Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away. Tickets

It was very educational. Lots of pictures & interviews with survivors. A powerful telling of a horrific event.

Very well curated exhibition starting with historical information about Auschwitz through survivor testimonials. A good combination of artifacts, maps, photos, videos, and content to read. Some of which I knew from the Holocaust Museum in DC but a lot of information was new to me. Really good coverage of the political backdrop of the time and the rise of the Nazis. My only complaint was how long it took for me to see everything - about 6 hours split over 2 visits.

My husband and I brought our homeschooled children to see this exhibit. They knew some of the information beforehand, but they said they learned so much more. The interviews, pictures and artifacts made it more personalized. Hearing what each individual went through and what they felt! It was a great exhibit! We went the last day and it was so crowded. It was difficult to read a lot of the messages and writings on the walls. And the numbering and layout was kind of confusing. Overall, a very good experience!

I cried twice while at this moving exhibit. To see actual victims personal items - shoes, glasses, makeup compacts - brings it home that the victims were ordinary people with lives just like mine. It is breathtaking, heartbreaking and very very important to see this exhibit. Highly recommend.

What’s most important is to support these exhibits, so no one forgets. I did not think the exhibit portrayed the vastness of Hitler’s murder machine. There should have been aerial pictures of how entire towns/cities were filled with barracks, displaying the sole purpose of extermination. Seeing a display case with 6 old suitcases is laughable. Walking into a room where the entire room is filled with suitcases… now that provides perspective. Same goes to displaying a single shoe… The audio offered very little to enhance the exhibit, especially when some parts were entirely in a foreign language. I appreciated the history, but found the exhibit a bit disjointed. I think a lot was left out, including how the Nazi’s lived in and stole property from the Jews, the aftermath of finding huge mass graves,, and who was and was not held responsible for war crimes, and which countries did/did not aid the plight of the Jews pre/during and post WWII.

I've always been interested in WWII history, so I didn't want to miss this opportunity to see actual historical artifacts. I am so glad I went. Not only did I appreciate it for the history, but the actual stories that are part of it just blew me away. Watching testimonials from survivors added so much, and while I knew of the horrors and evils of Nazi Germany, hearing it from their perspective and putting a face with those horrors made it so impactful. Even seeing the items on display with their own stories was just incredible- and incredibly sad. Anyone who sees this will never doubt that something like this can never be allowed to happen again.

I recently visited the Auschwitz exhibit. It was exceptionally well done. Bringing patrons through a well constructed history of audio, visuals & artifacts, it told the reality of how hate and silence can lead to carnage, complicity and destruction. It did not fall on deaf ears the similarities which occurred in Europe are again taking place now. From the gross negligence changes in the justice system to the anti-Semitic chants of many Palestinian protectors, it's important more than ever to understand the past so we can recognize the signs of hate to prevent shades of a repeat which was not long ago and not far away. Separately, the people who worked at the exhibit were very nice. One giving my relative a chair while we were waiting in line outside and another providing a wheelchair when we entered.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to sum up my day yesterday. I had an appointment in Boston yesterday. I thought giving my self two hours before an event would be plenty of time in Boston. It wasn’t. My appointment was for 10 and I left at 12. I was supposed to be at the exhibit at 12. Fortunately, I got to the exhibit and they let me right in (before the about 100 students). This exhibit was the “Auschwitz’s Not Long Ago Not Far Away” exhibit. They say it should take about 1-2 hours to complete. It took me 4. All of the things you could listen to, the pictures to look at, the pieces of history they had from there, and more importantly the emotional toll you would feel. There are people in this world who think taking down a statue etc will somehow erase the history of what happened. It won’t. Period. If we try to ignore history or try to erase it or reword it, it will again, inevitably repeat itself. This exhibit says to plan for 1.5 - 2 hours to get through. It took me 4. And by the time I was finished, my body was in physical pain, but I accept that as an honor, in memory of the over 1.1 million souls who did not make it. When you first start you kind of start slow. Learning who the key players are and what their beliefs are that started the entire ball rolling. At first Auschwitz’s was for those politically opposed and then it started becoming a place for the Roma and the Jewish of many European countries. The expansion of the camps began to grow with the increase in numbers of those captured or turned over to the reich. The expansion of the main “extermination camps” where you saw examples of how the rooms were set up. A shower head and pipes, a door with a peephole and the cage around it, the gas masks, the clothes and accessories, the gold teeth, the baby clothes and sock and shoe. These items give you true perspective as to what folks valued. To see the remains of valuables, to hear and read and see pictures about people who did not survive is gut wrenching. Seeing videos taken of people getting out of the “cattle cars” and being sorted, and one line going straight to the pits, never to be seen again is something I could have been told about but never understood the full on magnitude of until seeing it. I am still trying to process everything I saw, heard, and learned yesterday. I know I will never be the same. The pit I had in my chest grew with every step I took. And I am forever thankful to those who survive to be able to advocate for those who did not. To be able to advocate for peace and love even when hate could have filled their hearts. In our world today, we can learn to take a piece out of the survivors book. Don’t let hate and fear win. Tomorrow is the last day the exhibit will be in Boston. If you are able, I ENCOURAGE ALL to go. Learn from history.

I have always been in awe of the haunting horrific past of the Holocaust. It is unimaginable that human beings can treat other human beings in such an inhumane way. The movies and artifacts speak for themselves. This period of time should be seen by everyone and understood. It is a very memorable experience to be shared throughout our lives. I will never forget the Holocaust and this teaching exhibit. Thank you for bringing this to Boston!

It is important for everyone to see how this happened... NEVER again.