How to Prepare Emotionally for a Visit to Auschwitz

You can’t fully prepare for Auschwitz, but you can arrive steadier. Learn the history beforehand, decide what you want from the day, expect that your feelings may not behave as you predict, and plan some quiet time afterwards. We guide this visit from Krakow every week, and this is what we tell the people who ask us how to get ready.

Key takeaways

• There is no correct reaction. Tears, numbness, anger and even nervous laughter are all recognised responses, and the Memorial itself encourages groups to treat them as normal.
• Reading a little history first helps. Reading everything does not. Aim to understand the context, not to arm yourself against the feelings.
• Practical stress is avoidable: book your entry pass early, arrive 30 minutes before your tour, and travel light.
• Plan the hours after the visit as carefully as the visit itself. Don’t schedule a loud dinner or a tight transfer straight afterwards.
• Think carefully before bringing children under 14, whom the museum does not recommend.

Table of Contents

• Why this visit feels different from any other
• What you might feel, and why it is normal
• Before you go: preparing your mind
• Removing the practical stress
• Should you go with a guide?
• Our perspective: why we do it this way
• On the day: pacing yourself
• Travelling with family and children
• After the visit
• How we can help you get there calmly
• FAQ
• Sources

Why this visit feels different from any other

Most trips are built around enjoyment. This one isn’t, and that is exactly why people feel uneasy before it. Many of the travellers we meet tell us they are worried about doing it wrong: crying too much, not crying at all, taking a photo, laughing at the wrong moment.

The comedian and writer Ivor Baddiel, writing for the Holocaust Educational Trust after his own visit, described his feelings beforehand as a mixture of trepidation, nervousness and fear, and his title says it plainly: there is no right or wrong way to react. That is the single most useful sentence we know for anyone about to go.

Auschwitz is also an unusual place because it is both a site of mass murder and a place people travel to in ordinary comfort. A survivor interviewed by Al Jazeera put that contrast sharply: visitors arrive by plane and sleep in a hotel, while he arrived in a cattle truck. You may feel that gap yourself. Let it be there. It is part of taking the place seriously.

What you might feel, and why it is normal

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial’s own guidance for teachers and group leaders is worth reading even if you are travelling alone. It says emotional preparation should include talking about possible reactions such as crying, hysteria or nervous laughter, which can be defensive mechanisms, and that these should not be treated as weakness or inappropriate behaviour.

In our experience, reactions tend to fall into a few patterns:

• Numbness. People expect to be overwhelmed and instead feel flat, then feel guilty about it. Numbness is often the mind protecting you from scale. It frequently lifts later, sometimes hours afterwards.
• Delayed emotion. The hair, the shoes, the suitcases can pass quietly, and then something small, a child’s name on a label, a doorway, undoes you.
• Anger. At the perpetrators, at the ordinary people who looked away, sometimes at the other visitors.
• Physical tiredness. You may be shattered by mid-afternoon. Walking on gravel in all weathers, concentrating hard and absorbing heavy information is genuinely draining.
• Nervous laughter or small talk. It happens in groups. It does not mean disrespect.

If you need to step away, step away. A good guide will notice, wait for you or tell you where the group will be.

Before you go: preparing your mind

Learn the outline, not every detail

The Memorial’s guidance suggests preparation should cover your own motivation for going and the historical context of Auschwitz as a symbol of the Holocaust. That is a good brief for an adult too. Know roughly how the camp system developed, who was deported here, and the difference between Auschwitz I and Birkenau. You do not need to read every account of what happened. Over-reading can leave you braced and closed, when the aim is to be present.

If you want a structured route in, our guide to an ethical Auschwitz visit covers how to prepare and how to behave, and our Auschwitz Memorial visiting guide explains what the site includes.

Listen to a voice, not just facts

Survivor testimony makes the numbers human. The National Holocaust Centre and Museum in Nottinghamshire hosts survivors who tell their stories, and its recorded testimonies can be watched online. Watching one before you travel can change how you listen to your guide.

Decide why you are going

Write down one sentence. Perhaps: to honour a relative, to understand how it happened, to teach my children later, to keep a promise. When the day gets heavy, that sentence gives you something to hold. The Memorial also suggests thinking in advance about how you wish to commemorate the victims, in a way that fits your own sensitivity. Some people bring nothing; some stand in silence; some say a prayer. All are fine.

Talk to your travelling companions

Agree one simple rule: anyone can say “I need a minute” without explaining. Families and friends who talk openly before the trip, and afterwards, cope better than those who say nothing. The theme of silence runs through survivor families’ history too: the Al Jazeera piece describes a “conspiracy of silence” in which survivors often kept details from those closest to them. Talking openly with your own companions is a small way of not repeating that.

Removing the practical stress

A surprising amount of dread before Auschwitz is logistical. Fix these in advance and you free up attention for what matters.

Dress for the weather and for a lot of walking. Eat properly beforehand, because low blood sugar makes everything feel heavier. Take water. Birkenau in particular is vast and open, with little shelter.

Access matters too. If anyone in your party uses a wheelchair or has limited mobility, read our page on wheelchair access and transfers before you book.

Should you go with a guide?

The Memorial suggests visiting with a guide-educator to better understand the history, and groups are required to engage one. Individuals can also join guided tours. For emotional reasons we think a guide matters even more than for historical ones.

