Remembering the Past While Establishing a New Future

Immediately after arriving in Poland, we were brought on a walking tour of Oświęcim – the town we were staying in. Led by Sister Mary, we traveled through time, fluctuating between three distinct periods: Oświęcim before, during, and after the Shoah. Referred to as Oshpitzin by the Jewish community, which means “guests” in Yiddish, Sister Marry informed us that this town was viewed as a place for all Jews seeking asylum. Hearing this, and knowing that Oświęcim also housed the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp (Auschwitz II – Birkenau), completely shocked me. For this area of refuge, which once nourished and supported Jewish life, to do a complete 180 and become the location of the murder factory responsible for devouring the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews, was unfathomable. However, as discouraging as this realization was, as our tour continued it became increasingly more evident that despite living in the shadow of the Holocaust, the town of Oświęcim maintained a sense of resilience that no darkness could extinguish.

Only Surviving Jewish Cemetery in Oświęcim

Our first stop on this tour was at a Jewish cemetery — the only one left in the town. As we waited outside of its gate, Sister Mary briefed us on the history of this cemetery. She explained to us that during the war, in an effort to rid Oświęcim of Jewish influence, this sacred ground was demolished by Nazis. Once we entered the cemetery, this became all too clear. Slightly overgrown and with a sense of abandonment seeping through its walls, it was obvious that this was a place that had seen much devastation. However, after taking a few minutes to walk around its premises, a new story began to be told. According to Sister Mary, once the war was over, efforts were made by the community to restore the cemetery the best that they could. This could be seen through the several memorials made by tombstones misplaced during the destruction caused by the Nazis. Unable to place these stones with their proper owner(s), they were refurbished in a way that allowed for them to recognize not only who they once stood for, but for the larger community of souls lost during the Shoah. Just before leaving the cemetery, Sister Mary and Dr. Procario-Foley guided our attention to the grave of the last Jewish resident of Oświęcim. As tragic as this news may have been, seeing the grave was incredibly powerful, as it symbolized both the devastation of the Shoah and the resilience of the Jews. Covered in stones (a Jewish tradition for remembering and honoring the deceased), this grave may have marked the end of Oświęcim’s Jewish population, but it also demonstrated that just because the Jews were no longer being represented physically, their influence throughout the town remained.  

Festival of Life Mural

This idea was further exemplified at the next stop on our tour: a mural dedicated to the Festival of Life. An annual celebration held in Oświęcim, this gathering was designed as a means of demonstrating and encouraging the further development of “peaceful relations beyond cultural and state borders where there is no place for racism, anti-Semitism, and other forms of xenophobia” (http://lifefestival.pl/en/about-festival). Held in the town home to the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp, this celebration of diversity indicates just how far Oświęcim has come since the Holocaust. In an effort to establish the town as one of hope rather than despair, this festival encourages those who attend to remember the unfathomable acts that took place within its borders by showing them just how much the town has grown. Using the arts as a medium to unite the variety of individuals it attracts, Oświęcim’s Life Festival combines cultures from around the globe, educating each attendee on the history of the Holocaust, and thus exemplifying the importance of tolerance – a mindset the once Nazi controlled town lacked, but has since reacquired.

By: Kade Lamontagne

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The Power of Hate

On the second night of our visit to Poland, we were privileged to hear the first of three lectures by Father Manfred. He, a German Holocaust scholar, spoke of Rudolf Hoess, the Commander of Auschwitz. Hoess was the subject of Father Manfred’s dissertation, which developed into the book, “And Your Conscience Never Haunted You?” I spent a few days mulling over this title. The question itself is so important in trying to dissect the mind of one of the most savage people that orchestrated the Holocaust, but the question itself does not seem complete. The “And” indicates that it was part of a much larger question, but this piece seemed like the latter part which was odd to me because it seems like such an important piece.

