My last night in Krakow was #great. I saw a beautiful church, had pierogi for dinner, met two women from Georgia, and turned upwards with the squad. When 10 o'clock rolled around, it was time to take the bus to the train to Prague. Sitting on the platform, I really had no idea what to expect, just like the Regina Pats, at the beginning of the season. But after we got on the train, my previous worries vanished quicker than Toronto during the playoffs.
The train conductor was a pretty nice guy, but his English, though better than my Polish, was difficult to understand at times. He needed someone to explain how the locks on the doors worked, and Ms Freeman, seeing my obvious potential, chose me to do this job. He explained, to me, how all three locks worked and then told me to teach the other 5 cabins, on my car, how to do the same. He then told me to go to his "kingdom, behind the wooden door, at the front of the train car", if I had any questions. I then slipped into my walrus-themed pajamas and headed off to teach the boys and girls how to use the locks.
Afterwards, it was time for bed, I grabbed my toothbrush, toothpaste, and a bottle of waßer, as the Germans would say, and danced around the hall, while ridding my teeth of plaque. After brushing my teeth, I went into my little shelf of a bunk bed, took a survey about overnight trains for an institute in Prague, delivered it to the conductor's monarchical palace at the front of the train car, and then slid into my shelf of a bed. I hadn't slept on a bunk bed since Cub Scouts, but for some reason, I slept like a rock.
At quarter of 7, our train car's almighty leader knocked on the door, and at 7:30, we arrived in Prague. We got out of the train station, crossed the street, and arrived at our hotel. We then headed to the Bankomat, as the Czechs and Poles would say, picked up thousands of Koruns, and hit the town. (Bill "The Amateur Train Conductor" H.)
Monday, April 28, 2014
Day #12: En route home
I am typing this on the long plane ride home, trying hard to stay awake so I can get back on Boston time.
I have been lucky enough to travel to cool places in my life but I know that I could never have created this trip on my own. I never would have known how to go about planning something like this, never would have had the connections to make it happen, never would have been able to force myself to pack so many things into twelve short days. And so I am forever grateful that I got to be a part of this.
I only knew a handful of people well before this trip and yet at midnight on my eighteenth birthday in Berlin a whole group of people burst into my room singing. And that was just the nature of this trip. I can't count the number of times I've been given back massages, or lent money, or asked how I'm doing/how I slept/how my food tastes. People truly come together when we're taken out of our usual environment and when BLS feels far away and irrelevant.
It was interesting to be on a trip that essentially looks at the worst of human behavior, the lowest most irrational things we have done to each other... And to be surrounded by so much goodness, generosity, and laughter.
Okay, time to go back to filling out the very long evaluation of this trip. You didn't think Ms. Freeman would let us relax on the plane ride home. ;) just kidding. A big shout out to Ms. Freeman for pulling off this miracle of a trip once again...it's changed a lot of lives and will always be very special to me. Thank you.
Thanks everyone at home for reading and for supporting us. Xoxo.
Sean is next to me and he has yet to write a SINGLE blog post. He says I'm putting him on blast. Whoops. Okay he would like to say something (hallelujah) (check my pulse) (must be dreaming) (Nora Col)
* * * * * * * *
Hi. It's Sean
That's a lot of talk for such a small person, Cora Nollins.
I think my biggest take away from this trip has to be the friendships and the bonds we have all made. With every sad moment, we all managed to listen. Everyone was inclusive during the fun times. Everyone massaged each other on the 4 hour bus rides. I met some of the best people I know. I spent most of my time with people with whom I hadn't really talked to before this trip.
Aside from learning about the absolute horrors of WWII, we learned quite a bit about culture and life in other countries, and since this was my first time out of the country, it was great to be with a group of people who were experiencing it at the same time.
I want to thank Ms Freeman for the opportunity and organization of this trip. I know it was both tiring and stressful, and I can't imagine anyone else being able to do the things you do on this trip.
A very interesting part of the trip for me was visiting synagogues and cathedrals. Although I am not a religious person, I am very interested in the what people believe and how they worship and it was great for me to gain a better understanding.
Overall, I think I've learned more in the past 12 days than I could have ever imagined. Thanks to all my friends, old and new, for making this a great experience, and to all the chaperones for being the best chaperones and people ever!
I'm really bad at blog posts. Contrary to popular belief, i have attempted blog posts, but I also hit a awkward spot and then fall asleep on whomever I am sitting next to... (Sean C)
I have been lucky enough to travel to cool places in my life but I know that I could never have created this trip on my own. I never would have known how to go about planning something like this, never would have had the connections to make it happen, never would have been able to force myself to pack so many things into twelve short days. And so I am forever grateful that I got to be a part of this.
I only knew a handful of people well before this trip and yet at midnight on my eighteenth birthday in Berlin a whole group of people burst into my room singing. And that was just the nature of this trip. I can't count the number of times I've been given back massages, or lent money, or asked how I'm doing/how I slept/how my food tastes. People truly come together when we're taken out of our usual environment and when BLS feels far away and irrelevant.
It was interesting to be on a trip that essentially looks at the worst of human behavior, the lowest most irrational things we have done to each other... And to be surrounded by so much goodness, generosity, and laughter.
Okay, time to go back to filling out the very long evaluation of this trip. You didn't think Ms. Freeman would let us relax on the plane ride home. ;) just kidding. A big shout out to Ms. Freeman for pulling off this miracle of a trip once again...it's changed a lot of lives and will always be very special to me. Thank you.
Thanks everyone at home for reading and for supporting us. Xoxo.
Sean is next to me and he has yet to write a SINGLE blog post. He says I'm putting him on blast. Whoops. Okay he would like to say something (hallelujah) (check my pulse) (must be dreaming) (Nora Col)
* * * * * * * *
Hi. It's Sean
That's a lot of talk for such a small person, Cora Nollins.
I think my biggest take away from this trip has to be the friendships and the bonds we have all made. With every sad moment, we all managed to listen. Everyone was inclusive during the fun times. Everyone massaged each other on the 4 hour bus rides. I met some of the best people I know. I spent most of my time with people with whom I hadn't really talked to before this trip.
Aside from learning about the absolute horrors of WWII, we learned quite a bit about culture and life in other countries, and since this was my first time out of the country, it was great to be with a group of people who were experiencing it at the same time.
I want to thank Ms Freeman for the opportunity and organization of this trip. I know it was both tiring and stressful, and I can't imagine anyone else being able to do the things you do on this trip.
A very interesting part of the trip for me was visiting synagogues and cathedrals. Although I am not a religious person, I am very interested in the what people believe and how they worship and it was great for me to gain a better understanding.
Overall, I think I've learned more in the past 12 days than I could have ever imagined. Thanks to all my friends, old and new, for making this a great experience, and to all the chaperones for being the best chaperones and people ever!
I'm really bad at blog posts. Contrary to popular belief, i have attempted blog posts, but I also hit a awkward spot and then fall asleep on whomever I am sitting next to... (Sean C)
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Saturday, April 26, 2014
101 things to do when you're stuck in the hotel with a stomach bug and Majdanek (day 6)
101 things to do when you're stuck in the hotel with a stomach bug
Actually mainly just sleep and watch billiards on EuroSport.
Majdanek
Majdanek was an extremely powerful place. When we arrived the first thing I noticed was a massive bowl shaped structure with an apparent domed roof over it. Then as we got closer We saw there was a ton of grey dirt inside. Ms Freeman told us those were the ashes found at the camp from mass burnings of people. It was truly shocking, the quantity is indescribable. Majdanek was left in much better condition than the other concentration camps we've visited so it was easier to see what it would've looked like then. One particularly disturbing part of Majdanek were the mass graves. They looked like skinny hills flanked by valleys. Walking around them was chilling. After walking through a gas chamber we all sat down on the grass and read poetry about the Holocaust aloud. It was an extremely moving thing.
We fly back tomorrow and although I'm sad to see our time end in Eastern Europe, I'm excited to see my friends and families. Love you all!! (Emily B)
Friday, April 25, 2014
Day #9: Terezin
Day #10: Terezin
Dat Cheese Doeeeeee
We had some amazing fried cheese and potatoes for lunch today.
That is all.
Thank you for existing, fried cheese.
We had some amazing fried cheese and potatoes for lunch today.
That is all.
Thank you for existing, fried cheese.
(Arielle G and Hannah M)
A close up of that fried cheese! (below)
Day #9: Prague
Yesterday we arrived in Prague, and it really does look like a huge wedding cake. All of the buildings are painted beautiful pastel colors and the ornamentation is over the top. The only bad thing is that there are so many tourists--it seems to be the NYC of Europe. It was still fun to walk through all the crowded alleys full of shops and see tons of cool novelties.
Besides doing all the touristy stuff, we went into multiple synagogues and churches. They were all gorgeous, but I thought going into the synagogues was the most interesting because I really didn't know that much about Jewish religion or culture. The other people in the group were really awesome because they explained different religious items or traditions that I would have never understood if my classmates hadn't been there. The only sad thing is that many synagogues aren't restored or haven't been restored till now because they were basically destroyed in WWII and even after that time they weren't prioritized. Still, I thought many of the synagogues were the most spiritually touching because they weren't overwhelmingly decadent like some of the cathedrals.
Besides doing all the touristy stuff, we went into multiple synagogues and churches. They were all gorgeous, but I thought going into the synagogues was the most interesting because I really didn't know that much about Jewish religion or culture. The other people in the group were really awesome because they explained different religious items or traditions that I would have never understood if my classmates hadn't been there. The only sad thing is that many synagogues aren't restored or haven't been restored till now because they were basically destroyed in WWII and even after that time they weren't prioritized. Still, I thought many of the synagogues were the most spiritually touching because they weren't overwhelmingly decadent like some of the cathedrals.
When we were looking at a dilapidated Jewish cemetery, Frau Freeman said that it was almost good that they hadn't been put upright or repaired because they served as a testament to the culture that was attacked and oppressed during the Holocaust. I thought that was a really good way of putting it, and I was happy to see that still so many people leave little notes or money on the graves of important rabbis, some who lived centuries ago. (Fiona F.)
At the Prague castle ( below)
Day #7: Majdanek and Day #8: Krakow
Hi people,
I haven't posted for a bit so here's roughly what I've been up to:
If you've seen some do the other posts, you know by now that on Monday we went to Auschwitz-Birkenau and it was extremely difficult for all of us. Our time there was harder than anything else we have done this year pertaining to the holocaust. Being at the site where over a million people were murdered over a span of only a few years was overwhelming and incomprehensible. I can't even picture what 1 million people looks like. We ended our trip to that dreadful place with a group discussion - a "share circle," a "pow wow" as some of us dubbed it. Talking about the experience was cathartic and helped everyone recuperate from the stress we all were feeling.
