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 sometimes this does not occur at all. If we consider the perspective of someone who lived through Auschwitz as a survivor, there is a greater understanding as to why this person may not want to share their experiences. One such survivor was Marian Kolodziej. With a very low number of 432, he survived Auschwitz, and decided not to speak about it.

After suffering a serious stroke in 1993, Kolodziej began to draw accounts of what he endured and saw at Auschwitz during his time there. These graphic depictions are extremely moving, and oftentimes frightening. They often contain images of monsters as symbolic of Nazi forces, and a lot of eschatological judgement day themes are also present in his work.

This course has offered students going through Auschwitz 1 & 2 the opportunity to use memory as a tool moving forward. While we experienced nothing near what survivors did, even just studying at such a place can move a person to a dark place. By sharing our experiences with people at home in the weeks that follow the trip, we help people become aware of what happened at Auschwitz. Furthermore, we empower ourselves and others to be more keenly aware of what happens in the world around us. Marian Kolodziej’s accounts of Auschwitz were unique and powerful. Was his experience a good one? It certainly was not. Was the experience of any student this past week “good”? In many senses it was not good, but tough. Challenging. Troubling. In many other senses, it was a call to speak out. In our own time we will speak out in many ways, using many different mediums. Thankfully our guided study has taken us from the “teaching of contempt” to the “teaching of respect” and right to the place where we engage others to learn more. In our time.

-Luis Ramos