Recovery, Reconstruction, Reflection (Poland 2015) by Jordan Darling

Just a few of the amazing people from my trip!   Recovery, Reconstruction, Reflection(A Day in Kraków): Blog Post 3       The Friday we spent in Kraków was surely one of the most wonderful days of my life. Upon arriving from our all to regular drowsy bus ride and a brief stop at the factory of Oskar Schindler, we headed for Galicia where we would be meeting with Rabbi Tanya and learned and reflected again on some...

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Resilience -Rachel Baio

Leaving Poland was a very bittersweet goodbye. It was refreshing to wake up and see North Ave outside of my window rather than Auschwitz I, but even now it's difficult to find the words when explaining to my peers what I saw there and the experiences I had. "It was interesting," is often how I answered my friends and family when they asked how my spring break went. Birkenau is a place that I don't ever want to see again...and yet I am compelled...

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In Our Time

  Experience helps us learn more about ourselves and the world around us. A lot of times we hear phrases like “any experience is good experience” or “all experiences are useful”. Would we say that to someone who went through the Shoah? Obviously not. More often than not, some people decide not to share personal experiences. They can be painful or uncomfortable. It is possible for people to come to a point where they feel ready to share, but...

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The Rest of The Week

Going to visit the monuments (chair square and memorial) was for me very powerful and moving because it showed that we are at least moving somewhat forward in our honor and respect for the victims of the Shoah and it seemed like a hopeful sign for the future. We were able to witness the second part of this course, the teaching of respect which helped me to see how we are moving closer to respect of other cultures and other people’s struggles. It...

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Auschwitz 2

After witnessing the vastness of Birkeneau and the horrors of Auschwitz 1, it is definitely going to be difficult trying to settle back into Iona with these images on replay in my mind. Even in the shower, trying to go to sleep and just sitting, I keep seeing the same nauseating, unforgettable, and grotesque images replaying over and over again in my mind as I contemplate what I have witnessed this past week. I will never be able to forget the last...

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My Only Question Left Unanswered -Maria Wik

I spent my first morning back at home looking through a book I bought, “The Auschwitz Poems”.  I stumbled upon one that almost perfect describes all the feelings that I have yet been able to put into words. Remembrance Here I stand in the midst of Auschwitz My mind racing with the memories Silent people walk Where living skeletons worked. There is a silence, But I hear the cries of my people. A slight...

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Monstrous Humans - by Charlotte Ference

To delve into the question of God’s location, mercy, or even existence is important in academic circles studying the Shoah only if the role that humanity played in this tragedy is examined in the closest proximity.  Catholic priests, Atheist intellectuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Protestant leaders were routinely captured and murdered in concentration and death camps.  The tragedy of the Shoah moves beyond questions of religion, and indeed...

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This is not a trip, but it most definitely had a destination - by Charlotte Ference

There are countless elements during this trip that cause me immense pain and sorrow on this journey. These moments highlight an experience that defies language, and challenges every conception of what humanity might include. Every day we walk on this ground, our breath is whisked from our lungs with a power that this earth cannot compete. and we are forced to bear witness to a tragedy that is both indescribable and demanding of description. The...

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