What Bravery Means...

Hello friends!

I'm writing to you all from a cafe in the beautiful city of Kraków where I have spent these past couple of days! I was here with my internship group a week ago, but didn't really have an opportunity to wander through Kazimierz, which is the Jewish part of this city. And it was a perfect weekend to come as it is also Kraków's 27th annual Jewish Culture Festival, where there is a whole programs of events designed to promote Jewish culture in an area that historically had once been predominantly Jewish.

Saturday morning sure came early. I went to the train station in Warsaw, grabbed a little espresso in a cafe to jump start my morning and was off to Kraków at about 10:00 am. The train ride was pretty uneventful! I am one who enjoys celebrations- whether big or small, but simply finding some reason to celebrate! I was celebrating the fact I was on the right train car and in the right seat, not merely just playing a guessing game like I had the last time. Wahoo! Second train ride and feeling like I had a better handle on it all! After alternating between NCLEX practice questions, Gone Girl, and the comfort of my travel pillow, I finally arrived in Kraków about 1:00 pm.

I had done some research before leaving Warsaw to see the program of events for the Jewish Cultural Festival and the ones I was interested in attending. I ended up choosing a documentary that was being shown at the Galicia Jewish Museum, titled, "My 100 Children". I am so glad that I went to this! What I didn't know before attending was that this documentary had actually been released in 2003, but was the first time that it was being shown in Poland. The director reiterated several times to the audience, the significance of this film being shown in the place where these events had actually occurred.

"My 100 Children" is a documentary that reveals the work of Lena Kuchler, a woman who made it her mission to save 100 Jewish children following the war. For many of these children, they had lost everything and Lena became determined to comfort them. It all started when she discovered these children at the Jewish Committee Center in Kraków following the war. After realizing these children needed someone, she moved them to a residence in Zakopane and established a children's home there to provide these children with food, shelter and meet their medical needs. However, resistance from her Polish neighbors and the threat of them murdering these children forced Lena to relocate herself and her 100 children to France and then later to Israel. She published her autobiography, "My 100 Children", in 1987.

This documentary is quite moving, to say the least. It profiles three or four of Lena's children who were returning to Poland for the first time since they were young- detailing their stories and reactions that accompanied these places. In one particular part of the documentary, these Jewish men and women actually travel to the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, where I am currently interning. This especially was a "connect the dots" moment to see the impact of the work I am involved in. While I don't always see their reactions, it definitely provided me with an emotional visual representation of what it means to connect these people to their past- to show them who they really are.

Jakub sharing his story with us after the documentary.

After the documentary, the director and one of Lena's children, Jakub, both of whom were present for the screening, stayed for a discussion panel. They allowed the audience to ask questions about the Israeli reaction to the film, Jakub's personal story, as well field other comments and questions. At one point, the director interjected and stated she needed to share a comment- which I thought was powerful and hence why I have titled this blog entry, 'what bravery means'. She stated that "Bravery does not always mean that you are big and strong, that you possess physical strength. Instead, I think bravery sometimes mean the littlest ones having the strength to stare at adversity in the face and continue to persevere in such darkness. That's what bravery means..." Her comment was one that was a definite testament to Lena and her children- that while lacking physical strength, their emotions provided strength to carry them and allowed them to overcome this adversity, together- to be brave against all odds.

After the documentary, I wandered through the museum, looking at the photo exhibit that highlights certain places and pieces of Jewish culture throughout Kraków. I was pretty hungry though, so I went in search of a yummy place to eat some dinner. Melissa had recommended this Israeli restaurant, Hamsa. We both really love Israeli food so I was excited to try this place! And it was super yummy! 

I'll let this picture speak for itself but I had pomegranate and roasted pine nut hummus, followed by delicious lemon chicken, Israeli rice and salad! The finale was espresso with cardamom, which I had never had before but I'm always up for trying new things!

You pour it from that silver karafe (of sorts :) and into that tiny coffee mug. Did I mention how yummy it all was? Thanks to Melissa for a great suggestion! It was so nice though to sit outside and eat dinner in this peaceful garden, just enjoying the company of the characters in my book and people watching my fellow diners.