Father Manfred's book on Hoess

My utter fascination with this question stems from my lack of understanding in how a man can demand the slaughter of millions of people. I find it hard to even comprehend how a man like this can even have a conscience much less one that bothered him. The article “How Grandson of Auschwitz Boss Is Trying to Remake Family Name” by Naftali Bendavid and Harriet Torry, follows the life of Rainer Hoess, the grandson of Rudolf Hoess. Rainer, disgusted with the actions of his grandfather, spends his life desperately trying to reconcile with his lineage. He even has tattoos of the Star of David and the Auschwitz numbers of survivors he has met. Included in this article is a quote from the autobiography of the Commander of Auschwitz himself. In regards to the horrors he committed, Rudolf Hoess said, “‘The reasons behind the extermination program seemed to me right,’ he wrote. ‘I did not reflect on it at the time: I had been given an order, and I had to carry it out’” (Course Pack II, p. 38). This quote indicates, to me, that he did not feel regret for his actions. His duty to the Third Reich overtook any sort of conscience he might have possessed. But, how did this ‘duty’ arise? How can his ‘cause’ make him forget that the Jews were people? Did he not know that the Jewish have not only the right to live their lives as much as anyone else, but that they deserved life more than him, a ruthless murderer?

Rainer Hoess, grandson of Rudolf Hoess

Father Manfred spoke much about the Nazi power to overcome their consciences. The Nazis used hate to power them. This pure, irrational hatred fueled their actions and not only allowed them to forget how to treat people, but also annihilated their consciences. In one of the bunkers at Auschwitz, a video played and in the video, a young Jewish girl’s diary was being read aloud. In it, she described an event in which a Nazi soldier took a Jewish baby out of a stroller and killed it by bashing it against a lamppost. I cannot even imagine witnessing that. I cannot even imagine how that Nazi soldier justified taking the life of an innocent baby who had done absolutely nothing to warrant a death as horrific as that. Did this man have no morals? No heart? No feeling? If we assume that this man possessed or once possessed a conscience and a moral code, then this horrific incident demonstrates how incredibly deep the Nazi hatred ran.

Nazi soldier stepping on the body of a child

It is important to prevent the future people of this earth from feeling this hatred ever again. It is important for all people to realize that an action fueled by hatred is irrational and will continue to let evil prevail over the earth. In “Immunizing pupils against extremism’ with Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf,” Josef Kraus argues that “excerpts (of Mein Kampf) should be read in sixth forms in hopes that young people can become immunized and resistant to extreme notions” (Course Pack II, p. 14). Kraus proposes that the ideology and intense hatred taught and practiced by the Nazis can and should be expelled from this earth through education. It is important that young people be exposed to ‘extremist’ ideologies in a setting that can not only be moderated by an educator, but one in which young people can examine the effects of these ideologies such as ‘12 years of mass murder’ (“Immunizing Pupils…”, Course Pack II, p. 14). Without such education, the potential for future generations to relapse into this mindset remains possible thus allowing for another catastrophe rooted in hate to occur once again.

Photo 1: http://www.books.e-oswiecim.pl/manfred-deselaers-and-your-conscience-never-haunted-you-the-life-of-rudolf-hoss-commander-of-auschwitz-and-the-question-of-his-responsibility-before-god-and-human-beings.html, Accessed Mar. 23

Photo 2: http://www.tlz.de/web/zgt/politik/detail/-/specific/Enkel-des-Auschwitz-Kommandanten-Wir-muessen-den-braunen-Mob-stoppen-1464232450, Accessed Mar. 23

Photo 3: Taken at Auschwitz, Mar. 16

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Preserving Memories of Lives Lost

Arbeit Macht Frei - "Work Sets You Free"

My first visit to Auschwitz I on Monday, March 13, did not surprise me. The setting and atmosphere were very similar to my expectations. As I imagined what Auschwitz would be like, I pictured rows of brick buildings and a solemn, quiet air of respect and reflection blanketing the camp. This is exactly the scene I entered as I passed through the Arbeit Macht Frei gate.

What did surprise me, however, were the staggering remnants of murder on display in the exhibitions throughout the camp.

Very early on in our class tour, an urn of human ashes stood on a pedestal in a barrack as a symbol of the million plus murders that the Nazis perpetrated. One would be hard-pressed to think of another symbol that could more directly confront one with the horrific tragedy of Auschwitz I. Before long, however, I would view several more exhibits that offered hard visualizations of the mass murder that occurred over seven decades ago.

The first of these exhibits was a shocking display of human hair that reached from one side of the barrack room to the other. Seven tons of hair sat behind the glass barrier, according to our guide, Bart. SS men shaved the bodies of Jews murdered in the gas chambers before the bodies were taken to the crematoria. Some of the hair would be sold to parties interested in its practical use, such as organizations in the textile industry.

