Journey to Hell

In January 2017, thanks to the collaboration of the director of the Auschwitz Museum publishing house Jadwiga Pinderska-Lech, I had the opportunity to explore and document one of the most emblematic places of European historical memory.

Using photography as a means to convey deep emotions related to these places full of history, serves not only as visual documentation, but also as a tool to evoke collective memory and stimulate critical reflection on humanity and its history.

The intent was to produce images that are respectful and meaningful, avoiding a superficial representation of the pain and suffering experienced in that context.

The photographs taken in these empty and history-laden spaces, seek to capture the absence and pain and in particular the inhumane conditions in which the prisoners lived.

Managing emotions while filming in dramatic places like Auschwitz and Birkenau was not easy.

It is natural to feel overwhelmed, but it is important not to censor yourself. If an image or a moment is deeply affecting, it is worth immortalizing that moment, even if it arouses an intense emotional reaction.

The first reaction is one of dismay, walking among the remains of a concentration camp, seeing the structures and places where such tragic events took place, can arouse a deep sense of the pain and suffering experienced in those places is oppressive.

Sitting in the snow in front of the freight car stopped on the Judenrampe, I find myself thinking of all the people who got off that car, the wind passing under it produced a sound similar to a moan, the moan of millions of broken lives

I hope that this project will help keep the memory of the Shoah alive through, inviting a deep reflection on what has been and what must never happen again.

Click on the images to see them in full screen.