--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ..Well, I did go. To Auschwitz. And the…" description: "\"“..Well, I did go. To Auschwitz. And the warning was correct. Not because I was not permitted to describe what I had seen, but because I could not desc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/alan-folsom-153736_quote_well-i-did-go-to-auschwitz-and-the-warni_1348005.jpg" --- # ..Well, I did go. To Auschwitz. And the warning was… ![“..Well, I did go. To Auschwitz. And the warning was correct. Not because I was not permitted to describe what I had seen, but because I could not describe what I had seen. The piles of glasses. The piles of shoes. The piles of bones. The piles of human hair. I thought that I had never seen the…” quote by Alan Folsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/alan-folsom-153736_quote_well-i-did-go-to-auschwitz-and-the-warni_1348005.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/alan-folsom-153736_quote_well-i-did-go-to-auschwitz-and-the-warni_1348005.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/alan-folsom-153736_quote_well-i-did-go-to-auschwitz-and-the-warni_1348005.jpg) > ““..Well, I did go. To Auschwitz. And the warning was correct. Not because I was not permitted to describe what I had seen, but because I could not describe what I had seen. The piles of glasses. The piles of shoes. The piles of bones. The piles of human hair. I thought that I had never seen the kind of thinking that did this, that I had never seen this kind of reality. Not in movies, not in theater. Yet it was real.”” Alan Folsom ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes the horror of Auschwitz, noting the inability to fully convey its reality despite being a witness. **In simple terms:** Auschwitz horror defies description. Key Takeaway Remember and bear witness. Themes history atrocity memory silence witnessing Mood somber grave Type historical testimonial When to use this quote - education - remembrance - humanitarian work Key Concepts human rights trauma ethical testimony Questions to Reflect On - How can we honor such memories? - What responsibilities do witnesses have? A Different Perspective Words may never capture true horror. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Auschwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) ## Related quotes > [It is a flat'ning Thought, that the more we have seen, the less we have to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/it-is-a-flat-ning-thought-that-the-more-we-have-seen-the-less-we-have/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Strange, i thought i knew you well, thought i had read the sky, thought i had seen a change in your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/strange-i-thought-i-knew-you-well-thought-i-had-read-the-sky-thought/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [You never know what's going to happen to you when you head out into the big world. And when you get older, you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/you-never-know-what-s-going-to-happen-to-you-when-you-head-out-into/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [Their lives ran in circles so small They thought they'd seen it all](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-shocked/their-lives-ran-in-circles-so-small-they-thought-they-d-seen-it-all/) [Michelle Shocked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-shocked/) > [“He did not alarm her, for she thought she had seen him before in the faces of many women who have no children. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-barrie/he-did-not-alarm-her-for-she-thought-she-had-seen-him-before-in-the/) [J.M. Barrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-barrie/) > [I have thought that I have seen ghosts on many occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-caldwell/i-have-thought-that-i-have-seen-ghosts-on-many-occasions/) [Taylor Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-caldwell/) > [“I thought that to get to know a desert it was enough to have been there. I thought that to have seen the dogs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-g-le-cl-zio/i-thought-that-to-get-to-know-a-desert-it-was-enough-to-have-been/) [J.M.G. Le Clézio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-g-le-cl-zio/) > [“She said something to you and you smiled and I thought to myself that I'd never seen anything so... I don't know... I'd never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kubica/she-said-something-to-you-and-you-smiled-and-i-thought-to-myself-that/) [Mary Kubica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kubica/) > [“I never said it was her and I thought I'd seen that look before. But every time a woman looks at me it feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rohmer/i-never-said-it-was-her-and-i-thought-i-d-seen-that-look-before-but/) [Éric Rohmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-rohmer/) > [Eighteen months before I was born, my mother was in Auschwitz. She weighed 49 pounds. She always told me that God saved her so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/eighteen-months-before-i-was-born-my-mother-was-in-auschwitz-she/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [My own interest in Kafka's letter came about when I was writing an article on Peter Ginz, the boy novelist held in Terezin, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cartwright/my-own-interest-in-kafka-s-letter-came-about-when-i-was-writing-an/) [Justin Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cartwright/) > [No sane person wants hell to exist. No sane person wants evil to exist. But hell is just evil eternalized. If there is evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/no-sane-person-wants-hell-to-exist-no-sane-person-wants-evil-to-exist/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“I remember that one Holy Week, the magazine I got every Thursday, Anteojito , came with a free poster depicting the Stations of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcelo-figueras/i-remember-that-one-holy-week-the-magazine-i-got-every-thursday/) [Marcelo Figueras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcelo-figueras/) > [We need creativity. We need more poetry after Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/we-need-creativity-we-need-more-poetry-after-auschwitz/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [I stated that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are 'among the most unspeakable crimes in history.' I took no position on just where they stand