May 20
In many ways, this was the most exhausting day of our trip to date. We didn’t walk all that much, not like yesterday or the day before. But we went to the site of the extermination camp at Treblinka where over 800,000 Jews were killed. Unlike Auschwitz-Birkenau that is teaming with tourists, Treblinka is still …
May 19
Walking into Auschwitz II (Birkenau), I watched crowds of people being maneuvered by guides through the grounds, walking from location to location trying to unravel some of the complexity of the Holocaust. This imagery made me uncomfortable and with reflection I realized why. Where there were tourists, I was seeing prisoners of the camp, being …
May 19
Here I am with Jan Karski, a Polish Resistance hero who informed the Allies about the Warsaw ghetto and other aspects of the Nazi genocide of the Jews. He is a hero in Poland, and his statue is everywhere. (Notice Jan is smoking)! There’s also a shot with my wonderful students on our way to …
May 19
“Every Jewish street in Warsaw was a town of its own.” So said Isaac Bashevis Singer who grew up on Krochmalna Street in Warsaw, and made the street come alive in his novels. “Shosha” is my favorite. When I was a teenager, I devoured Singer novels, and I could well image the courtyards of Warsaw …
May 18
Holocaust Landscapes by Tim Cole, the chapter on “GHETTO” tells the accounts of Janina Bauman and her family who are Jews, and live in the Warsaw ghetto. Janina had a privileged upbringing and the status of having the means, gave the Bauman’s an opportunity, most did not have in the ghetto. They were able to …
May 18
On this trip to Birkenau the sky has been difficult to understand. Lots of big clouds, but today there was a rainbow over Birkenau. A rainbow. I don’t think I can say more than that. Earlier, while in the Women’s Camp B1A, I was searching for the section of the camp built by women deported …
May 18
Students mean the world to me. They are a gift that always makes me think about things I might otherwise ignore. Most students would never come on a Holocaust Study Abroad. Why would anyone want to spend time with such a devastating subject? I’ve learned it takes special students…those who want to contemplate that slippery …
May 16
At the rising sun and at its going down; We remember them. At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter; We remember them. At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring; We remember them. At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer; We remember them. At the …
May 16
Before World War II, Krakow was home to around 65,000 Jews. The current Jewish population is officially unknown, but unofficially thought to be anywhere between 300-600. Just like the population itself, Jewish history in Krakow, and Poland in general, is a shadow of its former self. Traces of Jewish history can be seen on a …
May 16
For as long as I can remeber, apple pie has been the go-to dessert after anymeal, including breakfast. Because let’s be real here, who doesn’t eat apple pie for breakfast? A slice of warm apples sitting in its gooey goodness of sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg, embrassed in a hug of a flaky buttery crust, …