The European Wheelchair Basketball Championship in 2015 took place in Krakow. It was a very important event for the city as it gathered crowds from the whole Europe. Thanks to the cooperation with KrakowDirect company, all of the players had a chance to visit Krakow and go on Auschwitz tour. As well. One of the players – Domenico Doro, gave an interview in which he describes his unforgettable tour.
For Domenico, it was the first and, unfortunately, the last wheelchair championship. His physical defect went much worse last year. Because of that, he has become unable to take part in the tournament. However, he would never forget the time, when he had the chance to visit Krakow. He said that it was his most interesting and exciting tour in his whole life. He was always very shy and insecure because of his illness. The adventure with basketball and the championship in Poland took him into a different world. As he said, the opportunity to visit Krakow and to go on Auschwitz tour changed something inside hime.
The championship was for Domenico was a shot of mobilization for himself. „I was practising like crazy. Trainings with the team every day and then at home, alone. I had so much faith in myself, I’m not sure where it came from”. He has become a big fan of Krakow after he had explored that city. „It’s such a beautiful, bustling and attractive city. I’m really grateful for having a chance to visit Krakow.” It is not surprising that he has already traveled there three times.
However, the most memorable thing from Poland for Domenico was the Auschwitz tour. He went there with a guided tour with his friend – another player from the championship. They have spent almost the whole day in Oswiecim and were exploring each part of the concentration camp area. „What struck me the most during the Auschwitz tour were the stories, that the guide was telling us. Stories of the individual prisoners that somehow survived on a piece of paper of a charred diary. „ I could have seen those people and felt like I knew them. The pictures and the barracks made me imagine all those events and that terrified me the most. The facts about the story of the handicapped people in the camp were particularly thrilling for me .”
He admits, that had no idea about many things that happened in the camp during the World War II. „I definitely don’t regret going on Auschwitz tour.” Still, Domenico said, that he won’t visit Auschwitz again. „ I can visit Krakow every year, but Oswiecim is the place where you go one time and remember till the end of your life. Those pictures are so deep in my head that I don’t have to recall them by going on Auschwitz tour again.
