During his travels to Europe in the off-season, Fremantle star Nat Fyfe encountered one of the most overwhelming experiences of his life.

He was in Krakow, Poland’s second largest city after Warsaw.

Just 60km from the city is the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp – site of one of the greatest mass murders in humanity’s history during World War 2.

Now a museum, visitors to Auschwitz are often overpowered by its story, and Fyfe was no different.

“Auschwitz was a really harrowing experience,” he said.

“It didn’t dawn on me until 24 and 48 hours past visiting it, just what these people had gone through and the war crimes that were committed only 70 or 80 years ago.

“This isn’t centuries-old history, this is things that have happened in the lifetimes of people who are still around today.

“It was a sobering experience and something I really recommend people go and do, even if they are not into history. It’s really worthwhile.”