40,000 pairs of shoes stretched across the room

Shortly after this, Bart led us to a room with a mountain of shoes stretching its length on both sides. 80,000 individual shoes lied strewn about, creating a sight of immense loss. These two exhibits made it easy for me to visualize the millions of people whom the SS killed during the Holocaust, leaving nothing but shaved hair, tattered shoes and whatever memories surviving family and friends held onto.

The Death Wall

Eventually, our tour led us to a reconstruction of the Death Wall. In front of this stone wall, prisoners of Auschwitz who earned the ire of the SS were lined up and shot in the back of the head. Contextualized by everything else we had learned throughout the tour, it was easy to imagine the gruesome act of cruelty. As Auschwitz escapee Kazimierz Piechowski explained in the documentary film The Runaway, the bodies were then dumped in the nearby corner and involuntarily carried away by prisoners.

Crematorium exterior

Near the end of the tour, we entered a gas chamber and crematorium where about a million or more Jews took their final breaths. I learned that 340 bodies could be cremated each day. It was impossible to do anything other than reflect on the staggering amount of loss committed by the SS in those very rooms.

I thought of the 1543 anti-Semitic treatise by Martin Luther, On the Jews and Their Lies, that I studied in class. The treatise attempted to demonize Jews and promoted atrocities against them, including exile from their homes. This teaching of contempt contained in the text contributed to the mentality that fueled the Holocaust and the terrible acts of murder I saw evidence of throughout the museum.

After touring Auschwitz I and becoming a witness of the Nazi crimes, all one can do is ask questions that may never find answers and attempt to preserve the memory of the millions of lives lost by remembering and spreading the names and stories preserved at the camp.

by Michael Coppola

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Pope John Paull I- Love is Stronger Than Hate by:Allyx Fabiano

           After a good night's sleep, our group woke up, ate breakfast, and was ready to go for the day. Sister Mary took us to the Pope John Paul II museum in Wadowice. Before going to this museum, I knew very few things about the former pope and his life, so I was excited to learn more about him and tour the museum. As we arrived, we were informed that the museum was the pope’s former home.

            In the first part of the tour, our tour guide informed the group of his life before becoming the pope; his life as Karol. Karol lived a hard life as a child, his mother passed away when he was nine and his brother a few years later when he was twelve. One part of his childhood that stood out to me was that his best friend growing up was Jewish. Our tour guide informed us that in Wadowice 2,000 of the 10,000 citizens were Jewish. Therefore, Karol was surrounded by many in his earlier life. 

After receiving his PhD in theology, he eventually joined the priesthood following the passing of his father in 1941. Eventually, he worked his way up in priesthood, becoming the youngest bishop in the world at the age of 38 in 1958, and became pope in 1978.

The pope, the most powerful figure in the Catholic church, however he was very involved in the Jewish relations and extremely respectful of the religion. As pope, he visited their holy land, and prayed with them, and like them. This showed the Jewish people that the Catholic church stood in solidarity with them, even after such tragedy occurred.

When our tour guide was explaining this to us, it made me think of Martin Luther and his writing The Jews and their Lies. These two men practiced the same religion, but acted in such different manners to the Jewish people. Luther, though he lived hundreds of years before the pope, was drastically different. He published this book stating that the Jews were liars and should be hated by all because of their demonic acts and refusal to convert to Catholicism. The Pope did the opposite. He acted as a true Catholic and an amazing leader of the church, showing his people to love all people, even the Jewish people. His love for his childhood friendship and for fellow human beings, trumped the idea of hate between Catholics and Jews. 

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The Important Questions

            I took this class hoping to find answers to some of the difficult questions surrounding the tragedy of the Holocaust, but instead of answers, I’ve only gotten more questions. I’ve learned that some of the most important questions simply don’t have answers. Questions like “What kind of horrible human beings could orchestrate an event like this?” or “People must have been aware of the situation, how could they sit idly by?” or even bigger questions like “Where was God?”

            The one question that particularly plagued me was as follows; how could a human being with any sort of moral compass ignore the tragedies occurring right in their own country? After visiting Auschwitz, it became nearly impossible for me to believe that those anywhere near a camp could ignore what was happening there. The camps were enormous, covering an incredible amount of space. I’m sure at the time they were operating it was loud, smelly and again, nearly impossible to overlook. Visiting Auschwitz and seeing just how close in proximity some houses were to the camps, it was clear that residents of this country were avoiding the issue. After learning about the torture, murder and general mistreatment of the prisoners of the camps, it hurt me to think that people could turn a blind eye. For me, it raised yet another important question; what would I have done?