On Tuesday, we visited Majdanek. The camp was clearly more preserved than the barracks at Auschwitz were, so we got a better visual of the setups of Nazi camps. We walked through a similar room to the one in the "evidence of crime" building at Auschwitz 1 filled with the shoes of victims. These exhibits are striking at first; the amount of people represented by the shoes on display is enough to make you feel nauseated. But after walking around the exhibit for a while, it got harder to see each shoe as an individual. After seeing so much of the Holocaust, I feel like we are becoming almost desensitized to a lot of the brutal details. We have been processing so much heavy information that it's hard to look at each new camp, each picture or video, and each survivor testimony with the same focus.
After so many exhausting days in the camps in Poland, some free time in Krakow was certainly in order. On Wednesday, we began our day with a bus tour of some notable landmarks and sights led by our fearless bus driver, Alek <3. We saw the site of Plaszow concentration camp, which is now a gorgeous public park. We stopped a few locations in the old Jewish ghetto that were featured in "Schindler's List," which was very cool. For the afternoon, we got free time in the SQUARE, which was center of the city and a very touristy area. Among the many sights to see in downtown Krakow were the Basilica of St. Mary, the Wawel Castle, and a few other magnificent churches. The Basilica especially was one of the most beautiful buildings I've seen in my life. (Pictures to follow.) Admission to the church was 5 złotys, and an additional 5 to take pictures inside. Not having proper coinage with me to get a photo license, I had to stealthily sneak some pictures in with my phone (Forgive me, father). After that a lot of us hit the Wawel Castle, way up on a hill about 10 minutes away from the SQUARE. Tha castle made for some regal photo shoots and some healthy frolicking. Tyrone got a picture with some lovely Korean women who share his interest in bucket hats. Dinner was at an outdoor cafe in a courtyard off of a side street in Krakow. The pierogis were great once they finally came, but the darn lady forgot my order -___- .
Adventures to come:
Haircuts
Jazz clubs
Funky pants
And Nuremberg
Stay posted my dear friends and family
Xoxo,
(Liam O'C)
PS - Mom, Dad, and Nora: I'm getting you all some great souvenirs, but I am only able to do so with money that Clare is lending me (thanks Clare). I'm doing ok financially, but I will be in debt when I return home. FYI. :) :) :)
I haven't posted for a bit so here's roughly what I've been up to:
If you've seen some do the other posts, you know by now that on Monday we went to Auschwitz-Birkenau and it was extremely difficult for all of us. Our time there was harder than anything else we have done this year pertaining to the holocaust. Being at the site where over a million people were murdered over a span of only a few years was overwhelming and incomprehensible. I can't even picture what 1 million people looks like. We ended our trip to that dreadful place with a group discussion - a "share circle," a "pow wow" as some of us dubbed it. Talking about the experience was cathartic and helped everyone recuperate from the stress we all were feeling.
On Tuesday, we visited Majdanek. The camp was clearly more preserved than the barracks at Auschwitz were, so we got a better visual of the setups of Nazi camps. We walked through a similar room to the one in the "evidence of crime" building at Auschwitz 1 filled with the shoes of victims. These exhibits are striking at first; the amount of people represented by the shoes on display is enough to make you feel nauseated. But after walking around the exhibit for a while, it got harder to see each shoe as an individual. After seeing so much of the Holocaust, I feel like we are becoming almost desensitized to a lot of the brutal details. We have been processing so much heavy information that it's hard to look at each new camp, each picture or video, and each survivor testimony with the same focus.
After so many exhausting days in the camps in Poland, some free time in Krakow was certainly in order. On Wednesday, we began our day with a bus tour of some notable landmarks and sights led by our fearless bus driver, Alek <3. We saw the site of Plaszow concentration camp, which is now a gorgeous public park. We stopped a few locations in the old Jewish ghetto that were featured in "Schindler's List," which was very cool. For the afternoon, we got free time in the SQUARE, which was center of the city and a very touristy area. Among the many sights to see in downtown Krakow were the Basilica of St. Mary, the Wawel Castle, and a few other magnificent churches. The Basilica especially was one of the most beautiful buildings I've seen in my life. (Pictures to follow.) Admission to the church was 5 złotys, and an additional 5 to take pictures inside. Not having proper coinage with me to get a photo license, I had to stealthily sneak some pictures in with my phone (Forgive me, father). After that a lot of us hit the Wawel Castle, way up on a hill about 10 minutes away from the SQUARE. Tha castle made for some regal photo shoots and some healthy frolicking. Tyrone got a picture with some lovely Korean women who share his interest in bucket hats. Dinner was at an outdoor cafe in a courtyard off of a side street in Krakow. The pierogis were great once they finally came, but the darn lady forgot my order -___- .
Adventures to come:
Haircuts
Jazz clubs
Funky pants
And Nuremberg
Stay posted my dear friends and family
Xoxo,
(Liam O'C)
PS - Mom, Dad, and Nora: I'm getting you all some great souvenirs, but I am only able to do so with money that Clare is lending me (thanks Clare). I'm doing ok financially, but I will be in debt when I return home. FYI. :) :) :)
Day #7: Majdanek
A few days ago we visited Majdanek and it's taken me a while to fully process my experience there.
By the time we visited Majdanek, we had already been to three other camps--larger and more well known camps--so I had not anticipated such a different reaction at Majdanek. I also did not expect to have such a personal connection. I'm polish (well, 1/8 polish). My grandmother's mother came over to the US before she was born, so they both narrowly avoided WWII and the Holocaust, but I'm guessing much of their family who was left behind did not. At Majdanek I learned that it wasn't just polish Jews that were persecuted in the camps--it was Catholics too. My great grandmother and her family were Catholics. So in some way, shape, or form, my ancestors were involved: either as the perpetrators, bystanders, or victims. If any of them lived in Lublin, would they have stood up? Or would they have turned a blind eye?
Obviously, finding that unexpected personal connection made the experience that much more powerful, but so did the rawness of the camp. It has been the most untouched camp we've been to; a few signs indicating what the buildings or ovens were for, but all in all, it was untouched. I didn't feel like I was in a museum on a field trip; it happened there. It felt real and I felt like I could process my emotions genuinely. Clearly, the Holocaust was incredibly sad, and museums, exhibits, and more structured and touristy concentration camps portray that very well, but it can get repetitive and after seeing so many and I can feel a bit desensitized, especially because we are so detached from the situation. Nothing compares to seeing the evidence firsthand at Majdanek.
The most powerful part of the tour was seeing the shoes of a little girl. We went into a barrack with the walls and middle of the room lined with clear boxes of shoes. The advantage of Majdanek being so off-the-map was that it had very few other visitors, which made things seem less rushed and allowed time for contemplation. So whereas I rushed by the shoe exhibit at Auschwitz, I stayed for a while at Majdanek, looking at one particular shoe that must have belonged to a little girl, with a little floral design and straps. And then I realized that the reason her shoes were there was because she had been killed. And I knew this factually. I can spit out statistics and tidbits. But it wasn't until seeing those shoes that I had "that moment." (Marcella C)
By the time we visited Majdanek, we had already been to three other camps--larger and more well known camps--so I had not anticipated such a different reaction at Majdanek. I also did not expect to have such a personal connection. I'm polish (well, 1/8 polish). My grandmother's mother came over to the US before she was born, so they both narrowly avoided WWII and the Holocaust, but I'm guessing much of their family who was left behind did not. At Majdanek I learned that it wasn't just polish Jews that were persecuted in the camps--it was Catholics too. My great grandmother and her family were Catholics. So in some way, shape, or form, my ancestors were involved: either as the perpetrators, bystanders, or victims. If any of them lived in Lublin, would they have stood up? Or would they have turned a blind eye?
Obviously, finding that unexpected personal connection made the experience that much more powerful, but so did the rawness of the camp. It has been the most untouched camp we've been to; a few signs indicating what the buildings or ovens were for, but all in all, it was untouched. I didn't feel like I was in a museum on a field trip; it happened there. It felt real and I felt like I could process my emotions genuinely. Clearly, the Holocaust was incredibly sad, and museums, exhibits, and more structured and touristy concentration camps portray that very well, but it can get repetitive and after seeing so many and I can feel a bit desensitized, especially because we are so detached from the situation. Nothing compares to seeing the evidence firsthand at Majdanek.
The most powerful part of the tour was seeing the shoes of a little girl. We went into a barrack with the walls and middle of the room lined with clear boxes of shoes. The advantage of Majdanek being so off-the-map was that it had very few other visitors, which made things seem less rushed and allowed time for contemplation. So whereas I rushed by the shoe exhibit at Auschwitz, I stayed for a while at Majdanek, looking at one particular shoe that must have belonged to a little girl, with a little floral design and straps. And then I realized that the reason her shoes were there was because she had been killed. And I knew this factually. I can spit out statistics and tidbits. But it wasn't until seeing those shoes that I had "that moment." (Marcella C)
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Day #7: Majdanek/Lublin
It is almost 2am and I just got out of the shower
After a particularly stinky, cramped, and grumpy five hour bus ride, we got back to our hotel at 1 in the morning, feeling delirious and gross.
Stepping into the shower in my room, I feel a sense of relief wash over me, as I scrub away the grime of the day. There's something incredibly humanizing about being able to clean yourself. There's a sense of ritual in the soaps and shampoos, turning the faucet to the perfect angle. And as I stood there, I thought back to the 'sanitation rooms' we saw today at Majdanek, the 'saunas' we saw the day before at Auschwitz. I see how twisted this humanizing act must have been for the victims who were forced to strip down all together and thrown into a room with freezing cold and scalding hot water, terrified that instead of water, gas might come out of those same showerheads up above. When you take away someone's basic right to clean themselves, you take away their humanity, their privacy, and their dignity.
The past five hours have contained a lot of complaining. I was grumpy too, angry at the bathroom for being so smelly, at the bus for being so cramped, at everyone for being so loud. And then I think back to everything we've seen, about the cattle cars I saw yesterday that had been used to transport so many people in such a tight space. And I begin to feel so incredibly lucky, so incredibly thankful.
Imagine being born a few decades ago. Imagine living the same kind of happy life that you live now, with your loved ones and your comfort and all your early possessions. Imagine having the luxury of knowing you are human, just like you have today. Imagine that one day that was ripped away from you. Your possessions, like your favorite shirt or that necklace your grandmother gave you, are gone. Your loved ones, like your parents or your children, are gone. Your comfort is nonexistent. How can you even begin to feel human, when you're treated worse than an animal, when you're told that because of who /you/ are, /you/ are not allowed to exist?
We think that we need so much in life, when for some, really all there was to living was staying alive.
I get out of the shower, and text my mom. I pick out my clothes for the day. I brush my teeth and pack my suitcase. And all my mundane acts take on a new significance, in the context of what I've seen this past week.
Sleep well tonight .(Amy Y)
Day #6: Auschwitz
I feel emotionally drained. The horror of the past just felt more real as we walk along the barracks locked in by barbed wires. It was terrifying. We witnessed the proofs of systematic de-humanizing of Holocaust victims and it was brutally painful. Every shoes, every lock of hair and every pair of glasses belonged to a human being who was punished for being who they were.