 This is the garden that I ate dinner in. :)

After dinner, I was pretty wiped, having not slept a whole lot the night before due to some catching up with Melissa so I decided to head for my hostel, which wasn't too far and cash in my chips for the night.

This morning my only plans were to go to Oskar Schindler's factory on the other side of the river. I am a bit of a museum rat to say the least. I'm talking: read every plaque, look at every artifact, etc. type of museum goer. I had heard from friends who have previously been to Poland, especially with my particular interests, that this was a must see! And I am so glad I went! The museum does a really wonderful job highlighting so much of Poland's Jewish culture, especially in Nazi occupied Poland.

The museum itself is in Oskar Schindler's actual factory near the site of the former Jewish ghetto. While narrow spaces throughout the museum, it is very interesting to walk through the halls and understand how the efforts of one man singlehandedly saved so many Jews during the war. For those of you who maybe haven't seen Schindler's List, like myself, Oskar Schindler was a German entrepreneur and a member of the Nazi party. An unlikely hero, he came to Kraków in 1939, and purchased a factory that became responsible for producing enamelware. This factory, commonly known as Emalia, employed 1700 workers, 1000 of which were estimated to be Jews that he rescued. He served as an advocate for his Jewish workers and is today considered one of the Righteous Among the Nations, with a tree planted at Yad Vashem in Israel. While there were suspicions raised about the happenings at Lipowa 4 (the factory's address), Schindler was arrested three times but never formally charged with anything. He later transferred his factory to Moravia to avoid deportation for himself and his Jewish workers, especially with growing hostility. At the end of the war, following Soviet liberation in May 1945, it is estimated that he was responsible for saving approximately 1200 Jews. Truly an incredible story....

Here are some of the pictures from today's adventure, including Schindler's desk that he used to sit at in his factory:

Various letters sent throughout the war by Polish soldiers.

The gates to Oskar Schindler's factory.

Puppets somewhat comically, yet accurately, showing the demise of Nazism and in place, the rise of Communism as shown by the Stalin puppet in the next box, which is not shown here.

The quote at the top of this photograph was of particular interest to me. It is the words of a woman who was deported to the Plaszow concentration camp near his factory.

Some of the products of Schindler's enamel factory. They are housed between floor to ceiling glass panels with Schindler's desk behind me. On the inside of this are the names of the 1200 men and women who he rescued. Simple, yet moving representation...

Furniture from Jewish homes and the ghetto that was left after the war.

Oskar Schindler's desk.

Needless to say, these past couple days have been extremely moving and deeply impactful- to see and wander through places of such rich history and take moments to realize what happened there gives a new perspective to my understanding of these events in European history. I am truly loving every minute and so thankful to have these experiences! To be reminded of Jewish men and women, their rescuers, and what bravery means in the face of adversity....

Next up on the travel itinerary is an adventure to Prague! I'm actually leaving Kraków in about an hour and half or so and am excited to see what's coming next! 

Never Again, Never Forget

Hello friends. It is with a series of mixed emotions that I write this post. It has been one that I definitely want to share with all of you, but also an experience I don't know that I can adequately express in words. After reading several different memoirs, watching documentaries, and other books related to Nazi Germany, I somehow thought that I was prepared to visit this place- to walk through these grounds and see the remnants that speak to these atrocities. In a way, I was, but at the same time, coming through the courtyard and seeing the words fashioned into the entrance gate, "Arbeit Macht Frei", provoked different much emotions than I was expecting.

Sunday morning came early and we loaded up the bus for Oswecim, the town that houses the memory of the horrors of Jewish persecution during World War II. It is the sight of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkenau. It is very surreal to drive to the camp as you are on a main road in the city and the bus turns into a parking lot right off of the street. Originally, when the camp was first established, the Nazis set aside 40 square kilometers for this camp complex, which today is surrounded by residential areas and town businesses. 

The camp operated as a concentration camp at the beginning of the war, occupying and taking shape in a former Polish army artillery barracks. Three goals of the camp were these: 1) to "incarcerate" real and perceived enemies of the Nazi regime, 2) to have access to a supply of forced labors who could be deployed for war related purposes, 3) and the last being- to exterminate certain identified racial and ethnic groups. While Auschwitz began as a concentration camp, the shift to extermination began in 1941, when Nazis began to test their gas on Soviet POWs. Two years later, Auschwitz was fully operational as a death camp, housing gas chambers and crematoriums to serve these purposes.