A good guide does three things. They give the visit shape, so you are not wandering through rooms wondering what you are looking at. They set a pace that includes pauses. And they are a calm human presence when something hits you.

The flip side is group size. In a crowd of thirty with headsets, it is hard to stop, ask or cry quietly. That is why we run small groups and private tours, which you can read about in our piece on the benefits of small group tours.

Our perspective: why we do it this way

We are a family-run team based in Krakow, and Auschwitz is the tour we treat with the most care. We do not think the job is to push visitors through as much information as possible. It is to get you there calmly, make sure the history is told accurately and personally, and leave room for you to feel what you feel.

That is why we keep groups small, why we arrange hotel pickup and private transport, and why we never rush the conversation in the car afterwards. The drive back to Krakow is often when people finally talk. We have learned to leave that time open, and to let the quiet stretches be quiet.

If you take one thing from us, it is this: you do not owe anyone a particular reaction. You owe the place your attention, and yourself some kindness.

— Damian Fort

On the day: pacing yourself

1. Start gently. Don’t cram a museum or a hard morning into the hours before. A quiet breakfast and an unhurried transfer set the tone.
2. Listen first, photograph later. If you do take photographs, keep them respectful and sparing. Many visitors find the camera pulls them out of the moment.
3. Take small breaks. A few minutes outside between buildings is not disrespect. Breathe, drink water, look at the sky.
4. Expect Birkenau to feel different. Auschwitz I is brick buildings and exhibitions. Birkenau is open ground and silence. Many people say the scale lands there. Our Birkenau visit guide explains what you will see.
5. Don’t judge other visitors. Someone may look composed and be struggling, or the other way round.

A historian studying site-based Holocaust education has described the work of guides and educators as emotional labour, and the title of that article admits they find it difficult too. If your guide pauses or lowers their voice, it is not an act. This is hard for everyone who works there.

Travelling with family and children

The museum officially recommends that children under 14 do not visit because of the nature of the content, and there is a supervised facility near the entrance where younger children can wait during the tour. Whether a teenager is ready is a judgement only you can make. Ask yourself:

• Have they studied the Holocaust at school, or seen survivor testimony?
• Do they want to go, or are they being brought?
• Can they cope with hard images without panicking?

Be honest with them beforehand about what they will see, and agree a signal for needing to step out. Afterwards, ask open questions and listen. Do not rush to reassure. Our Auschwitz-Birkenau tours FAQs answer more of the practical family questions.

After the visit

The visit does not end at the gate. Plan for it:

• Keep the evening simple. Many people want company but not noise. A quiet meal beats a cocktail bar.
• Talk, or don’t. Some need to put it into words straight away; others need a day. Tell your companions which you are.
• Expect a dip. Low mood, poor sleep or vivid thoughts for a few days are common after an intense experience.
• Do something with it. Read a survivor’s memoir, watch a testimony, or give to a Holocaust education charity. Turning feeling into action helps many people.
• Look for support if it lingers. If distress stays with you for weeks or interferes with daily life, talk to your GP.

If you are staying on in Krakow, our two-day WWII sites route is one way to place Auschwitz in the wider story of the city, but only when you feel ready. Many guests prefer a lighter day afterwards, and the Krakow city tours work well for that.

How we can help you get there calmly

Our Auschwitz-Birkenau tour from Krakow includes live guiding, transport and hotel pickup, so you do not have to think about trains, parking or finding the entrance. We can also arrange private transport if you would rather travel just with your own group. You can see the tours on our main tours page and read how a visit works in our planning guide. For a more private journey, look at ComFort Premium. We don’t publish a fixed price for the Auschwitz tour online, so get in touch with the dates and group size and we will tell you what is available.

FAQ

Is it normal to feel nothing at Auschwitz?

Yes. Many visitors feel numb, particularly in the first hours, and then feel guilty about it. The Memorial’s own guidance treats a range of responses as normal, and emotion often arrives later, on the journey back or days afterwards. Don’t force a reaction.

Is it okay to cry, or to laugh nervously?

Yes to both. The Memorial lists crying and nervous laughter among reactions that can arise as defence mechanisms. If you need to step out of the group, do so quietly and rejoin when you are ready.

How long should I allow for the visit?

A standard guided tour lasts around 3.5 hours, and the museum recommends at least 90 minutes at each of the two sites. With the transfer from Krakow, plan on most of a day, and keep the evening free.

Should I bring my children?

The museum does not recommend the visit for children under 14. For older teenagers, it depends on their maturity and prior knowledge. Prepare them honestly, agree a signal for needing a break and talk afterwards.

Can I take photographs?

For personal use, mostly yes, without flash or tripods. Photography is banned in the hair exhibition in Block 4 and in the Block 11 basements. Beyond the rules, many visitors find it helps to put the phone away for much of the tour.

Sources

• Preparation, Study visits, Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial
• Basic information, Visiting, Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial
• Visiting, Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial
• Ivor Baddiel on reacting to a visit to Auschwitz, Holocaust Educational Trust
• Auschwitz’s conspiracy of silence 70 years later, Al Jazeera
• Survivor testimony, National Holocaust Centre and Museum
• Richardson, site-based Holocaust education as emotional labour, History Education Research Journal

Recommended

• Auschwitz Memorial Visiting Guide
• An Ethical Auschwitz Visit: How to Prepare and What to Do
• Skip Locker Queues: Auschwitz Packing List for a Respectful Visit