I just want to thank Ms. Freeman for giving us the opportunity to sit together as a group to share how we were feeling after this experience. The amount of emotions that was present at that moment was really special. I loved how human I felt. And I don't know how to describe what walking through Auschwitz was like but one thing for sure, we cannot forget the fact that we cannot return to the states and live like how we normally once did. This history is now truly a part of our lives and we have to do whatever it takes to think of how our actions can affect others. (My-Ngan T)
******
A Powerful Experience
I feel like people wouldn't understand when I say this, but Auschwitz was a beautiful experience.
Going through the day, it was extremely emotional. The hair, the shoes, a room with the walls playing home videos of victims before the Holocaust, pictures by children from the Holocaust, really anything involving children,the beautiful prayer read by a girl on our trip at a grave in memorial of those who were murdered: at all these places I was close to crying. But I didn't, so I really thought I wasn't going to.
I'm sure others have mentioned the beautiful meadow where we had time to reflect. For me, sitting in the grass, for the first time in my whole life I was not bothered by the swarms of bugs around me. They were life in this place that had been so full of death and therefore they were beautiful. I accidentally squished two when I was going to stand up and it made me sad.
After, as I'm sure people have mentioned as well, we sat in a circle to talk, since we hadn't had much time to reflect as a group on this trip. I started off by tearing up, but before I knew it I was choking back sobs as tears streamed down my face. Everyone was speaking so sincerely and genuinely, letting loose these feelings Auschwitz had pulled out of them, and everyone's sincerity was just so beautiful. Every thought and feeling shared was one I thought to felt also, and it was so wonderful to know we all thought and felt this way. Pretty much everyone ended up crying, and hugging and comforting and sharing tissues. The thing about my crying was it was built up sadness from Auschwitz and anger that this had happened, but also happiness. I was so happy to just be alive and my chance to go on this trip and my chance to do something to make the world a better place someday. I was so happy to be with this specific group of people and that people like this exist: people who can cry together at Auschwitz and comfort each other and vow together to make a difference in their lifetime.
Auschwitz had been the day I had been least looking forward to on the trip. I expected the sadness; what I did not expect was how life changing and powerful it was. I would suggest to everyone to visit Auschwitz once, but I wish I could guarantee everyone the experience I had. (Emily C)
**********
Reactions to Auschwitz
It's our second full day in Poland and we are beginning a "4 ++ " hour long ride to the Majdanek concentration/extermination camp.
Reactions to Auschwitz
It's our second full day in Poland and we are beginning a "4 ++ " hour long ride to the Majdanek concentration/extermination camp.
Yesterday we visited Auschwitz, a place about which I had no formed expectations or ideas; I didn't know what I would find. I didn't leave the camp with a complete understanding of what happened there--that is something that I doubt anyone but a survivor can truly attest to. However, I learned and realized a few things that will stay with me forever:
📕📗📘📙
At Auschwitz I, we visited a room filled with the biggest book I had ever seen, filled with the 4 million known names of the 6 million Jews killed during the Holocaust. The sheer size of the book was haunting and effective to see so many victims expressed in the medium of a book. What really struck me about the exhibit was the fact that only 4 million names could be identified. I read a sign saying that entire communities were murdered. To me this means that for a person to go unidentified everyone they knew and everyone that knew them was also killed. I can't even begin to imagine or fathom this idea in my own life.
👤👤👤👤👤👤👤👤👤
At Auschwitz 1 we also saw some haunting photos of newly arrived prisoners with both their date of arrival and date of death. These were people who had been deemed healthy enough to avoid initially being sent straight to the gas chambers, something I had always assumed was a lucky fate. However as I looked at the dates of heir deaths I realized that most only lasted a month and many a just a week or less. This was shocking for me to consider how these people suffered a long slow, death or starvation and overworking rather than 20-30 minutes in the gas chamber. Regardless, it was clear to me that the nazis meant for all of these people to die, whether it was right away, or after the last remaining energy could be extracted from them.
🌻🌿🌾🌲🌲🌲🌳🌳☀️🐝🐜
The most emotional part of the trip occurred at Auschwitz II Birkenau, where we visited a field spanning over a mass grave of the ashes of those killed and burned at Auschwitz. As I first stepped into the field I wanted to convey a message to everyone whose final resting place lay where I was walking across. This proved impossible as I couldn't find any of the right words to say except for I am so sorry and I wish I could say nothing like this would ever happen again. I thought to myself that I wish I believed heaven existed so I knew everyone murdered during the Holocaust was truly in a better place. But I know they aren't. Their lives were stolen from them: from their country, from the workforce, from the society they should have grown up to impact.
📕📗📘📙
At Auschwitz I, we visited a room filled with the biggest book I had ever seen, filled with the 4 million known names of the 6 million Jews killed during the Holocaust. The sheer size of the book was haunting and effective to see so many victims expressed in the medium of a book. What really struck me about the exhibit was the fact that only 4 million names could be identified. I read a sign saying that entire communities were murdered. To me this means that for a person to go unidentified everyone they knew and everyone that knew them was also killed. I can't even begin to imagine or fathom this idea in my own life.
👤👤👤👤👤👤👤👤👤
At Auschwitz 1 we also saw some haunting photos of newly arrived prisoners with both their date of arrival and date of death. These were people who had been deemed healthy enough to avoid initially being sent straight to the gas chambers, something I had always assumed was a lucky fate. However as I looked at the dates of heir deaths I realized that most only lasted a month and many a just a week or less. This was shocking for me to consider how these people suffered a long slow, death or starvation and overworking rather than 20-30 minutes in the gas chamber. Regardless, it was clear to me that the nazis meant for all of these people to die, whether it was right away, or after the last remaining energy could be extracted from them.
🌻🌿🌾🌲🌲🌲🌳🌳☀️🐝🐜
The most emotional part of the trip occurred at Auschwitz II Birkenau, where we visited a field spanning over a mass grave of the ashes of those killed and burned at Auschwitz. As I first stepped into the field I wanted to convey a message to everyone whose final resting place lay where I was walking across. This proved impossible as I couldn't find any of the right words to say except for I am so sorry and I wish I could say nothing like this would ever happen again. I thought to myself that I wish I believed heaven existed so I knew everyone murdered during the Holocaust was truly in a better place. But I know they aren't. Their lives were stolen from them: from their country, from the workforce, from the society they should have grown up to impact.
Later on in the field, as I lost track of all sense of time, I began to truly appreciate how lucky I am to be on this trip, to take Facing History, to even have a basic understanding of genocide and the dangers of racism and prejudice. I also thought of the sentiment, "never again", and how this kind of systematic murder of a race has happened again and again after the horrors of the Holocaust. I believe "never again" can become a reality once we truly make race and genocide education a priority in schools all across the world, not just Germany and other western countries with a history of racial oppression. All students around the world need to have the same access to education that we do. Then I believe we can truly say this will happen never again.
As my time in the meadow came to a close all my thoughts and emotions were summed up when I had the overwhelming feeling that every flower, every bee, every butterfly, and every blade of grass, peacefully bringing life and beauty to this giant mass grave, was the rebirth of an innocent soul, lost but not forever. I am a completely non-religious, non spiritual person, so being in the field, getting in touch with this spiritual side of myself was completely unexpected but incredibly powerful.
❤️❤️❤️❤️😢😭😢❤️❤️❤️❤️
So I know that was all very cliche and overly emotional, but the whole experience of Auschwitz really only hit me while roaming the field and then later when we all sat in a giant circle sharing all of our own individual perceptions and feelings about the experience. It was beautiful to see how everyone cried openly and we all supported each other. I know we have shared a meaningful experience as a group and even if we forget some of the individual details about the day we will never forget the feeling of inclusivity and unity we felt while sharing our most personal feelings and emotions about the day. (Lucy S)
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You guys wouldn't believe the beauty of Europe!!
On our last day in Berlin, we walked through a random alleyway ( the kind only Freems would know ) and ended up in the midst of the city's finest street art. Murals extended high above the cobblestone streets and colors erupted in a million different ways. At first I felt like an intruder, disturbing the general aura of European coolness, but commotion is greatly contagious.
❤️❤️❤️❤️😢😭😢❤️❤️❤️❤️
So I know that was all very cliche and overly emotional, but the whole experience of Auschwitz really only hit me while roaming the field and then later when we all sat in a giant circle sharing all of our own individual perceptions and feelings about the experience. It was beautiful to see how everyone cried openly and we all supported each other. I know we have shared a meaningful experience as a group and even if we forget some of the individual details about the day we will never forget the feeling of inclusivity and unity we felt while sharing our most personal feelings and emotions about the day. (Lucy S)
********
You guys wouldn't believe the beauty of Europe!!
On our last day in Berlin, we walked through a random alleyway ( the kind only Freems would know ) and ended up in the midst of the city's finest street art. Murals extended high above the cobblestone streets and colors erupted in a million different ways. At first I felt like an intruder, disturbing the general aura of European coolness, but commotion is greatly contagious.
On a side note, I've officially had 8 cappuccinos.
Yesterday, after a lunch of doners where the tables summoned the sun's rays to the pale Americans, we made our way to the Jewish museum, where an exhibit of steel faces cluttered an angled room. Screams were heard and remembered as we walked over the faces, piercing the serenity of the museum, piercing German identity. It was a wonderfully rewarding experience, sobering like none other.
A few fun facts about our trip:
Europeans are gorgeous.
Coffee here tastes like you've fallen onto a cloud of extravagance ( with satin sheets ).
We're all looking forward to Tuesday morning, when Ms Freeman is going to let us sleep in, until 8AM!!!!!!
We've all bonded because we all smell.
We laugh a lot.
We feel a lot.
We've talked about how much we love this trip at least twice a day.
We all miss our parents.
We ALL miss our dogs.
We hope you're reading this religiously. Currently on our way to Auschwitz, which should be a trying and memorable experience. Tata for now! (*)
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This is probably going to be the hardest post for me to write, just because Auschwitz evokes a kind of feeling that's really hard to put in words. I guess I'll start with my favorite part of the day: we spent about half an hour processing what we'd seen after touring Auschwitz I and Birkenau in this beautiful meadow where the Nazis had sprinkled most of the victims' ashes. After that we went inside a nearby building and sat in a circle to share our thoughts as a group. Naturally, there were a lot of tears, but I didn't expect this to be the place where I cried the most out of anywhere else we'd gone. It was, by far. Everyone was so emotional and so supportive and I'm really glad we got the chance to do this because it really helped us bond. I really liked how everyone felt personal and individual connections to everything, but when we came together to share them many of them ended up being similar. It always feels good to know someone else feels exactly how you do.
Another reason I'm really glad we did this is because I think that it can be really hard sometimes (at least for me) to feel an emotional connection to the people who suffered In a certain place when only inanimate objects are there to help me. During the day, I mostly felt angry or scared when I looked at the camps, but I was slower to cry than most of the others. But coming together with everyone else really helped me feel an emotional connection simply by being around everyone else's emotions. I felt more sad than mad, I guess, and I was definitely able to cry then. It really helped me put things in perspective.
