Places to Visit

As someone who adores history, there has always been certain places which I want to visit, some are more of a need now than a want. Auschwitz will be of course mentioned, I am yet to go but in 19 days I will be in Poland ready to go there. These are not all WWII areas, some date back to dynasties in China, as I have always had a keen interest in The Three Kingdoms of China. This will probably become more of a bucket list of places I need to one day go to. These places will be a varied list of places which include shrines, temples, prisons and camps. Also Memorial halls as some do not have structured buildings to use as memorials etc. I have been to many places, including Churchill's war rooms, some of the remaining preserved trenches, so many of these won't be mentioned on the list.

A/N: I will continue to add to this list as time goes on. This was going to be a 'page' but Blogger didn't want that to happen!

The World Wars

World War One (Europe)

I have been to a lot of places in France and Belgium which are part of the first world war, this includes Menin Gate, Ypres, Flanders Field and the Somme. Although I focus on the second world war, I would love to revisit the places I first went when I was around 14 years old.

World War Two (Europe)

Auschwitz, Poland. Probably one of the most important places left of World War Two, Auschwitz is the largest extermination camp from the Holocaust. This camp killed over 6 million Jews, this number of course does not include the Roma, POW's and countless of other 'groups' of victims which were sent to this place. After 70 years of the camps liberation, Auschwitz still is one of the most visited places in the world and is still standing to show what happened here. I could list all the camps however, I do wish to visit them all, even ones without structures still standing, to pay respect to the victims.

Other camps of course are a must see, however listing every single camp would take a very long time. I will one day get round to seeing each of the camps.

Anne Franks House (Netherlands) Somewhere which is a must, this house represents the millions of children who suffered because of the Holocaust. Anne Frank is one of the voices of the children thanks to her diary which gives us an insight into her life in hiding. As the children of the Holocaust is such a heartbreaking topic for me I think that this is an important place to go.

Bletchley Park (Milton Keynes, England) This one is embarrassing for me as I actually live close to this location. Bletchley Park is the home of the codebreakers, here the WW2 Codebreaking Huts and Blocks. Thanks to the achievements of the Codebreakers work, it is said it helped shorten the war by two years. This is also the home to where the Enigma code was broken.




The Gestapo HQ (Krakow, Poland) One of the many Gestapo Headquarters, it's extremely important to visit as many as possible, the Gestapo (Secret Police) were extremely ruthless in their work, there are headquarters in other parts in Europe which I would also like to visit.

 Reichsparteigelande, Nazi Party Rally Grounds (Nuremberg, Germany) The home of the rally which are now so famous are still standing in Nuremberg, I think it's extremely important to visit here just because it's the home of the rallys, here many of Hitlers famous speeches were made. I think the size of the place will be a complete shock as thousands would gather here to hear Hitler and the Nazis.

The Reichstag (Germany) The building caught fire on 27 February 1933 However the building after much care was reopened. During the Third Reich the Reichstag building was not used for parliamentary sessions.

Sonnenstein Euthanasia Centre (Germany) As I research and focus on the Nazi Doctors, of course the Euthanasia program is extremely important to my work. I think seeing the hospitals which were used to murder thousands of innocent people who were deemed 'useless' is also extremely important. There are six (including this one) in total and roughly killed around 70,000 adults and children because they were disabled mentally or physically. It started in 1939 and continued throughout the war.


Of course there is loads more I could list, but we will be here all day. I will add to this section in the future. 

World War Two (South East Asia) 

Nanking Massacre Memorial Hall (Nanjing, China)  The most disgusting act of the Japanese during WWII (for me and many others) is the Nanking Massacre (also known as the Rape of Nanking), where around 40,000 to 200,000 innocent Chinese were brutality raped and murdered. Some of the incidents which were conducted by the Japanese has been known as the Asian-Holocaust. They too also conducted Human Experiments on innocent Chinese. This was one of the most disgusting crimes which the Japanese would partake in. A lot of people however surprisingly do not know half of the crimes the Japanese did. 

HellFire Pass; Thailand. Known as the Death Railway, Hellfire Pass is the passageway which was dug by POW's during WWII. The pass is noted for the harsh conditions and heavy loss of life suffered by its labourers during construction. Hellfire Pass is so called because the sight of emaciated prisoners labouring at night with small torches looked like a scene from Hell. 

Kinkaseki POW Camp (Taiwan) The Taiwan POW camps held over 4350 Allied POWs and were some of the worst in all of the Far East, including those on the infamous Death Railway. More than 10% of the Taiwan POWs died in captivity from starvation, sickness, overwork and beatings from cruel guards. The POW's in this camp were forced to slave in the dark depths of a copper mine and were subjected to the most inhumane treatment imaginable.

