incidentally, I am in the final stages of preparing a study visit that will take in one of the sites that Mengele served at following the abandonment of the KL-Auschwitz complex.

[CARL]

Plan of the BIIf compound (click for enlargement)

[CampX]

Thank you for the photos, I intend to go to a KZ on one of my Trips Overseas, the only "Concentration Camp" I have been to is the one in Belgium, and right now I forget it's name, no where near as bad as the others.
There is an interesting set of 4 books called "Doctors of Death" that came out some years ago, I still see them from time to time for sale...the photos are..well lets just say not something many could see without feeling ill.

DEan O
Ajax Canada

[CARL]

Thank you for your comment Dean. The "camp" you refer to in Belgium will likely be either Breendonk, see this thread:

FORT BREENDONK concentrationcamp in Belgium

...or possibly the SS-Sammellager Mechelen, addressed here:

SS-Sammellager Mechelen

[greatwhite]

I went to Auschwitz last year, private taxi and tour with a guide, we are due to spend one week in Krakow in June this year i aim to visit the camp again, does anyone know if you are allowed to go around on your own i found the queues very tiresome, also spending the week in this super city gives us time to see a lot more , i have been told that markets in rural areas are more likely to through up genuine items than the trash sold in the city markets.

[CampX]

Thank you! It was Breendonk, I was looking for my photos which my GF has published ( for us) into a book, I had just found it when I saw this.
To me it was a very moving place.

Dean O
Ajax Canada

[CARL]

I went to Auschwitz last year, private taxi and tour with a guide, we are due to spend one week in Krakow in June this year i aim to visit the camp again, does anyone know if you are allowed to go around on your own i found the queues very tiresome, also spending the week in this super city gives us time to see a lot more , i have been told that markets in rural areas are more likely to through up genuine items than the trash sold in the city markets.

Visitors are indeed able to wander around the grounds freely. Having conducted both detailed private tours and lengthy study tours, I can advise that the best time of year to avoid crowds is to visit either during winter, or the early spring / late autumn periods.