As a senior there has
been two moments that I have been looking forward to. The first is graduation
and the second was my trip to Poland. I can excitedly say that I am living out
my trip to Poland. As a study abroad trip, the class is called “Special Topics
in Religion” where my group and I are focusing on religion during the
Holocaust, also known as the Shoah.
We left for Poland on
Friday, March 10th on a 6:30pm flight. Arriving in Germany a little
after 7am on Saturday the 11th, we then caught our connecting flight
to Poland. Arriving in Poland I didn’t know what to expect. I hadn’t really
given any thought to the aesthetics of Poland or to the Polish people. The only
thought that I did have was that the Polish people have quite a different life
from my own. However, on the bus ride to the Center for Prayer and Dialogue
where we are staying, I was shown how similar our lives are.
Our professor told us
that while we are driving through the country we should look out the windows
and admire the country. Being in a country for the first time, I was going to
do this anyways so her telling us to do this only interested me more. This is
where I saw glimpses of the lives of Polish people. The first was passing a
playground where I saw a group of boys on the swings and jumping off once they
reached a certain height. This caught my eye not because I didn’t know that
other boys outside of the U.S. knew how to do this, but because I didn’t expect
to see something that I partook in as a child. The second glimpse was passing a
cemetery where I saw a woman with flowers wiping away tears at a grave. Of
course I am aware that everyone suffers the pain of loss, but what really stood
out to me about this moment was that I saw a personal moment of this women. I
do not know the person or thoughts that she was having, but the fact that I was
given a brief view of her life was extraordinary where the majority of this
trip I will be given glimpses into many people’s lives. The last occurrence
that I saw was a family with what appeared to be a teenage boy shopping for a
car. A person’s first car is usually a memorable moment in an individual’s
life, so the fact that I was able to have an outside look into this special
moment and the others was incredible for me.
After we reached the
Center for Dialogue and Prayer and had lunch/dropped our stuff off in the
rooms, we went into the town of Oswiecim where the center is located and
explored two cemeteries, one Jewish and one Christian. The difference between
the two was startling. The Jewish cemetery has been through destruction at the
hands of the Nazis. After the invasion, the Nazis tried to eradicate any signs
and history of the Jewish population. The cemetery is one such example. The
Nazis tried to destroy the tombstones and laid waste to the cemetery, almost
destroying all evidence. What they were successful in doing was making it
unknown who is buried there. Because of the desecration of the stones, the
names of those buried were lost. In addition, the cemetery is bare. There is
currently no Jewish population living in Oswiecim and because of this there are
no relatives to bring flowers or candles to the graves. On the other hand, the
Christian cemetery is quite the opposite. Since there are Christians throughout
the town, the cemetery and graves are covered with beautiful flowers and
candles from the still living relatives in the area. The comparison is quite
different and upsetting to witness.
Christian Cemetery
Jewish Cemetery
Although the desecration
of the cemetery occurred in an attempt to eradicate the Jewish population and
history, they were not successful. Many individuals were able to help restore
and beautify the Jewish cemetery after the fall of the Nazis, including the
Christians. One of the main reasons for this was because the Christians were
perpetrators or bystanders during the Shoah, and in order to remedy this
situation the Catholic Church started making amends. In the famous Christian
document, Nostra Aetate, Pope Paul
the 6th called for the church to enter into dialogue and
collaboration with the followers of other religions with prudence and love to
recognize, preserve, and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well
as socio-cultural values found among these men. In answering this call, the
Christians of Oswiecim helped to restore this Jewish cemetery by restoring the
tombstones in helping to remember those who passed. In addition, they help to
keep the cemetery preserved by keeping the cemetery clean and by placing
candles on the different graves to remember their memories in the absence of
the Jewish people. These actions show the Christian people trying to remedy the
actions that they took during the Shoah in persecuting the Jews.
Only being in Poland for
one day has already taught me and showed me so much. I am excited and looking
forward to the experiences that I will be able to learn and grow.
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