Krakow based freelancer Danny Ghitis has been photographing Oswiecim, Poland- better known by its German name, Auschwitz- out the window.

These images are an extension of my project about the town of Oswiecim, Poland, better known by its German name, Auschwitz.  I am visually exploring the impact of the concentration camp’s dark history on the Polish people who live nearby.  It is also a deeply introspective experience for me as the grandson of a Holocaust survivor.

There’s an infamous saying from WWII: “All roads lead to Auschwitz.” The meaning is pretty clear. The camp was the central extermination site set up in a strategic location where it was easily accessible from countries with large Jewish populations.

But that was then, this is now. Auschwitz remains as a macabre museum, attracting about a million tourists a year. Most take a 1.5 hour train or bus ride from Krakow to the camp, then go back at the end of the day. Most aren’t considering modern Poland, or what life is like for people who live near this quintessential icon of evil.

I think many non-Poles imagine the country in terms of old black and white wartime images – sallow-faced farmers in traditional clothing or young men in military uniforms, barbed wire, SS officers, etc. For our generation, these are implanted memories from actual photographs in textbooks, movies and museums that have transcended society’s visual imprint of Poland.

So during my travels I look out the window and try to see things for what they are instead of what they were. It’s an exercise in altering my own preconceived notions. A mechanism for living in the moment.  There’s no time to plan the pictures I take because the moments pass by in an instant. Although my split-second reactions are of course affected by my perception of the things I’m seeing, the resulting photos reflect a more accurate reality of the landscape.

Continue reading and see more photos on Danny’s Website.