May 1945 marked the end of extermination in Auschwitz as the Red Army arrived to liberate these hollow and withering skeletons- completely speechless by the sight in front of them. In 1947, Auschwitz was set aside as a national state museum and has functioned as such since then. Throughout the reign of Nazi terror, approximately 1.3 million people were deported to Auschwitz, and of that 1.1 people were exterminated- from all different racial and ethnic backgrounds, but mainly Jews. 

When you arrive in the parking lot, it is an interesting view outside the bus window. There are tons of people there from all different areas throughout the world- here to make their way beyond the concrete wall that surrounds the camp, and see what lies behind it. Because you are not allowed to go to Auschwitz without a tour guide, Pierce, Jared and I went to the window to get our tickets and then move towards the next station to receive a headset and audio player. Your tour guide, who is very knowledgeable about the camp itself, guides your journey by wearing a microphone with her words then going to to your headset as you walk through the camp.

As we waited for our guide, I stood off to the side of the visitor complex. Looking out through the small openings in the windows towards the courtyards. I had read enough to know what had happened behind this wall but was surprised by what came next. As our group of about 30 English speakers made our way outside the complex, we were greeted by those taunting words, "Arbeit Macht Frei". I did not even make it all the way to the sign before I was choking back tears; the realization of what this place symbolizes hit me. Innocent people were murdered here and I was now walking the roads that they suffered on before they met their death. I had had similar moments to this while walking throughout Warsaw and Kraków, where I realized so much history had taken place in these two cities. But this was far different; this consuming feeling of being where both the guilty and the innocent had roamed, shut off from the world, yet such atrocities occurring here under false pretenses.

As we passed under the gate, I purposely took a couple steps back from the group, wanting to feel that despite being with others, I was experiencing this for myself, not necessarily with 25 other people. We made our way first into preserved blocks, the first of which detailed extermination. From drawings on the walls to enlarged photographs, these big empty rooms were barren, whose walls functioned to surround you with visual representation of what occurred in these places. Moving room to room, you saw the sorting process of when Jews first arrived and from the holding platform, how they were ushered to their death. As your guide is talking, you do need to maintain a certain distance to hear what she is saying in order to hear her explanations of these artifacts. Because I had dropped back from the group a little, our guide, Kate's words became muffled and I couldn't fully understand what she was saying- the only word I managed was: hair. 

You walk into this empty room, whose white walls surround you except for one wall that is glass. Almost instantly, you are confronted with the nearly two tons of hair from the prisoners that was taken before they entered the gas chambers. Rounding the room, I managed to stay fixed on this glass, while as I made my way to the other side, I was now looking at the faces of those who were just setting foot in the room. Their contrasting reactions to being confronted with this physical evidence- some mesmerized, unable to brake their gaze, while others looking briefly, then turning away. There were other moments such as this with the collections of glasses, shoes, suitcases, and toiletries- but none so poignant as this one.

Our next place was home to Nazi medical experimentation, especially the work of Josef Mengele and his experimentation with twins. According to our guide, it was a belief of Mengele's that twins had some sort of innate ability to be cloned, which in the broader context of the German agenda, would be paramount in helping to propagate the believed superior Aryan race. While you are not allowed to wander inside of the rooms, the impact of looking inside from a hallway lined with prisoner photos amply presents you with the picture of such senseless tragedies.

One of the last and final places was the prison where many prisoners were not sent there to be detained, but rather to die. The above photo with those two wreaths is the wall that Jewish prisoners would stand against for their executions. The windows of the opposing building that bordered this courtyard were covered so those inside that building could not glimpse at the freshly pierced corpses. In the basement, you are led to see the cells of the former prisoners. There were three types of cells in Auschwitz- 1) suffocation with little room for air exchange, 2) standing cells, and 3) starvation cells, all of which housed prisoners until they perished.