I guess a good way to express the feelings everyone had after Auschwitz is to try to recount some of the things people said during that talk. Hannah said something I really liked, that helped me come to terms with what I wrote about the last time I blogged, that I thought everything seemed too pretty to be home to a concentration camp. She said that after being at Birkenau in the gorgeous meadow, she realized it could be a good thing that such a terrible place can have such a beautiful rebirth. The camp is like a graveyard flowers growing by the headstones, something that makes a lot of sense to me and has really helped me reconcile some of my thoughts on this trip. It's like a whole new way of honoring the people who passed during the holocaust.
Overall, today was unforgettable and haunting. I'm so glad I have the opportunity to be on this trip. (Sylvie S.)
Day #6: Auschwitz
Supermarket and Auschwitz
Just stopped at a Polish supermarket, it was hella rad. It was really different and Annie almost bought a full watermelon( I stopped her). However I could not stop her from buying a knife, so to Annie's parents, watch out!! Anyways that was actually really fun , now we are on our way Majdanek....
I just want to blog about yesterday real quick though too. Yesterday was my 17th birthday and it was an experience spending it at Auschwitz. It was a very emotional and our group had a really good talk together which resulted in everyone basically crying. I feel a lot closer to everyone now though. I was also able to see the building where my grandpa was held as a political prisoner. While walking through I got a really dark feeling in my gut, that was strange and upsetting. Auschwitz was a very hard place to go to , the vastness of it was surprising and also, this may sound strange, but it was really beautiful. There was grass everywhere, flowers sprouting all about and even birds chirping. It was bizarre how something so awful happened there but in present day it's so beautiful.
Also I'd just like to take a second to thank everyone for the birthday wishes I received and the support(Bridget!!) . You guys are all really great, thank you. Also Alexis, Nora Co, and Annie's parents, your kids are freaking awesome! When we got back to the hotel they actually went out and bought pizza and cake and surprised me for my birthday. Just wow, really brightened my day after being at a concentration camp for hours. (Elizabeth H-B.)
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Auschwitz & Auschwitz Birkenau
Today was one of the hardest days emotionally and physically. First thing in the morning I woke up late and missed breakfast. What an awful, rushed start. The bus ride was about two hours and we were just joking around. I hadn't realized the gravity of our trip until we arrived. We went to Auschwitz I and II (Auschwitz-Birkenau) and as awful as it sounds, it was beautiful. We struggled with the idea of whether we were in an awful place or just a place where awful things happened. I had a hard time imagining the horrific events that occurred there because of all the grass, the birds, and the butterflies. It was such a contrast with how I saw Auschwitz in my head: grey, cold, wet. Our tour guide and the secret pictures that were taken there really helped me understand.
Walking through the barracks was really difficult because all I could think was "how could people live in these conditions" but the truth is they really had no choice. We entered the "evidence/proof" block where the camp displayed the items taken from the targeted groups of the Holocaust. This was the most painful thing to see. The first exhibit showed tufts of hair from floor to ceiling. It was heartbreaking to see that so many people were stripped of something so natural and were publicly humiliated. The next few exhibits showed basic items that people brought with them. Thinking they would live here for a while, people brought such simple belongings like brushes and shaving materials, even though they were likely killed immediately. Then we entered a large room with huge piles of suitcases and luggage with different names scrawled on it. It was so hard to think that the belongings people brought with them, they never saw again.
Finally, we walked into a room that showed thousands of shoes from the victims. The immense number of the shoes was what scared me the most. We always hear such huge numbers like 1 million or more victims during the Holocaust and we don't really think much of it because it is such an impossible concept to grasp. There's no way to imagine that many people and seeing the stacks upon stacks of shoes really showed me that. There was only about a thousand pairs of shoes in there and all I could keep thinking was that all of those shoes were worn by victims.
At the end of the day we sat in a circle and reflected on what we saw. It was so beautiful because we all started crying. I think we are all so grateful to be on this trip rather than at the Bahamas or partying somewhere. It was a great experience and I really want to thank Judi and the rest of the chaperones. Thank you so much! (Jessica K)
Just stopped at a Polish supermarket, it was hella rad. It was really different and Annie almost bought a full watermelon( I stopped her). However I could not stop her from buying a knife, so to Annie's parents, watch out!! Anyways that was actually really fun , now we are on our way Majdanek....
I just want to blog about yesterday real quick though too. Yesterday was my 17th birthday and it was an experience spending it at Auschwitz. It was a very emotional and our group had a really good talk together which resulted in everyone basically crying. I feel a lot closer to everyone now though. I was also able to see the building where my grandpa was held as a political prisoner. While walking through I got a really dark feeling in my gut, that was strange and upsetting. Auschwitz was a very hard place to go to , the vastness of it was surprising and also, this may sound strange, but it was really beautiful. There was grass everywhere, flowers sprouting all about and even birds chirping. It was bizarre how something so awful happened there but in present day it's so beautiful.
Also I'd just like to take a second to thank everyone for the birthday wishes I received and the support(Bridget!!) . You guys are all really great, thank you. Also Alexis, Nora Co, and Annie's parents, your kids are freaking awesome! When we got back to the hotel they actually went out and bought pizza and cake and surprised me for my birthday. Just wow, really brightened my day after being at a concentration camp for hours. (Elizabeth H-B.)
*********
Auschwitz & Auschwitz Birkenau
Today was one of the hardest days emotionally and physically. First thing in the morning I woke up late and missed breakfast. What an awful, rushed start. The bus ride was about two hours and we were just joking around. I hadn't realized the gravity of our trip until we arrived. We went to Auschwitz I and II (Auschwitz-Birkenau) and as awful as it sounds, it was beautiful. We struggled with the idea of whether we were in an awful place or just a place where awful things happened. I had a hard time imagining the horrific events that occurred there because of all the grass, the birds, and the butterflies. It was such a contrast with how I saw Auschwitz in my head: grey, cold, wet. Our tour guide and the secret pictures that were taken there really helped me understand.
Walking through the barracks was really difficult because all I could think was "how could people live in these conditions" but the truth is they really had no choice. We entered the "evidence/proof" block where the camp displayed the items taken from the targeted groups of the Holocaust. This was the most painful thing to see. The first exhibit showed tufts of hair from floor to ceiling. It was heartbreaking to see that so many people were stripped of something so natural and were publicly humiliated. The next few exhibits showed basic items that people brought with them. Thinking they would live here for a while, people brought such simple belongings like brushes and shaving materials, even though they were likely killed immediately. Then we entered a large room with huge piles of suitcases and luggage with different names scrawled on it. It was so hard to think that the belongings people brought with them, they never saw again.
Finally, we walked into a room that showed thousands of shoes from the victims. The immense number of the shoes was what scared me the most. We always hear such huge numbers like 1 million or more victims during the Holocaust and we don't really think much of it because it is such an impossible concept to grasp. There's no way to imagine that many people and seeing the stacks upon stacks of shoes really showed me that. There was only about a thousand pairs of shoes in there and all I could keep thinking was that all of those shoes were worn by victims.
At the end of the day we sat in a circle and reflected on what we saw. It was so beautiful because we all started crying. I think we are all so grateful to be on this trip rather than at the Bahamas or partying somewhere. It was a great experience and I really want to thank Judi and the rest of the chaperones. Thank you so much! (Jessica K)
Day #5: Berlin
TEaster!!!!!!
Happy Easter parents!!! Yesterday those of us going to church woke up early and went to St. Hedwigs Cathedral in Berlin. It was so interesting to see a mass in a different country. It really was super cool to hear it in German. Afterwards we went to get coffee at Balzac and then went to an art fair which was super cool. Then we met up with the other group of kids who slept in (jealous!) and we headed over to the Jewish Museum.
The Jewish Museum was such an amazing experience. We visited three main exhibits which were extremely powerful. The first I went to was the Garden of Exile. It had dozens of tall rectangular prisms in it, all of which were at a slight angle on an uneven ground. The effect was dizzying when you walked through. I took this to show how during and after the Holocaust the "norm" for those affected was so off balance, in reality it was far from walking on even ground, it was confusing and scary.
Hi to everyone miss you all!! (Emily B)
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After everyone regrouped following Easter mass, we all walked down to the Judische Museum.
On the walk down, I had a discussion with a few other students about one of challenges in learning about the holocaust: our inability to understand and identify with the victims of the war as 'humans' and not just 'victims'. Reading in books, watching videos, we see all the bodies piled up or the emancipated figures, and they seem so far removed from our lives that we can't really imagine them having lives similar to our own before the war.
I think that the main message among the exhibits, that these peoples' pain was real, but their humanity was real as well.
There were two exhibits that struck me the most. Fallen Leaves was a single, long, tall room, where the floor was covered in 10,000 hand-cast bronze faces. The faces were about an inch thick, cartoony, just two dots and a mouth that seemed to be open... In a scream? A cry? Open to interpretation. We were encouraged to walk on them, and it was eerie, hearing the bronze clang together in all these discordant tones. We figured out that if we took 100 of these huge rooms, it would only begin to near the number of people who were victims of the war.
The other exhibit, directly outside, were the pictures taken by a famous Jewish photographer. Seeing these mundane and intimate moments with random people struck me even more. It's not like these pictures were all of holocaust victims or anything. But in that combination with the other exhibit, which dehumanized the victims into these cartoon faces, the contrast in just how relatable, how extremely human these people were, really gave me chills. (Amy Y)
*****
Happy Easter parents!!! Yesterday those of us going to church woke up early and went to St. Hedwigs Cathedral in Berlin. It was so interesting to see a mass in a different country. It really was super cool to hear it in German. Afterwards we went to get coffee at Balzac and then went to an art fair which was super cool. Then we met up with the other group of kids who slept in (jealous!) and we headed over to the Jewish Museum.
The Jewish Museum was such an amazing experience. We visited three main exhibits which were extremely powerful. The first I went to was the Garden of Exile. It had dozens of tall rectangular prisms in it, all of which were at a slight angle on an uneven ground. The effect was dizzying when you walked through. I took this to show how during and after the Holocaust the "norm" for those affected was so off balance, in reality it was far from walking on even ground, it was confusing and scary.
The next place I visited was called the Tower. It was a cold concrete room, with the highest of roofs and tall walls. The ceiling was black and there was a small window which provided the room with its only source of light. The effect of standing in that room and looking up at the ceiling so far up above is chilling. The whole thing seemed so hopeless, as if standing at the bottom of a well and looking up. There was a heavy metal door that slammed shut and echoed, amplified, in that room. It was so disturbing.
Lastly we went to the Garden of Leaves, which was a long room filled with hundred of metal faces that you walked upon. The faces were almost cartoonized, they did not resemble real people's features. But every single one had a mouth open in a scream or cry. Walking over these faces, the room clanging as others walked on the faces, was sickening. The feeling of stepping on people is one of the most horrible things I have experienced.