Changi (Singapore) was one of the more notorious Japanese prisoner of war camps. Changi was used to imprison Malayan civilians and Allied soldiers. The treatment of POW’s at Changi was harsh but fitted in with the belief held by the Japanese Imperial Army that those who had surrendered to it were guilty of dishonouring their country and family and, as such, deserved to be treated in no other way.

World War Two (Rest of the World) 

Stalingrad (Russia) Somewhere which changed the path of the second world war, Stalingrad is one of the most well known battles on the eastern front. This is the place where the the hero Vasily Zaytsev got his title as being the best sniper in WWII. The battle was gruesome on both sides killing thousands of soldiers. This was the turning point in the war as Germany starting to loose once Stalingrad was taken back by the Soviet Union. It's one place I have always wanted to see.

The Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations (Israel) was inaugurated in 1962. Trees, symbolic of the renewal of life, have been planted in and around the Yad Vashem site, in honor of those non-Jews who acted according to the noblest principles of humanity by risking their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Plaques adjacent to each tree record the names of those being honored along with their country of residence during the war. 

Other Historic Eras

ChinaA/N; I'm not going to add the Great Wall of China, as that is an obvious one. 

Three Kingdoms; AD 220–280, China was spilt into a tripartite between the states Wu, Wei and Shu after the end of the Han Dynasty although they weren't lead by emperors, each of the leaders of the states believed they were next in line for the succession of the Empire. The Three Kingdoms was short lived however one era which has inspired games, books, films and music ever since. It has to be probably one of my favourite eras, mainly because I always loved ancient China, I loved the mythical side of it (For example how Zhuge Liang prayed for the winds to change at the Battle of Red Cliff) 

(Shu) Wuhou Shrine of Chengdu, initially built in 223AD,now covers 140,000 square meters.It consists of Liu Bei’s mausoleum, halls memorizing Zhuge Liang and other ministers and the loyal Five Tiger Generals (Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun.) and Pang Tong and Jiang Wei two of Shu's most known strategists along with Zhuge Liang. With its rich cultural accumulation,the shrine has been attracting the public over the past 1780 years and thus has gained a reputation as A Sacred Place of the Three Kingdoms. The Shu temple list goes on and on and on...

(Wei) Cao Cao Mausoleum in 2009, one of the greatest Chinese archaeological discoveries of the year, Cao Cao's burial chamber. The tomb, covering an area of 740 square metres, had been found in Xigaoxue Village, Anyang County, Henan, Its discovery was not reported initially and the local authorities knew of it only when they seized a stone tablet carrying the inscription 'King Wu of Wei' — Cao Cao's posthumous title — from grave robbers who claimed to have stolen it from the tomb.

(Wu) Purple Mountain (Zijin Shan) Plum Blossom Hill The tombs of Sun Quan (King of the Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms Period) and his wife are located here. As for Wu, I could hardly find any shrine or temple which is dedicated to the State of Wu. This is the shrine and burial place of Sun Quan, one of Sun Jian's sons. His older brother Sun Ce had been murdered. While his sister married Shu's leader Liu Bei. 

Other eras. 

 The Forbidden City (Beijing) Somewhere which I have always wanted to go is the Forbidden City, built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and 180 acres. It was used from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty as the imperial Palace. It's somewhere which I will have to visit one day.

The Terracotta Army (Xi'an) or the "Terracotta Warriors and Horses" is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. The army was buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife. I think it would be extremely amazing to see the army in real life as it is such a vast amount of funeral art for the emperor.

The Shaolin Monastery (Dengfeng) For someone like myself who loves Chinese Culture and martial arts which is more than just fighting but a way of living, the Shaolin Monastery makes a lot of sense to visit. the temple has been named Shaolin. Shaolin is one of the four holy Buddhist temples of China. In addition to being the birthplace of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, Shaolin is the first temple that institutionalized kung fu.



Korea (Favourite Dynasties are Goryeo & Joseon)
I will add more.. one day. 

Gyeongbokgung (Seoul, S.Korea) Originally built by King Taejo, the founder of the Joseon dynasty, the grandest of Seoul’s palaces served as the principal palace until 1592, when it was burnt down during the Japanese invasions. It lay in ruins for nearly 300 years until Heungseon Daewongun, regent and father of King Gojong, started to rebuild it in 1865.

Hwaseong Fortress (Gyeonggi-do) is an impressive structure from the latter part of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) and the official fortress of Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do. The fortress (constructed from 1794 to 1796) was built as a show of the King’s filial piety towards his father Jangheonseja and to build a new pioneer city with its own economic power. The fortress wall stretches for a total of 5.52km and has a great variety of military facilities that’s hard to find anywhere else.

I will probably add more in the future. So stay tuned!