The Poverty of Piling On

Despite living in Poland for almost a decade, I’ve never been to Auschwitz. Not because I’m avoiding it — the moment has just never come. And I do not want to visit because it’s the thing to do. That turns a site of unimaginable horrors into a kind of tourist trap.

Auschwitz has become a kind of tourist destination, as perhaps was unavoidable. For many p…