I think these exhibits were so powerful because they were so sensory. They engaged more than sight, they engaged touch, and balance, and hearing. I thought these were extremely effective.
The we flew to Poland and had a lovely Easter Dinner yay!
I think these exhibits were so powerful because they were so sensory. They engaged more than sight, they engaged touch, and balance, and hearing. I thought these were extremely effective.
The we flew to Poland and had a lovely Easter Dinner yay!
Hi to everyone miss you all!! (Emily B)
*********
After everyone regrouped following Easter mass, we all walked down to the Judische Museum.
On the walk down, I had a discussion with a few other students about one of challenges in learning about the holocaust: our inability to understand and identify with the victims of the war as 'humans' and not just 'victims'. Reading in books, watching videos, we see all the bodies piled up or the emancipated figures, and they seem so far removed from our lives that we can't really imagine them having lives similar to our own before the war.
I think that the main message among the exhibits, that these peoples' pain was real, but their humanity was real as well.
There were two exhibits that struck me the most. Fallen Leaves was a single, long, tall room, where the floor was covered in 10,000 hand-cast bronze faces. The faces were about an inch thick, cartoony, just two dots and a mouth that seemed to be open... In a scream? A cry? Open to interpretation. We were encouraged to walk on them, and it was eerie, hearing the bronze clang together in all these discordant tones. We figured out that if we took 100 of these huge rooms, it would only begin to near the number of people who were victims of the war.
The other exhibit, directly outside, were the pictures taken by a famous Jewish photographer. Seeing these mundane and intimate moments with random people struck me even more. It's not like these pictures were all of holocaust victims or anything. But in that combination with the other exhibit, which dehumanized the victims into these cartoon faces, the contrast in just how relatable, how extremely human these people were, really gave me chills. (Amy Y)
*****
The Holocaust Tower
On Sunday, we went to the Jewish Museum before leaving for Poland. Generally I'm not moved by memorials. I appreciate them and value the importance of trying to commemorate an event/people, but they never really impact me emotionally. The ones we saw in the museum in Sunday were the exception. (Ana M)
On Sunday, we went to the Jewish Museum before leaving for Poland. Generally I'm not moved by memorials. I appreciate them and value the importance of trying to commemorate an event/people, but they never really impact me emotionally. The ones we saw in the museum in Sunday were the exception. (Ana M)
Day #6: Auschwitz
The trip is a bit more than half over now, I think. Leaving Berlin and coming to
Poland gave me a greater sense of the trip as a whole. Going to so many museums and memorials, there is a lot of repeated material. The important things are the differences. Like the amazingly meaningful architecture and design at the Jewish Museum in Berlin, and the various different focuses of museum panels, and the feeling of being in a bunker under the city, in a green, glowing, propaganda labyrinth.
And then we come to Poland, where all of the museums discussed in detail, and see Auschwitz for ourselves. I was struck by the beauty of the landscape, and by the depth and magnitude of horror, and by the exhibit in building 27 that I'm sure others have posted about in detail. I had locked my emotions away, a bit, looking at the masses of hair and the baby clothes, and the hallway of shoes. I didn't push myself to consider the significance. I knew it would still be incomprehensible.
***********
When I woke up yesterday morning, I really didn't know what I would be getting into. I kept on thinking about what mood I would be in all day and how I would feel when I walked into a place where over a million people lost their lives.
When we got off the bus and walked into Auschwitz 1, it wasn't how I imagined it to be. I saw the "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign, but I also saw beautiful, brick, military barracks, flowers, and fresh spring grass. I was expecting to see barbed wire, prison cells, cramped sleeping quarters, and gas chambers, and I did, but I also saw museums and droves of people. I guess that I never thought people would want to go to Auschwitz. In the museums, there were artifacts, like piles of hair, shoes, suitcases, and kitchenware. The pile of children's shoes was hard to look at, because everyone likes little kids and just imagining an innocent child, struggling to take off their shoes, before taking a bar of soap, and heading into a gas chamber, makes most people uneasy.
Later on, we went to Auschwitz-Birkenau and walked in the field of ashes, where some of those kids lie, along with their families. When Ms Freeman releases us into the large field, I walked out to the middle and said an Our Father and a Hail Mary, because those are the two prayers I say at my grandmother's grave, and at that moment, I looked around and realized that it wasn't just a Jewish burial ground, but a burial ground for all to remember and empathize.
The ground was soft and covered in flowers, like a new grave, and although the Holocaust ended almost 70 years ago, this was definitely symbolic for something. As much as we like to think that the Holocaust is just a horrible event of the past, similar genocides are occurring today, and until we can keep people from oppressing other people, for being who they are, the ground will never harden up again.
Throughout this trip, Ms Freeman has asked us if memorials have a shelf-life, and they definitely do, but now I see what that shelf-life is. Some memorials are ineffective, others are very powerful, but all stand for something and until that something no longer affects society, the memorial has to stand. (Bill H)
Entering the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, I had already felt something indescribable. Despite the sunny 60 degree weather, I had a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach and there were shivers up and down my spine. As the tour of the camp began and the weather got nicer, the concentration camp looked more and more beautiful. (Minas)
*******
Poland gave me a greater sense of the trip as a whole. Going to so many museums and memorials, there is a lot of repeated material. The important things are the differences. Like the amazingly meaningful architecture and design at the Jewish Museum in Berlin, and the various different focuses of museum panels, and the feeling of being in a bunker under the city, in a green, glowing, propaganda labyrinth.
And then we come to Poland, where all of the museums discussed in detail, and see Auschwitz for ourselves. I was struck by the beauty of the landscape, and by the depth and magnitude of horror, and by the exhibit in building 27 that I'm sure others have posted about in detail. I had locked my emotions away, a bit, looking at the masses of hair and the baby clothes, and the hallway of shoes. I didn't push myself to consider the significance. I knew it would still be incomprehensible.
Then, in building 27, there was music. We walked into a dark room, and saw various projections on the walls, of people in the 1920s and 30s going to concerts, and diving into lakes, and hugging each other, and dancing in their Sunday best, and I sobbed.
I didn't cry again for most of the day, until after walking around the expanses of Birkenau (sometimes through the birches it is named) we sat in a circle in the building incoming inmates were disinfected in, and shared our thoughts with each other. Everyone was supportive and thoughtful, and emotional, and while we talked, there was a light rain.
I didn't cry again for most of the day, until after walking around the expanses of Birkenau (sometimes through the birches it is named) we sat in a circle in the building incoming inmates were disinfected in, and shared our thoughts with each other. Everyone was supportive and thoughtful, and emotional, and while we talked, there was a light rain.
It was over by the time we went outside again. We walked around, and Ms. Freeman pointed out the disintegrating bricks on the barracks that are left standing. Birkenau is near the water level, and it floods easily. You can see the water line on the bricks. One more good flood, and those buildings could come down.
As we were walking back towards the main gate, along the train tracks, we noticed a faint rainbow. I wasn't sure at that point if or how I should interpret it, but writing this, I remembered: In the book of Genesis, a rainbow means never again. (Debbie J)
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Yesterday we went to Auschwitz. We had the best weather of the trip that day, a beautiful day at Auschwitz death camp. Luckily we arrived earlier than expected so we were able to get an early start on the tour. It makes the experience so much more powerful when there are less people. Later in the day, when we were in Birkenau it was pretty crowded at some points and it takes away from the experience a little.
As we were walking back towards the main gate, along the train tracks, we noticed a faint rainbow. I wasn't sure at that point if or how I should interpret it, but writing this, I remembered: In the book of Genesis, a rainbow means never again. (Debbie J)
************
Yesterday we went to Auschwitz. We had the best weather of the trip that day, a beautiful day at Auschwitz death camp. Luckily we arrived earlier than expected so we were able to get an early start on the tour. It makes the experience so much more powerful when there are less people. Later in the day, when we were in Birkenau it was pretty crowded at some points and it takes away from the experience a little.
Anyways, the exhibitions in the barracks at Auschwitz are unbelievable. There is a block that is dedicated to evidence of the crimes and the amount of stuff they have is staggering. Especially when you consider it is only a fraction of what there was. They have pots, suitcases, children's toys, and worst of all, hair. That block is where most people, including my self got the most emotional.
After lunch we went to Birkenau. The place is absolutely enormous, it had to be at least 50 football fields. Since there aren't any exhibitions in Birkenau it isn't as emotional as Auschwitz, that is until you get the field where a majority oft he ashes were dumped. The chaperones let everyone just wander off into the field to give people time to reflect for a while. I know that at least for myself that was really helpful. I would say that it's was probably the most emotional day of my life because everything that we've studied about the holocaust has led up to this. To walk the same ground as the people who suffered there and to sit in the field where their ashes were dumped. Before going I was on the fence about whether we should preserve Auschwitz or let it crumble to the ground but now I firmly believe we should preserve it. There is no substitute for actually going there and seeing it in person, doesn't matter how many books you've read or movies you've watched. (Mike K)
***********
When I woke up yesterday morning, I really didn't know what I would be getting into. I kept on thinking about what mood I would be in all day and how I would feel when I walked into a place where over a million people lost their lives.
When we got off the bus and walked into Auschwitz 1, it wasn't how I imagined it to be. I saw the "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign, but I also saw beautiful, brick, military barracks, flowers, and fresh spring grass. I was expecting to see barbed wire, prison cells, cramped sleeping quarters, and gas chambers, and I did, but I also saw museums and droves of people. I guess that I never thought people would want to go to Auschwitz. In the museums, there were artifacts, like piles of hair, shoes, suitcases, and kitchenware. The pile of children's shoes was hard to look at, because everyone likes little kids and just imagining an innocent child, struggling to take off their shoes, before taking a bar of soap, and heading into a gas chamber, makes most people uneasy.
Later on, we went to Auschwitz-Birkenau and walked in the field of ashes, where some of those kids lie, along with their families. When Ms Freeman releases us into the large field, I walked out to the middle and said an Our Father and a Hail Mary, because those are the two prayers I say at my grandmother's grave, and at that moment, I looked around and realized that it wasn't just a Jewish burial ground, but a burial ground for all to remember and empathize.
The ground was soft and covered in flowers, like a new grave, and although the Holocaust ended almost 70 years ago, this was definitely symbolic for something. As much as we like to think that the Holocaust is just a horrible event of the past, similar genocides are occurring today, and until we can keep people from oppressing other people, for being who they are, the ground will never harden up again.
Throughout this trip, Ms Freeman has asked us if memorials have a shelf-life, and they definitely do, but now I see what that shelf-life is. Some memorials are ineffective, others are very powerful, but all stand for something and until that something no longer affects society, the memorial has to stand. (Bill H)
***********
Rebirth.
It's not supposed to be beautiful.
I'm not supposed to see smiling faces and fluttering families unloading from their cars happy to spend the day together.
I'm not supposed to turn to the person next to me and say
"Wow that field is gorgeous"...
