Deception

This picture shows the inside of one of the many Gas Chambers that were used during the Shoah. This picture was taken in Auschwitz I. The moment I walked into this room I felt very cold and got a distinctive smell. This smell and taste of the Gas Chamber followed me all day for the next three days of this trip. I felt nauseous as I continued to “taste” this smell. As I walked in this room, all I could think was of those who marched into this...

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Dehumanization

A picture of how the bunkers looked in the wooden barracks. This week has been a very emotional week for me as well as everyone in my team. We read several different texts to learn more about the Shoah, but there is so much that the readings could not cover. The picture above is a picture of one of the barracks that is located in Auschwitz II, Birkenau. When I first saw this barrack, my first thought was how similar it looks to a horse stable....

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From Judaism To Catholicism And Back Again

Friday morning, March 16, we traveled to Kraków to visit the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) of Kraków. It was there that we met Olga, who told us a little about herself and her Jewish ancestry. She also gave us information about the JCC itself, which is a Jewish cultural and educational centre that opened in 2008 as the result of an initiative by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. The JCC is the de facto Jewish visitors center for Kraków,...

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Sticks and Stones May Break my Bones, But Words…

Advertisement of “Der Ewige Jude” (The Eternal Jew), a 1940 antisemitic German Nazi propaganda film. This film was disguised as a documentary. It has been one week since I last stepped on the grounds of Auschwitz I. Since my return from Poland, I have found myself especially sensitive to the use of words and phrases in everyday conversation, political discussion, and broadcast outlets. This stems from my shock at the absolute power of words-...

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Hope

A rose left on the bunk of a wooden barrack at Auschwitz Birkenau. A calligraphy/hand-lettered piece on Hope. “Despite everything, I still believe people are good at heart.” - Anne Frank Similar to my last blog post, I begin with an Anne Frank quote. In contrast, this post is about hope, as opposed to hopelessness. To me, this quote displays hope in humanity, regardless of how horrifically Frank’s family and other Jewish families were...

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16670

Religion in Auschwitz is a topic I never thought about before coming to Poland. I always figured the victims were always more concerned with getting from one day to the next rather than if they would be able to practice their religion. However, its important to be able to practice because any detail you can do to maybe make the experience even a little less painful is very important, and practicing religion could be one of those things. The main...

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THE JUXTAPOSITION OF AUSCHWITZ

Before my trip to Poland, I had many preconceptions and ideas of what I thought I was going to see and what my experiences would consist of. Although I had seen pictures, learned about the history, and heard stories from various people, nothing could have prepared me for stepping foot onto one of the largest mass graveyards in history. The experiences I have had during my time in Poland have truly opened my eyes into the cruel torment of people...

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Where Was God?

The “Wall of Death”, located at Block 11. This courtyard outside of Block 11 and the block itself were mainly used as direct killing sites. Just the other day, I was walking through Auschwitz I… which is a sentence I never thought I would say. Doing so, millions of thoughts raced through my mind. As a devout Christian, I can’t help but think about why God would let such a cruel thing happen. If God is so loving and so forgiving, then where...

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The Power of Kinship in the Camps

This blog post references The Holocaust Kingdom, a memoir written by Alexander Donat. This work was originally written in 1963; all quotes are from the 1999 edition. "“Kinship is…being one with the other.” "– Fr. Gregory Boyle, Tattoo on the Heart Holocaust survivors displaying their numbered tattoos as assigned at concentration camps. During my time in Poland, I have gained a wealth of knowledge and insight with regards to the experience...

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Imagine All the People

A rock that was on the ground near an original cattle car for Auschwitz that says, “Imagine all the people living a life of peace.” When reflecting on my experiences in Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz-Birkenau I can’t help but remember the people of all the lives lost during WWII. All of the people that the Nazis took to the concentration camps and killed who had been living normal lives. And in seconds their lives were turned upside down and taken...

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Childhood Innocence

Above portrays a drawing from a child and their interpretation of the Shoah. This drawing exemplifies how the Shoah stripped many children from their childhood innocence. “I’ve found that there is always some beauty left—in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you.” - Anne Frank As I walked through the bunkers at Auschwitz I, I felt chills as I looked at photos of small children and their families. As humans, we selfishly...

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Traumatic Impact of the Holocaust on Adolescent Behavior

The following blog references Alexander Donat’s memoir, The Holocaust Kingdom, the 1999 edition, originally written in 1963. Replication of a Child’s Drawing of KL Birkenau (Auschwitz II). When visiting the Auschwitz I Museum, I took interest in a room filled with children’s drawings from the war years. The room was part of the Shoah exhibit in Block 27. The above drawing displays the railroad tracks leading into the entrance of Auschwitz...

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Resistance through Documentation

Resistance to the Nazi regime is a recurring topic when speaking about World War II and the Shoah. The question of whether the Jewish people fought back has appeared several times throughout this course. The answer to this question is yes, the Jewish people resisted. They were not docile lambs led to slaughter. Jewish resistance is evident not only in the texts I’ve read, but also through Jewish people’s actions to their situation under the Nazi...

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Our Duty To Remember

Today is our last full day in Poland. I am filled with emotions as I sit on the bus to Kraków for a long and full last day. As I look out the window, I am reminded of the opportunities that I have been given and how I can use these experiences to advocate and teach others. This week, I have been exposed to many different elements which have left me speechless, yet still I feel the desire to talk about each moment in such detail. The physical aspects...

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The Execution Wall and the Majdanek Massacre

On March 15th, we returned to Auschwitz I to attend a workshop and explore more of the camp. I decided to revisit the execution wall between Blocks 10 and 11. Most of those executed here were Polish political prisoners, above all the leaders and members of clandestine organizations and people who helped escapees or facilitated contacts with the outside world. Prisoners of other nationalities and ethnic origins, including Jews and Soviet POWs, were...

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The Eyes are Windows to the Soul

An endless hallway full of photos of the many prisoners of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II- Birkenau which were mostly taken by Wilhelm Brasse, a Jewish inmate. Hundreds of faces looking back at me; faces of people who were doctors, engineers, teachers, and many more. Sad, scared, and fearful faces displayed down a never-ending hallway. “How could this be real?,” I thought to myself as I stood in the bunker speechless. How could these human lives...

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Jews in Hiding

Hiding place in which Anne Frank and her family hid for 2 years before being found by the Nazis. Today, I learned a lot from visiting the Netherlands Exhibit at Auschwitz 1 about how Jews hid and what they did in order to not get captured and brought to the camps. As you can see in photo 1, Jewish families in the Netherlands and many other places were able to build secret places in the homes and place of work. The most famous story of a Jewish...

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Dehumanization

Nazi Cattle car used to transport holocaust victims from all over Europe. As the days go on in Poland, the class has visited Auschwitz I three times and Auschwitz II Birkenau once. Throughout these experiences the most prominent thing for me as been the dehumanization of all prisoners of these two camps. My first realization of this dehumanization was my first time seeing one of the cattle cars which is placed on the tracks outside of Auschwitz...

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Hopeless

A quote by Simon Peereboom about listening to the media throughout WWII. A picture of a Hungarian woman before the Shoah next to a picture of her after the liberation. “Where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again” -Anne Frank. Reading that is quite uplifting, until one remembers that Anne Frank was captured alongside her family, sent to multiple camps, eventually died at Bergen-Belsen. Did she...

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