Reflecting back on Poland

It has been a week since returning from Poland and I have had a lot of time to reflect and think about my experience and all of the knowledge that I acquired since being there. Since being home, many people have asked me how the experience was, whether it was enjoyable or not, or whether or not I had fun. Fun? Fun is not the right word to use when describing the experience. It has taken me time to process everything and be able to put into words how this experience was, and I can truly say it was an eye-opening experience that allowed me to expand my knowledge of the holocaust.

Throughout my time in Poland, there were some difficult days and days that were harder than others, especially the days where we walked through the camps and heard the stories of the prisoners. With each story I heard I tried to imagine myself as a prisoner and what it would be like in the camps and I could not process it. I do not think that I would have lasted longer than a week! Returning from the camps on those difficult days, I would head straight to my room and sit in bed thinking about everything I just learned about and what I saw. A lot of days were emotional. Meeting past students who had gone on the trip, and hearing their stories of the emotions you would feel, made it easier to get through those days. Hearing them tell us it would be okay to cry or not cry helped tremendously. I also felt that the reflections really put into perspective what I saw that day or what I was feeling.

Throughout my time in Poland, I realized that some of what I have learned about the Holocaust, especially in school, has been false or not entirely true. This made me realize that my goal after returning from the trip is to educate others on the events that took place during the Holocaust. How the events took place; why they took place; who tried to help. The education system/curriculum needs to revise what they teach in schools about what took place during the Holocaust. It is important to educate students properly and truthfully so that we can learn from history and hopefully be able to prevent another heinous crime such as this, from happening again.

Many of these prisoners were extremely brave and showed tremendous courage. One prisoner who showed courage and was brave and that stood out to me, was Maximillian Kolbe. He volunteered to take the place of a prisoner who was going to be sent to death after calling out for both his wife and children. Maximillian was sent to a starvation room where he died. This story has stuck with me the most because I thought about what I would do in his position, would I had volunteered to take a prisoner’s place? I honestly do not know if I would be as brave and courageous as he was. I would hope that the strength and resilience, the faith and courage that the prisoners showed during this horrible time will continue to be documented, so that schools will continue to educate students on the events that occurred during the Holocaust, so that it is never forgotten, that the people will always be remembered, and that something like that will never happen again.

Read More

Reflecting on Auschwitz Birkenau

Walking through the train tracks to Auschwitz Birkenau, there were so many thoughts running through my head. Thoughts of walking on the same exact path the prisoners walked to get to the death camp, where they would soon be murdered; thoughts of walking to one of the biggest graveyard sites in history. I was imagining myself sitting in the tight cramped spaces of the cattle car of the train with my belongings or possibly nothing, wondering what my fate would be. Walking down the path towards the death camp, I thought about walking it with no shoes, hardly any clothing, and possibly not having eaten a meal on this long journey. What would I do once the Cattle car stopped, and I was walking towards the camp? I can only imagine how the prisoners felt upon their arrival to the camp.

Arriving at the camp and seeing how enormous it was, was truly shocking. I thought to myself “wow this is extremely big, bigger than I had imagined it to be or what I had seen in photos.” Going up to the watch tower and looking out really put into perspective how big it was. Being in the watch tower, I thought about all of the SS officers who would sit up there and watch all of the prisoners to ensure that no one escaped. Walking through the gates of the camp I saw that the camp was exactly like what I had seen in pictures and the “Last Days Film.” Victims like Alice Lok Cahana, who walked through the camp and could identify each building and the atrocities that occurred in those buildings. One thing that I found interesting was that in the film Alice said that while they were in the latrine, they would pray on the Sabbath. They couldn’t communicate due to the language barriers, but they knew the same prayers.

Seeing the train tracks going through the gates of the camp and imagining the prisoners going off to their deaths, was extremely depressing and heartbreaking. Walking through the camp and seeing all of the barracks from the men’s to the children’s to the women’s and seeing the living conditions was saddening. Seeing the rows of bunk beds that they had to sleep on, the washroom, and the toilets was so unsettling. What struck me the most was where the prisoners changed before going to the gas chambers and seeing what was left of the gas chamber and crematorium. While walking through the camp I thought what if I was in the prisoner’s position, what I would do? How would I live and work in the camp? How would I survive? I honestly do not think I would have lasted a week. The prisoners showed so much courage and resilience. I also believe their faith got them through the horrors. The fact that they were going through this torture and still never once gave up their faith! They were truly courageous!

Read More

Reflecting on Auschwitz 1

Walking through the gates of Auschwitz and reading the sign “ARBEIT MACHT FREI” meaning “Work Sets You Free,” was extremely difficult to comprehend. I could not believe that I was actually here. It took me a moment to process that I was standing on the grounds where heinous crimes occurred. What really struck me as I walked through the camp, was seeing the pictures of all of the prisoners on the wall, and learning about how dehumanized they were, from losing their “civilian clothing;" shaving their heads; and getting hardly any meals or no meals at all. Hearing this was extremely rough and made me think about all the suffering the prisoners went through.

Many of the prisoners were forced out of their homes and brought many belongings, including pots and pans. Talking in class and learning that they brought pots and pans with them was something that I always tried to put aside. It was odd to think that they brought kitchen household items, but that is because I learned of what occurred at the camps. The prisoners had no idea. Seeing all of the kitchenware as I walked through the room was an eye-opening experience. As they were being deported from their homes, they probably assumed that they were being moved somewhere else, so naturally they brought belongings like their pots and pans, in their minds, they did not think that they would be going to a concentration camp where they would be killed. I cannot even fathom bringing my personal belongings with me including, household items, only to find out that I would be going to a concentration camp where my life would soon come to an end.

Photo: Many of the pots and pans the prisoners bought with them.

What struck me the most were the photographs of the children. I always see pictures of adult prisoners, but I do not often see photos of the children. Seeing how frail, ill, and maltreated they were was extremely emotional. Many of these children had no idea what was going on, or what their fate would be, which I could only imagine would have been extremely terrifying and traumatizing. Especially, getting separated from their family and parents, and not knowing where they were going, must have also been terrifying for a child. Many of the children were dehumanized, starved and put to work, and had to wear prisoners’ uniforms. Seeing the pictures on the wall of the children was an emotional experience for me. Knowing how they were treated and what they went through made me horrified, especially seeing all of the shoes and children’s clothing. I cannot even imagine what they went through or even the thought of being taken away from my family. For the parents of the children, not knowing where their child was being taken or what fate lie ahead for them, must have been an extremely fearful experience.

There were 1.5 million Jewish children killed, between 140,000-150,000 Poles were killed, 2,300 Gypsies killed, and 13,000 Soviets killed. In reading "The Holocaust Kingdom" and how the Jews were dispersed from their land and learning about what belongings they could bring with them, then actually seeing those belongings in the camp, put so many things into perspective.

Talking in class about the number of prisoners who were killed and coming to the camp and seeing some of their pictures, put into context the severity of the suffering the prisoners went through and how humbling and emotional this is. All of the stories of the prisoners will live on as we remember them.

Read More