I walked into Auschwitz feeling these things.
Feeling very confused about the friction created by the collisions of my feelings of utter terror and my feelings of awe at the sheer beauty
in some spots.
There seemed to be something inherently wrong, disrespectful even, with saying "This place is beautiful"...
But then again.
Maybe I am walking away grateful that a place that has witnessed so much evil can turn over and become beautiful again... (-Hannah M.)
It's not supposed to be beautiful.
I'm not supposed to see smiling faces and fluttering families unloading from their cars happy to spend the day together.
I'm not supposed to turn to the person next to me and say
"Wow that field is gorgeous"...
I walked into Auschwitz feeling these things.
Feeling very confused about the friction created by the collisions of my feelings of utter terror and my feelings of awe at the sheer beauty
in some spots.
There seemed to be something inherently wrong, disrespectful even, with saying "This place is beautiful"...
But then again.
Maybe I am walking away grateful that a place that has witnessed so much evil can turn over and become beautiful again... (-Hannah M.)
**********
It's been a day after having visited Auschwitz I and II. I still have no idea of what to say about how I feel about visiting it. All I know is that I never want to return but it was very important for us to go there. Over 1 million innocent people were murdered within the confines of that fenced off plot of Hell, including 200,000 children, an entire generation lost. We've read so much about the holocaust, seen so many documentaries, but nothing compares going to the place where it happened. Knowing that I was looking into the ruins where thousands of innocent people were gassed, tricked into there death, just brought me to tears. But it truly was important for us to see it, because all of us care so incredibly much, and I know that after seeing that, everyone on this trip is going to do something amazing with their lives to make sure a place like Auschwitz never exists again. (Daniel W)
It's been a day after having visited Auschwitz I and II. I still have no idea of what to say about how I feel about visiting it. All I know is that I never want to return but it was very important for us to go there. Over 1 million innocent people were murdered within the confines of that fenced off plot of Hell, including 200,000 children, an entire generation lost. We've read so much about the holocaust, seen so many documentaries, but nothing compares going to the place where it happened. Knowing that I was looking into the ruins where thousands of innocent people were gassed, tricked into there death, just brought me to tears. But it truly was important for us to see it, because all of us care so incredibly much, and I know that after seeing that, everyone on this trip is going to do something amazing with their lives to make sure a place like Auschwitz never exists again. (Daniel W)
Today was such a remarkable day. It's crazy to spend a day in Auschwitz after learning about it for years in a classroom. Going through the barracks and the seeing the ruins...sitting in the field. Someone said that she didn't want to spend her time here trying to understand why this all happened, and is realized that that was what I was doing. All day I tried it process what was going on and think that someone had stood where I was standing.
But thinking this way still didn't click for me. But when I had seen the room with the forks and spoons and pots..it hit me. I used a fork at lunch. I know my family probably just had a home cooked meal using a pot.
Standing in that room, I forgot I was in auchwitz. I was overwhelmed with trying to become cohesive.
All I could think about was how all those families were stripped literally everything, of daily things. It's not just their homes, or jobs, things as simple as forks were taken away from them. For me, it just really put things into perspective. And it was just as interesting to see what everyone else had to say, and slowly, I had come to grasp what had happened on the plot of land better than ever before. Something all struck us, but we were moved in the same way.
Especially sitting in that field...my friend and I sat in a silence, as did several other people, but there was conversation in the air. Just seeing each other in the distance, listening to the birds and the bugs...everyone was saying the same thing in complete silence. (Rakabe A.)
But thinking this way still didn't click for me. But when I had seen the room with the forks and spoons and pots..it hit me. I used a fork at lunch. I know my family probably just had a home cooked meal using a pot.
Standing in that room, I forgot I was in auchwitz. I was overwhelmed with trying to become cohesive.
All I could think about was how all those families were stripped literally everything, of daily things. It's not just their homes, or jobs, things as simple as forks were taken away from them. For me, it just really put things into perspective. And it was just as interesting to see what everyone else had to say, and slowly, I had come to grasp what had happened on the plot of land better than ever before. Something all struck us, but we were moved in the same way.
Especially sitting in that field...my friend and I sat in a silence, as did several other people, but there was conversation in the air. Just seeing each other in the distance, listening to the birds and the bugs...everyone was saying the same thing in complete silence. (Rakabe A.)
***********
Pure Emotion
Our minds often process phrases, statistics and expressions regarding masses of people as being one thing: one hundred men. A legion. A million people. Very rarely are we able to dissect these masses of people as being comprised of unique individuals with many loved ones, like us. Taking this facing history class we were exposed to many shocking facts and statistics that gave us immense knowledge about genocides around the world, especially the Holocaust. However, today in Auschwitz, Poland, my knowledge about the holocaust not only expanded, but became real. Today was the day that I no longer processed these facts about masses of people as , but understood them these facts and statistics no longer were about the masses of people in my head, but became about the individuals.
Pure Emotion
Our minds often process phrases, statistics and expressions regarding masses of people as being one thing: one hundred men. A legion. A million people. Very rarely are we able to dissect these masses of people as being comprised of unique individuals with many loved ones, like us. Taking this facing history class we were exposed to many shocking facts and statistics that gave us immense knowledge about genocides around the world, especially the Holocaust. However, today in Auschwitz, Poland, my knowledge about the holocaust not only expanded, but became real. Today was the day that I no longer processed these facts about masses of people as , but understood them these facts and statistics no longer were about the masses of people in my head, but became about the individuals.
Entering the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, I had already felt something indescribable. Despite the sunny 60 degree weather, I had a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach and there were shivers up and down my spine. As the tour of the camp began and the weather got nicer, the concentration camp looked more and more beautiful. (Minas)
*******
Monday, April 21, 2014
Days #4-5 Berlin
For the past two days we've gotten to spend a lot of time exploring Berlin, and I've fallen in love with the city. The two days have been especially fun because we haven't done AS much AS depressing stuff.
On Friday we learned a lot about the Berlin Wall, which I always found really interesting so it was really cool. A lady who had been an American teaching in Berlin when the wall went up spoke to us. A number of her students were seperated from their families when the wall divided the two halves. As an American, she could visit families on the other side, letting them know how their children were doing and bringing them supplies. She was very courageous and inspiring. We got to see parts of the wall and I got a much better idea of what t was really like with the wall up.
We went to visit a factory whose owner attempted to save his blind workers from imprisonment in concentration camps by saying he needed them as workers. This factory was located in an ally of Berlin, which happens to be one of the coolest places I've ever been. Colorful, political-statement-esque graffiti covered almost every inch of it.
This morning a group of us attended Easter Sunday mass. The mass was of course in German, but we could kind of catch on to what part of mass it was, and regardless the church was beautiful. After, we got free time, and went to a coffee shop and enjoyed coffee and pastries outside in Berlin. We shopped and lounged on the grass taking in sights.
We then met the rest of the group and went to the Jewish Museum. Ms. Freeman told us 3 key exhibits to visit: the tower, the garden of exile, and the fallen leaves exhibit. All three of these were very artistic and creative memorials and very open to interpretation, and most of all very very moving and effective. They were absolutely haunting, and I think the most effective memorials to the holocaust I have experienced, even though they included no information about the holocaust. (Emily C)
Day #6: Auschwitz (additional thoughts)
Today was so overwhelming. There are so many things I saw and heard today that I will never be able to forget. I thought our group handled everything so well and really came together today. My emotions didn't really catch up to me until the end of the day when we were sitting in the circle all sharing our thoughts and at that point I just lost it. I was very surprised that it took me so long to be emotional in the first place but I think I was able to let my guard down finally because in that setting I felt so comfortable with everyone and knew that it was ok to cry and let it all out.
It's nearly impossible to put into words what we experienced today. It was so powerful just being in the place where such horrible things happened and seeing how beautiful it was. Seeing the places that we've learned so much about throughout all of our history classes, books we've read, and survivor tales is so powerful. It's scary to think that it was people just like all of us in this horrible place but even more than that it's scary to think that it was people just like all of us committing these horrible acts. I will never get over the fact that there were actually people who had been born in Auschwitz and innocent children were exposed to such a horrible place. This experience was truly life changing. (Bridget)
*************
Dear friends, family, and all followers of the Eastern Europe blog:
We are currently on the bus on the way back to our hotel in Krakow after a long day at Auschwitz and Birkenau. Today was undoubtedly one of the most moving days of my life, and I will not forget what I witnessed, what I heard, and what we all talked about near the end of our visit in a debriefing circle. Words cannot describe what this day and these places meant to me, or really to any of us. Because I cannot exactly pinpoint my feelings, it will be hard to convey them through this blog post.
While the entire day today was truly an unforgettable experience, I would like to focus on what I saw at the Birkenau labor camp, also known as Auschwitz II. Here are some of the things that I found to be particularly impactful:
Right before lunch, our guide took us up to see the entire camp from above through a watchtower that is open to the public. The view is something that I will honestly never forget: the huge expanse of ruins and chimneys and barracks for as far as the eye could see. An enormous camp stretching over dozens of football fields, filled with barbed wire and memorials. It was probably the most haunting thing I have ever seen, like something from a nightmare. To think that everything we saw was 100% man-made was absolutely horrifying and disturbing, and this was something we all discussed afterwards.
When we returned later in the afternoon, we eventually arrived at a spot that was marked by four gravestone memorials, each containing the same message in English, Polish, Hebrew, and Yiddish. The engraving stated that what lay beyond it was the site of the ashes of countless men, women, and children who had perished during the Holocaust. It was the site of the remains of a destroyed gas chamber, essentially a mass grave.
We are currently on the bus on the way back to our hotel in Krakow after a long day at Auschwitz and Birkenau. Today was undoubtedly one of the most moving days of my life, and I will not forget what I witnessed, what I heard, and what we all talked about near the end of our visit in a debriefing circle. Words cannot describe what this day and these places meant to me, or really to any of us. Because I cannot exactly pinpoint my feelings, it will be hard to convey them through this blog post.
While the entire day today was truly an unforgettable experience, I would like to focus on what I saw at the Birkenau labor camp, also known as Auschwitz II. Here are some of the things that I found to be particularly impactful:
Right before lunch, our guide took us up to see the entire camp from above through a watchtower that is open to the public. The view is something that I will honestly never forget: the huge expanse of ruins and chimneys and barracks for as far as the eye could see. An enormous camp stretching over dozens of football fields, filled with barbed wire and memorials. It was probably the most haunting thing I have ever seen, like something from a nightmare. To think that everything we saw was 100% man-made was absolutely horrifying and disturbing, and this was something we all discussed afterwards.
When we returned later in the afternoon, we eventually arrived at a spot that was marked by four gravestone memorials, each containing the same message in English, Polish, Hebrew, and Yiddish. The engraving stated that what lay beyond it was the site of the ashes of countless men, women, and children who had perished during the Holocaust. It was the site of the remains of a destroyed gas chamber, essentially a mass grave.
