Looking back on Poland

It has now been almost two months since our trip to Poland had begun and ended. I’ve been trying to figure out how to put into words my experience during this trip. Although it was overwhelming at times, I know it was something not everyone gets to experience. Going into this trip I had a lot of expectations and worries, like how would going to the concentration camps make me feel? I have always been interested in the Holocaust since I read The Diary of Anne Frank when I was in elementary school. I also have always had a desire to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau for a few years now, so when I realized that Iona offered this course it was something I was extremely interested in. Looking back on the day we left for Oswiecim, Poland, I was super excited but also nervous. I had looked over the itinerary for the week and started to prepare myself for what was to come. I’m not a religious person, so after hearing about some of the tours I was a bit anxious. Although I didn’t really know what to expect from this trip I’m extremely grateful that I was given this opportunity, one that many people don’t have. The whole week that we had spent In Poland was something that I could never fully explain to someone who didn’t experience it first-hand. When we arrived back from our trip, all everyone seemed to ask was… “How was visiting Auschwitz? Was is scary? What was it like? How was Poland? What did you do?”. But, I couldn’t give anyone a complete answer. I thought I would come back and be able to tell everyone who asked just exactly what I did experience on this trip, but I couldn’t. I still can’t find the words to explain what it was like to walk on the same ground as millions of Jews did to their unknown death. It was eerily calm and peaceful when we visited both camps and thinking back it’s such a weird thing to say because of all the murder that happened at one time there. You heard the birds chirping and you saw the grass growing where it used to not grow. I don’t think that I would ever revisit Auschwitz-Birkenau, I feel as that it is a place to visit once to give your respects. But, I too am now a witness and it’s my job to make sure that this piece of history is never forgotten about.