Muzeum Treblinka. Niemiecki nazistowski obóz zagłady i obóz pracy (1941-1944) — Attraction in gmina Kosów Lacki

I visited the site of Treblinka at end of June 2016. The site has good parking and a museum to aid visitors understand what the site was like through models. About 800,000 Jews were brought by wagons to this heavily forested area, gassed and cremated. It was the nearest extermination camp to Warsaw, served by 24 SS and about 120 Ukrainian guards. Today the former camp site has concrete blocks to denote the former railway line and the unloading ramp. Stones of varying sizes symbolically denote cities, towns and villages where the Jews were deported from. There is a very large memorial stone monument at the centre. Farther back is a black memorial to the site of the gas chambers, but not to scale. Metal cone containers around this area are for memorial use, where fire is lit inside them. The site of Treblinka is very sandy and it appears the site is still 'guarded' in summer. You don't see the 'guards', but you may hear them - a loud buzzing. Thousands of hornets burrow in the sand, so be careful where you tread. Usually unknown and not visited by most visitors is Treblinka I a work camp for a quarry, about a kilometer from the extermination camp. The remains of some buildings can be seen there. However all the extermination camps (Treblinka, Belzec, Chelmno and Sobibor) only existed for 18 months or less and were razed to the ground to disguise their former use on...

The museum is very small.Sites of former camps are two - extermination (Treblinka ll) which is close to museum and penal labor (Treblinka I) which is about 15min walk thru pine forrest.In general extermination camps of operation Reinhardt (Treblinka,Belzec,Sobibor) are not as known as Auschwitz,so you have a chance to visit those camps and be completely alone in the entire area.And since lots of people visit those places as if it was just another family trip to kill time,its actually good to be there alone without annoying families who sometimes behave like they dont understand where they are.

Treblinka ll does not offer many things to see.Its actually the Treblinka I further down the road where you can see remainings of the barracks and other buildinga foundations.But its quite far and in two days I spent there nobody was there except for me.Which is a pitty,because next to Treblinka l is execution site and places of executions in the forrest,worth seeing and understanding the bestiality of this place which never ceases to hit you no matter how many camps have you seen already.

I think Poland could do a bit better job at Treblinka ll,to make it more attractive for those who are not naturally interested...

This is where one can come very close and personal to the horrors of history. I am not even sure if the site has guides; it is a self-paced walking tour. You can spend as much time as you want in locations.

There is a museum that really drives the meaning home. Watch the videos, then go walk the grounds. I cried. This place is as close to Hell as I ever wish to be.

It is very accessible even for those who speak virtually no Polish. We caught a train from Warsaw and taxis waited at the station. Our driver said "camp" and we nodded and were off.

Give yourself more than three hours.

Oh, and in May we were accosted by horse flies and other biting pests. Be ready just in case. If you see any camp, make...