on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-stated-that-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-are-among-the-most-unspeakable/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Auschwitz quotes > [I stated that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are 'among the most unspeakable crimes in history.' I took no position on just where they stand on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-stated-that-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-are-among-the-most-unspeakable/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [We need creativity. We need more poetry after Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/we-need-creativity-we-need-more-poetry-after-auschwitz/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [“I remember that one Holy Week, the magazine I got every Thursday, Anteojito , came with a free poster depicting the Stations of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcelo-figueras/i-remember-that-one-holy-week-the-magazine-i-got-every-thursday/) [Marcelo Figueras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcelo-figueras/) > [No sane person wants hell to exist. No sane person wants evil to exist. But hell is just evil eternalized. If there is evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/no-sane-person-wants-hell-to-exist-no-sane-person-wants-evil-to-exist/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [My own interest in Kafka's letter came about when I was writing an article on Peter Ginz, the boy novelist held in Terezin, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cartwright/my-own-interest-in-kafka-s-letter-came-about-when-i-was-writing-an/) [Justin Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cartwright/) > [Eighteen months before I was born, my mother was in Auschwitz. She weighed 49 pounds. She always told me that God saved her so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/eighteen-months-before-i-was-born-my-mother-was-in-auschwitz-she/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [“I am keenly aware that the security we enjoy is frail, and could easily be disrupted. Secretly, a nagging fear gnaws at me: what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/i-am-keenly-aware-that-the-security-we-enjoy-is-frail-and-could/) [Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/) > [There is more to Jewish history than Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-gary/there-is-more-to-jewish-history-than-auschwitz/) [Romain Gary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-gary/) > [“I once conjured up this image of Hitler. I imagined that he didn’t kill himself and that he was kept in a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-haybittle/i-once-conjured-up-this-image-of-hitler-i-imagined-that-he-didn-t/) [Glenn Haybittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-haybittle/) > [“In February, 1943, eight months before she was murdered in Auschwitz, the German painter Charlotte Salomon killed her grandfather. Salomon’s grandparents, like many Jews,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/in-february-1943-eight-months-before-she-was-murdered-in-auschwitz/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [There is no question in my mind that we live in one of the truly bestial centuries in human history. There are plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-chargaff/there-is-no-question-in-my-mind-that-we-live-in-one-of-the-truly/) [Erwin Chargaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-chargaff/) > [I know that elections must be limited only to those who understand that the Arabs are the deadly enemy of the Jewish state, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meir-kahane/i-know-that-elections-must-be-limited-only-to-those-who-understand/) [Meir Kahane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meir-kahane/) > [“It was, unbelievably, not the most depressing thing we had ever seen: a bride, ripped from her own wedding, separated from her groom, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-was-unbelievably-not-the-most-depressing-thing-we-had-ever-seen-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“He sounded chilly. “I’m sure she is.” Allegra was trying to back off, but she was annoyed that he had taken her father’s part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/he-sounded-chilly-i-m-sure-she-is-allegra-was-trying-to-back-off-but/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [Auschwitz was one of the wealthiest places in the world. Everyone who was deported there had been in such a hurry that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-lasker-wallfisch/auschwitz-was-one-of-the-wealthiest-places-in-the-world-everyone-who/) [Anita Lasker-Wallfisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-lasker-wallfisch/) [Browse all 168 Auschwitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“..Well, I did go. To Auschwitz. And the warning was correct. Not because I was not permitted to describe what I had seen, but because I could not describe what I had seen. The piles of glasses. The piles of shoes. The piles of bones. The piles of human hair. I thought that I had never seen the kind of thinking that did this, that I had never seen this kind of reality. Not in movies, not in theater. Yet it was real.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Folsom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-folsom/well-i-did-go-to-auschwitz-and-the-warning-was-correct-not-because-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Auschwitz" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-folsom/well-i-did-go-to-auschwitz-and-the-warning-was-correct-not-because-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/alan-folsom-153736_quote_well-i-did-go-to-auschwitz-and-the-warni_1348005.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/alan-folsom-153736_quote_well-i-did-go-to-auschwitz-and-the-warni_1348005.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/alan-folsom-153736_quote_well-i-did-go-to-auschwitz-and-the-warni_1348005.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“..Well, I did go. To Auschwitz. And the warning was correct. Not because I was not permitted to describe…” — Alan Folsom", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Folsom", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-folsom/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“..Well, I did go. To Auschwitz....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-folsom/well-i-did-go-to-auschwitz-and-the-warning-was-correct-not-because-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-folsom/well-i-did-go-to-auschwitz-and-the-warning-was-correct-not-because-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```