Ms. Freeman had asked me to bring along a small prayer book on the trip, from which I then recited the "Kaddish," the Jewish prayer for mourning. While some Jews only recite the Kaddish to honor the passing of an immediate family member, others believe that it should also be recited for those who cannot or are not able to say it. I read the prayer aloud in Hebrew and in English, and all participated during the points of "amen." This moment was incredibly moving for me; I am so fortunate to have been able to share a part of my religion and Jewish culture with my peers so that we could all honor and remember the victims together.
Near the end of our visit, as I mentioned before, our entire group had the opportunity to sit in a large circle inside the Sauna building, the site of undressing and showering by the people in the camp. After an intense day of overwhelming emotion, we all went around and shared some of our thoughts and feelings, and discussed what in particular had resonated with us. Although many had not shown visible emotion yet that day, we were all soon crying. Everyone had something meaningful to contribute. Sitting there crying, listening to the beautiful, powerful, and articulate words of my classmates was another aspect of today that will remain with me forever. For although we all have been reacting to everything in different ways, as Ms. Freeman had told us all would happen, in that moment we were one; all of us had been affected and forever touched by what we had witnessed.
I hope everyone back home is doing well. Tomorrow we are headed to Majdanek, the death camp where nearly everything has been left in tact since its liberation in 1945. Fortunately, we have some free timetonight in Krakow for dinner and some exploring in the town square before tomorrow, what I know will be yet another extremely powerful day. (Abbie)
Near the end of our visit, as I mentioned before, our entire group had the opportunity to sit in a large circle inside the Sauna building, the site of undressing and showering by the people in the camp. After an intense day of overwhelming emotion, we all went around and shared some of our thoughts and feelings, and discussed what in particular had resonated with us. Although many had not shown visible emotion yet that day, we were all soon crying. Everyone had something meaningful to contribute. Sitting there crying, listening to the beautiful, powerful, and articulate words of my classmates was another aspect of today that will remain with me forever. For although we all have been reacting to everything in different ways, as Ms. Freeman had told us all would happen, in that moment we were one; all of us had been affected and forever touched by what we had witnessed.
I hope everyone back home is doing well. Tomorrow we are headed to Majdanek, the death camp where nearly everything has been left in tact since its liberation in 1945. Fortunately, we have some free timetonight in Krakow for dinner and some exploring in the town square before tomorrow, what I know will be yet another extremely powerful day. (Abbie)
Days #1-5:Berlin
Hallo/djenedobre:
Our time in Berlin has sadly come to a close as we woke up this morning to a new city, country, language, hotel, and best of all a functioning shower! Berlin was the first time I have ever been to Europe and it exceeded all expectations. we learned, visited, and explored more than I thought possible in a 5 day period and definitely more than I can fit in one blog. There were a few moments and experiences on the trip so far that have impacted me more than others though:
*on a tour of key nazi history sites in Berlin our guide, Arya, explained how while Germany has freedom of speech, public display of a swastika and calling yourself a national socialist is illegal. This is because fascism threatens the democratic ideals of their constitution and the government's job is to protect democracy. This reminded me of how it is also now illegal to call yourself a Hutu or a Tutsi in Rwanda.
*we visited the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe, a sprawling graveyard of identical grey rectangular rectangular prisms at different heights across sloping land. Walking through the memorial was moving as you literally disappeared into nothing as you went deeper into the middle just as millions of people were deported and killed never to be seen again during the holocaust. There were many kids/teens jumping from stone to stone, screaming, and playing hide and seek throughout the area which was extremely disrespectful. We wondered if their teachers didn't tell them what the memorials was or if they truly thought it appropriate to play and yell in such an important memorial to the past.
*Bernburg euthanasia center is in the basement of a currently running mental hospital a couple hours outside of Berlin. During the holocaust 14,000 "disabled" people were killed in a gas chamber there because of their disabilities. We walked through the center and walked through the exact rooms where people were brought, stripped, gassed, and hen had their corpses examined. This was an extremely chilling experience. Many people were repulsed by how the hospital is still running when such a disgusting thing happened there. I think it is important that the hospital keeps running because it further preserves the memory of the evil that happened. Also we learned that all doctors and nurses had to watch 1 gassing before being hired to work there and not one person decided to not accept a job after seeing the gassing.
*the Judisches museum had 3 memorials/experiences/art that ms freeman said we had to see. First was the garden of exile which was similar to a smaller version of the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe except while walking you always felt like you would either fall forward or you were struggling to climb a hill. I think this represented how throughout the holocaust survival was a difficult struggle and there was a loss of most control over oneself. We also saw the tower of the holocaust, a jaggedly shaped room with seemingly never ending ceiling height with a ceiling that mirrored the night sky and the only light coming from a small sliver of sunlight at the top. When the door opened or closed the sound echoed around the whole room as if the walls were closing in. I felt trapped and the one small amount of sunlight (hope) seemed impossible to reach. Lastly we saw falling leaves, a tall room covered on the floor with small metal faces with gaping mouths and sad eyes. You walked through the room and the faces all jingled together. I felt like I was walking over faces yelling for help as they lay dying. The overall effect was creepy and made me look at each face as a separate victim with his own story.
I am impressed with the way Germany has reckoned with its dark past. On almost every corner of Berlin is a memorial to some people victimized by the nazis. All German school children are required by law to visit a concentration camp. I believe Germans should be some of the most educated people in the world about racial prejudices and genocide because of how present their country's past is in everyday life. I really loved berlin and also had an amazing time bonding with my classmates, had great food, and enjoyed the best tour guides in the world. Shout out to tim and the guy from the underground ww2 bunker. (Lucy)0
Our time in Berlin has sadly come to a close as we woke up this morning to a new city, country, language, hotel, and best of all a functioning shower! Berlin was the first time I have ever been to Europe and it exceeded all expectations. we learned, visited, and explored more than I thought possible in a 5 day period and definitely more than I can fit in one blog. There were a few moments and experiences on the trip so far that have impacted me more than others though:
*on a tour of key nazi history sites in Berlin our guide, Arya, explained how while Germany has freedom of speech, public display of a swastika and calling yourself a national socialist is illegal. This is because fascism threatens the democratic ideals of their constitution and the government's job is to protect democracy. This reminded me of how it is also now illegal to call yourself a Hutu or a Tutsi in Rwanda.
*we visited the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe, a sprawling graveyard of identical grey rectangular rectangular prisms at different heights across sloping land. Walking through the memorial was moving as you literally disappeared into nothing as you went deeper into the middle just as millions of people were deported and killed never to be seen again during the holocaust. There were many kids/teens jumping from stone to stone, screaming, and playing hide and seek throughout the area which was extremely disrespectful. We wondered if their teachers didn't tell them what the memorials was or if they truly thought it appropriate to play and yell in such an important memorial to the past.
*Bernburg euthanasia center is in the basement of a currently running mental hospital a couple hours outside of Berlin. During the holocaust 14,000 "disabled" people were killed in a gas chamber there because of their disabilities. We walked through the center and walked through the exact rooms where people were brought, stripped, gassed, and hen had their corpses examined. This was an extremely chilling experience. Many people were repulsed by how the hospital is still running when such a disgusting thing happened there. I think it is important that the hospital keeps running because it further preserves the memory of the evil that happened. Also we learned that all doctors and nurses had to watch 1 gassing before being hired to work there and not one person decided to not accept a job after seeing the gassing.
*the Judisches museum had 3 memorials/experiences/art that ms freeman said we had to see. First was the garden of exile which was similar to a smaller version of the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe except while walking you always felt like you would either fall forward or you were struggling to climb a hill. I think this represented how throughout the holocaust survival was a difficult struggle and there was a loss of most control over oneself. We also saw the tower of the holocaust, a jaggedly shaped room with seemingly never ending ceiling height with a ceiling that mirrored the night sky and the only light coming from a small sliver of sunlight at the top. When the door opened or closed the sound echoed around the whole room as if the walls were closing in. I felt trapped and the one small amount of sunlight (hope) seemed impossible to reach. Lastly we saw falling leaves, a tall room covered on the floor with small metal faces with gaping mouths and sad eyes. You walked through the room and the faces all jingled together. I felt like I was walking over faces yelling for help as they lay dying. The overall effect was creepy and made me look at each face as a separate victim with his own story.
I am impressed with the way Germany has reckoned with its dark past. On almost every corner of Berlin is a memorial to some people victimized by the nazis. All German school children are required by law to visit a concentration camp. I believe Germans should be some of the most educated people in the world about racial prejudices and genocide because of how present their country's past is in everyday life. I really loved berlin and also had an amazing time bonding with my classmates, had great food, and enjoyed the best tour guides in the world. Shout out to tim and the guy from the underground ww2 bunker. (Lucy)0
Day #5: Easter Sunday in Berlin, the Jewish Museum and off to Krakow
It's 6:15 AM and even though over half of the people on the trip are still asleep, it's time for a select group of 19 people to head over to St. Hedwig Church, near Humboldt University, for Easter Sunday Mass. "Der Kaiser" Dr. Carroll and "The Legend" Mr. Flynn lead us to Mehringdamm and we take the U-Bahn all the way to French Street. We get off the train, rise to the surface like a Wellington Phoenix, and start walking towards the church. We soon stopped, as we were confused about the exact location of the church, but luckily Der Kaiser is able to run yet another segment of "Conversation with the Locals" and we realize that the church is just a hop and a skip down the straße.
Originally, I was worried about spending Easter away from my family, but over the past few days, the people on this trip have become like family to me, so I'm glad I could spend one of my favorite holidays with them.
Happy Easter (Bill H)
We ate a few hours later at this lil place with outdoor seating and I had 2 bowls of gelato😊😊😊😊. We then went to the Jewish Museum in Berlin, which was extremely elegant and personally moving. The entire museum is like a maze and it was very frustrating to navigate at times; I often felt lost and trapped. I took this confusing maze as a metaphor for the way the Jewish people must have felt throughout history- not just during the holocaust. There were two rooms that really got to me at this museum: the holocaust tower and the fallen leaves. The two senses that really came through in both of these rooms were my sense of touch and hearing. The holocaust tower was an eerie, dark room with no heat and no electricity. When I walked in, I got chills. The cement walls were a few stories high, making me feel totally trapped. The massive (and heavy) metal door shut behind me with an explosive bang that echoed through the tower for a few seconds. I sat with my bare back against the icy wall, feeling isolated and lonely. I just kinda got the feeling that there was no way out, no possibility of staying positive in this shady gray room. I felt like a prisoner... A peasant in the eyes of the walls. The walls belittled me, making me feel insignificant. The sounds in the room were terrifying. The paralyzing bang of the door was enough to send goosebumps running up and down my arms. The people talking on the other side of the room sounded like voices in my head, I swear this room could make someone go crazy. It was shocking to me that a room could make me feel this way.