            It is so easy for me to sit here and say that I would have intervened. But what would I have done? I could have joined the underground as some non-Jewish members of the community had. But what if I had a family of my own and helping those suffering would be sacrificing the safety of my own family? Would I have been willing to make a sacrifice like that for people I didn’t know? In the Holocaust kingdom, a non-Jewish friend on the outside of the ghetto saved Alexander Donat’s son. This woman risked her life for another family’s child. I have incredible respect for this woman and would like to believe that if I was in her situation, that I would have done the same. But, once again, the difficult part about asking these questions is that you are never guaranteed and answer.

            As thought provoking and frustrating as these questions are, they are nonetheless important to be asked. Although it is impossible to answer these questions because I am not in the position that these bystanders were in, it is important to ask them because it shows that I am recognizing the need to look out for those around me who are struggling. Despite not knowing what role I would play if a situation ever arose, I am showing that I am aware of the need for people to stand up and not be passive bystanders. To be socially conscious and active is incredibly important. To raise questions like “what would I have done?” is evidence of your inclination to do something. After seeing some of the horrible injustices imposed on the victims of the Holocaust, I feel more inclined than ever to not be a bystander and to use my voice against any wrong, either big or small.

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Resistance in the Face of Evil

Monument to the Ghetto Heroes by Nathan Rapoport in Warsaw

Resistance movements orchestrated by victims during the Holocaust have captured my interest while studying abroad at the Auschwitz concentration camps in Poland.

While studying the Holocaust, one is constantly confronted with the fact that the Nazis were relentless in their pursuit of annihilation of the Jewish people. The fact that people found the courage and strength to fight back against a force as powerful as the Nazis fascinates me because hope must have seemed out of reach for so many people. For the resisters, however, hope was not only attainable, but sustainable in the form of active opposition.

Biuletyn Informacyjny - A Polish underground publication during World War II

In Jewish ghettos during World War II, one way resisters organized was through an underground press. The approximately 1,500 underground publications that appeared in Poland between 1939 and 1945 were in direct opposition to Nazi propaganda. Clandestine publications like the Home Army General Command’s Biuletyn Informacyjny were necessary for providing information untainted by Nazi ideology to the Polish people. As a journalism major at Iona College, I am conscious of the significance of the dissemination of information from various perspectives in maintaining a free society. Of course, German-occupied Poland was never free, but the existence of an underground press was a key factor in the ability of Poles to resist.

Underground education in Poland - Łopiennik Górny 1941

Another form of resistance that existed during the German occupation of Poland was an underground schooling system. In spite of German efforts to destroy the Polish intelligentsia and minimize the education of Poles, clandestine schooling appeared at every level of education, involving about a million people. This helped shape and maintain a high level of national consciousness so that Nazi ideology could never take complete hold of the nation.

Photo taken during Warsaw Uprising - From Jürgen Stroop's report to Heinrich Himmler - May 1943

The Warsaw Uprising was an act of resistance that stands out as one of the key events in the history of Polish Jewish resistance against Nazism. According to the Auschwitz I exhibit “The Struggle and Martyrdom of the Polish Nation 1939-1945,” the Jewish National Committee rallied the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto to revolt. Alexander Donat’s memoir, The Holocaust Kingdom, detailed the author’s experience of the uprising, which broke out on April 19, 1943.

“The entire length of Niska Street was one billowing sheet of smoke and flame,” Donat writes. “The fighters put up a fierce defense and our own building had joined in the shooting. We all were suffering from lack of sleep and food, but we were at high tension, gripped by a kind of ecstasy that made any effort seem within our capabilities” (p. 155).

SS men strolling past a burning building during the Warsaw Uprising

Despite the passion of the Jews, the uprising was crushed after 63 days. The revolt was carried out with almost no assistance from the western Allies. To this day, the Warsaw Uprising is representative of the fighting spirit that Jews held onto even in the face of crushing opposition.

The resistance efforts carried out by Polish Jews during the Second World War deserve recognition as outstanding models of human perseverance. The examples in this blog post are only a few of the many ways Polish Jews fought to maintain their dignity as human beings.

By Michael Coppola

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