I Will Never Forget

Monday, March 28^th, 2016                                                                                              

I’ve been back home with my friends and family asking me questions like, “How was Poland...Did you have fun?”  Dr. Procario-Foley told us to be ready to answer these questions.  Of course I had fun with my fellow peers touring Kraków and playing games like “Heads Up” and “Salad Bowl,” but touring Auschwitz was not fun.  Yes, I had a great experience and had one of the best weeks of my life, but fun wasn’t necessarily the right word.  How did I answer the questions about my trip to Poland?  Well, I simply said it was a trip I’ll never forget.  I will forever have the images of the cobblestone grounds, red/orange brick barracks, and the rooms of human hair, luggage, personal belongings, eyeglasses, shoes, and the photograph of the eight year old boy imbedded in my mind.  I don’t need to watch documentaries or look back at the pictures taken on my camera because seeing the camp has affected me in more ways than I could imagine. 

The prisoners' luggage.

The prisoners' belongings.



The prisoners' eyeglasses.

The prisoners' shoes.

Yesterday on Easter Sunday, I spent the day with my family, grandparents, and cousins at my aunt and uncle’s house.  After our meal, my family was eager to hear about my trip and look at my pictures.  I thought I would be able to hold it together while explaining my trip, but I was wrong.  Explaining each picture’s significance to my family brought me back to this past week and gave me flashbacks of each moment.  As I began to cry, naturally my mother and sister did as well.  My mom explained to me that seeing my pictures and hearing my stories was making her feel as if she was there with me.  Even though my mom obviously was not in Poland this past week, she sympathized with me and helped me process my feelings.  I cannot ever imagine losing my mom – she’s my best friend and the first one I call for everything.  Even though I’m twenty-one years old, I still count on my mom for more than I probably should.  So to even think about how young children, toddlers, and even babies were taken away from their mother’s is just so devastating for me to process.  For me to imagine being sent to a different line or different barrack than my mother after exiting a train at Auschwitz is one of the scariest things for me to think about.  Coming home from Poland, I have developed a much deeper appreciation for my life, my religion, and for those whom I love.  I will never take anything for granted – I am truly blessed and forever grateful for this unbelievable, eye-opening experience. 

With all I have learned throughout this past week, I will continue to educate those who are unfamiliar about the Holocaust.  One day, I will teach my children and grandchildren about the Holocaust by telling them the stories of my experience of Auschwitz and showing them my pictures.  Learning about how many people visit Auschwitz daily was just amazing and gives me hope.  Each visitor who attends Auschwitz becomes a witness of the horrific event of the Holocaust.  After visiting Auschwitz, each visitor may choose to do whatever they wish with their experience.  Leaving Auschwitz, I choose to become an advocate for anyone who has gone through a traumatic life experience – especially the survivors of the Holocaust.