Even before I entered the fallen leaves room I felt moved by it. From 2 rooms away, I could hear what I thought was the clinking of thousands of metal chains. I had to ask Liam what it was because I was so scared... I just didn't know what this noise could possibly be. I timidly entered the room and saw hundreds of metal disks with gaping mouths and open eyes scattered across the floor. The clinking noise was being created by the 30 or so people carefully walking on top of each face. The faces were scattered throughout the room: little faces and big faces both had the same horrified look on their face as we trampled upon them. These Jewish faces were literally being walked all over. I was walking with my face down so that I could stare at each persons face.... It was frightening. It says a lot that I was scared even before I walked in the room.
Ok the planes about to land in Krakow. Hi/Bye momma & bubba :)
The other exhibit, directly outside, were the pictures taken by a famous Jewish photographer. Seeing these mundane and intimate moments with random people struck me even more. It's not like these pictures were all of holocaust victims or anything. But in that combination with the other exhibit, which dehumanized the victims into these cartoon faces, the contrast in just how relatable, how extremely human these people were, really gave me chills. (Amy)
Entering the Tower was one of the most chilling experiences of my life. Only one heavy metal door separates the Tower from the rest of the Jews' Museum, and as soon as you walk in you find yourself inside a huge triangular prism. The walls stretch higher than you can imagine, and I felt so small staring up along them. Most people sat down.
It was chillier in the Tower than it was anywhere else. It was never the same at any given moment. A glowing fluorescent (so it seemed) light lit up the sharpest corner and brightened the entire Tower, but sometimes it would dim to almost nothing and the people I had recognized before - Nora, Daniel, Claire - would become shadowy still figures crouched along the walls, as if they were part of them now.
Before I entered the Tower I met Sirine, who told me to walk to the sharpest corner and listen to people talk. I could only go there for a minute or two, but even in other areas of the Tower it sounded like those voices were in my head, and the sound of the heavy door slamming shut stayed with me long after it would close. I didn't like it, didn't like the way the voices in my head sounded in that cold place that seemed to swallow you whole. (Jane)
The church itself has a unique construction, it's shaped like a cylinder and has two levels (a lower bowl, where the priest performs the mass, and an upper bowl, where more people could be seated if the lower bowl was filled up). We take our seats in the Lower Bowl, with Der Kaiser to my right and the Legend himself right in front of me, an argument could be made that I had the best seat in the house. The mass is quick, but also very interesting, because I know what is going on, but I don't have the language skills to really participate in anything but singing Hallelujah.
After mass, a big group of us went out to get coffee and souvenirs, listen to my Canadian alter-ego's nonsensical stories about life as a Moose Hunter/Lumber King of Pembroke/Huge Hockey Fan, in Saskatchewan, and then take a bunch of awesome "family" pictures (Not meaning to brag or anything, but I think my "Mean Muggin'" pics with Der Kaiser and. the Legend, outside of Humboldt University, were some of the best of the bunch).
Originally, I was worried about spending Easter away from my family, but over the past few days, the people on this trip have become like family to me, so I'm glad I could spend one of my favorite holidays with them.
Happy Easter (Bill H)
***************************
Today was a superb day. I got up bright and early, put on my fancy pants, and scurried over to church for Easter Sunday. I almost fell asleep like 10 different times and I basically had to pry my eyeballs open with my fingers because it was so hard to pay attention.... Especially when the priest is speaking in German -___-. Anyways, I eventually made it through the church service and took my fancy-panted self outside, where we had 2 glorious hours of free-time! I ate an absurd amount of food and spent a solid €30 on random trinkets (ahem Katie/meg) aaaaaand I took like 2387462736428736423 pictures which is probably shocking, I know.
We ate a few hours later at this lil place with outdoor seating and I had 2 bowls of gelato😊😊😊😊. We then went to the Jewish Museum in Berlin, which was extremely elegant and personally moving. The entire museum is like a maze and it was very frustrating to navigate at times; I often felt lost and trapped. I took this confusing maze as a metaphor for the way the Jewish people must have felt throughout history- not just during the holocaust. There were two rooms that really got to me at this museum: the holocaust tower and the fallen leaves. The two senses that really came through in both of these rooms were my sense of touch and hearing. The holocaust tower was an eerie, dark room with no heat and no electricity. When I walked in, I got chills. The cement walls were a few stories high, making me feel totally trapped. The massive (and heavy) metal door shut behind me with an explosive bang that echoed through the tower for a few seconds. I sat with my bare back against the icy wall, feeling isolated and lonely. I just kinda got the feeling that there was no way out, no possibility of staying positive in this shady gray room. I felt like a prisoner... A peasant in the eyes of the walls. The walls belittled me, making me feel insignificant. The sounds in the room were terrifying. The paralyzing bang of the door was enough to send goosebumps running up and down my arms. The people talking on the other side of the room sounded like voices in my head, I swear this room could make someone go crazy. It was shocking to me that a room could make me feel this way.
Even before I entered the fallen leaves room I felt moved by it. From 2 rooms away, I could hear what I thought was the clinking of thousands of metal chains. I had to ask Liam what it was because I was so scared... I just didn't know what this noise could possibly be. I timidly entered the room and saw hundreds of metal disks with gaping mouths and open eyes scattered across the floor. The clinking noise was being created by the 30 or so people carefully walking on top of each face. The faces were scattered throughout the room: little faces and big faces both had the same horrified look on their face as we trampled upon them. These Jewish faces were literally being walked all over. I was walking with my face down so that I could stare at each persons face.... It was frightening. It says a lot that I was scared even before I walked in the room.
Ok the planes about to land in Krakow. Hi/Bye momma & bubba :)
(Claire D)
***********************
After everyone regrouped following Easter mass, we all walked down to the judische Museum.
On the walk down, I had a discussion with a few other students about one of challenges in learning about the holocaust: our inability to understand and identify with the victims of the war as 'humans' and not just 'victims'. Reading in books, watching videos, we see all the bodies piled up or the emancipated figures, and they seem so far removed from our lives that we can't really imagine them having lives similar to our own before the war.
I think that the main message among the exhibits, that these peoples' pain was real, but their humanity was real as well.
There were two exhibits that struck me the most. Fallen Leaves was a single, long, tall room, where the floor was covered in 10,000 hand-cast bronze faces. The faces were about an inch thick, cartoony, just two dots and a mouth that seemed to be open... In a scream? A cry? Open to interpretation. We were encouraged to walk on them, and it was eerie, hearing the bronze clang together in all these discordant tones. We figured out that if we took 100 of these huge rooms, it would only begin to near the number of people who were victims of the war.
On the walk down, I had a discussion with a few other students about one of challenges in learning about the holocaust: our inability to understand and identify with the victims of the war as 'humans' and not just 'victims'. Reading in books, watching videos, we see all the bodies piled up or the emancipated figures, and they seem so far removed from our lives that we can't really imagine them having lives similar to our own before the war.
I think that the main message among the exhibits, that these peoples' pain was real, but their humanity was real as well.
There were two exhibits that struck me the most. Fallen Leaves was a single, long, tall room, where the floor was covered in 10,000 hand-cast bronze faces. The faces were about an inch thick, cartoony, just two dots and a mouth that seemed to be open... In a scream? A cry? Open to interpretation. We were encouraged to walk on them, and it was eerie, hearing the bronze clang together in all these discordant tones. We figured out that if we took 100 of these huge rooms, it would only begin to near the number of people who were victims of the war.
The other exhibit, directly outside, were the pictures taken by a famous Jewish photographer. Seeing these mundane and intimate moments with random people struck me even more. It's not like these pictures were all of holocaust victims or anything. But in that combination with the other exhibit, which dehumanized the victims into these cartoon faces, the contrast in just how relatable, how extremely human these people were, really gave me chills. (Amy)
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We went to the Jewish Museum on our last day in Berlin. Even though we were in a rush after a hasty lunch of doener im brot, we managed to grab onto the main points the museum had to offer. First, we went to the tower where we entered into a dark "room" with high walls of different lengths and a smallish crack in the pointed ceiling that let in a bit of light, not nearly enough to lighten the space. When sitting down, it made you feel small and hopeless like there was no chance of escape. It was completely silent in that dark space when suddenly the door slammed, leaving nothing but empty frightening reverberations that mimicked the sound of a gun shot, leaving little to the imagination given what kind of room we were in.
Then we proceeded to the garden of exile which was a slanted slope filled with leaning blocks of stones in equal rows and columns. As we passed through, we began to feel slightly off balanced and even disoriented, soon realizing the purpose of this garden. The victims of the Holocaust, even after liberated, were still "in exile" from their neighbors and towns and felt like they didn't belong anywhere. They ran around in meaningless circles until they were dizzy but still felt like outsiders in their own homes.
Last but certainly not least, we traveled to the fallen leaves exhibit where we entered another dark enclosure, but this time there were circular discs of metal cascaded on the floor in the crude shapes of screaming faces. We walked on them (a weird enough experience because we were in a way stepping on these "people" causing their pain) and with every step the screams of clanging metal echoed around the room and bounced off the walls. We tried walking quietly, but in a way it was almost worse because it was like we had silenced their screams and they were already dead. It was an incredibly bizarre disembodied experience. (Ariadne A & Jessica K)
Then we proceeded to the garden of exile which was a slanted slope filled with leaning blocks of stones in equal rows and columns. As we passed through, we began to feel slightly off balanced and even disoriented, soon realizing the purpose of this garden. The victims of the Holocaust, even after liberated, were still "in exile" from their neighbors and towns and felt like they didn't belong anywhere. They ran around in meaningless circles until they were dizzy but still felt like outsiders in their own homes.
Last but certainly not least, we traveled to the fallen leaves exhibit where we entered another dark enclosure, but this time there were circular discs of metal cascaded on the floor in the crude shapes of screaming faces. We walked on them (a weird enough experience because we were in a way stepping on these "people" causing their pain) and with every step the screams of clanging metal echoed around the room and bounced off the walls. We tried walking quietly, but in a way it was almost worse because it was like we had silenced their screams and they were already dead. It was an incredibly bizarre disembodied experience. (Ariadne A & Jessica K)
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The Corner of the Holocaust Tower
Entering the Tower was one of the most chilling experiences of my life. Only one heavy metal door separates the Tower from the rest of the Jews' Museum, and as soon as you walk in you find yourself inside a huge triangular prism. The walls stretch higher than you can imagine, and I felt so small staring up along them. Most people sat down.
It was chillier in the Tower than it was anywhere else. It was never the same at any given moment. A glowing fluorescent (so it seemed) light lit up the sharpest corner and brightened the entire Tower, but sometimes it would dim to almost nothing and the people I had recognized before - Nora, Daniel, Claire - would become shadowy still figures crouched along the walls, as if they were part of them now.
Before I entered the Tower I met Sirine, who told me to walk to the sharpest corner and listen to people talk. I could only go there for a minute or two, but even in other areas of the Tower it sounded like those voices were in my head, and the sound of the heavy door slamming shut stayed with me long after it would close. I didn't like it, didn't like the way the voices in my head sounded in that cold place that seemed to swallow you whole. (Jane)
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