One particular story was - again, another emotion provoking moment of my day. Following roll call one morning, an SS guard identified seven Jewish prisoners that would be crammed into a standing cell together until they died. One of these prisoners, upon hearing his fate, begged the German guard, pleading for his life and saying, "I have a wife and children- you cannot kill me!" Another prisoner, hearing these words, approached the German guard, and offered to take this man's place. I'm even getting goosebumps now as I write this. The willing prisoner turned to his fellow man and told him that he had already lost everything and that the Nazis had killed his family. The man whose life had been spared, unable to thank him enough, tried with what he could to express his gratitude as he watched these seven ushered through the doors of the prison. These men, all in this cell together, slowly began to die from starvation, while this man who had taken a fellow prisoner's place, outlived everyone, surviving for fourteen days. Tired of him, the Nazis finally drug him out of this cell and executed him along that brick wall. As you wander into the basement, you see a gravestone for this man- a reminder of his sacrifice in saving his fellow man. It is now adorned with flowers and candles, objects bearing tribute to his memory.

The final place in Auschwitz I that our group went was the gas chambers. I recognized it from descriptions I had read in various accounts- thinking of what it must have been like for them to approach this place, sentenced to their death and seeing the chimney expelling the remnants of their fellow prisoners. As I made my way through the door, following the other members of my group, I walked into a small holding area where these men and women were told to undress before being led into the shower room. Following the progression of this structure, I walked into the gas chamber itself and stood in the corner, silent. I thought of the emotions that these walls had born witness to- fear, terror, sadness, panic, just to name a few. What utter tragedy and senseless atrocity. From looking at the faux shower heads lining the walls to observing the small openings in the ceiling, I can only imagine the last bit of light they saw before there's was extinguished. After this gas chamber, I followed this room to the next-the crematorium. The remnants of two formerly operational ovens stood frozen in time, abandoned by the prisoners who had been forced to extract the bodies following each gassing.

The sharp contrast of the blazing sun meets you as you emerge from this dark structure. This building concluded our tour of Auschwitz. Our tour guide, Kate, told us to take a short break, and assemble in the parking lot where we would be met by a bus taking us to Birkenau. 

We were crammed on this bus, with what seemed like at least 75-100 other people, who were joining us for the short distance to Birkenau. As we were approaching the camp, you could see the brick gate that once had towered over trains of innocent people arriving at their fate. I was struck with the mirroring image of these tracks against the top of these bricks, red with sunlight. Because we had purchased a tour, Kate led us up the stairs to the top of gate so that were given a better picture of the expanse of this camp, reaching far and wide. I was in complete disbelief of the sheer size of it- the women's barracks to the left and the men's to the right, only separated by abandoned train tracks with a single railway car.

After descending the stairs of the entrance, we walked through the center of the camp. First we stopped at the holding platform, the place where prisoners had flooded from the train cars into the camp, often some being beaten to death or executed after the SS opened their doors. These prisoners were sorted with the simple direction of a thumb gesture, directing them one way or another, and in the process, often forever separating families. The women and children, along with the elderly, were the first to get sent to the gas chambers. Following them were struggling laborers in the subsequent days and months that were chosen at the discretion of the guards, who would live and who would die.

We followed the tracks to the very back of the camp where a rather large memorial has been erected to those who perished in Auschwitz- Birkenau. It is quite long and symbolizes different forms of burial from European countries whose people perished in Auschwitz. Each form of burial has a plaque in that country's language that reiterates the same message.  At the end of this structure is a large chimney, serving as a representation for those who were burned in the camps. This is the English translation:

Off to the left side of the memorial are the ruins of Crematorium II, destroyed by the Germans wanting to expunge any evidence of these crimes that had taken place here. Indeed, these ruined buildings pay tribute to the million lives exterminated in this place.  Our group followed this structure around to the very back of the camp, where there are four tombstones that stand before three small ponds.

The ponds pictured here were where the prisoner's ashes were deposited. Following the establishment of Auschwitz as a museum in 1947, our guide explained that any remaining ashes found in the camp were also deposited into the pond as a means of preserving the memory of the million who died here.

The rest of our tour of Birkenau allowed us to wander into both the women and men's barracks, followed by the sanitarium. Each building playing an integral role in these terrors, and making sure to stop and remember these million people in each building. Each man or woman or child had spent time in this place, whether minutes, hours, days, months, or even years. They deserved silence and purposeful remembrance as we all wandered through.

The sanitarium was the last stop in our tour for the day. We exited the camp, got back on the bus to Auschwitz and then another bus to Kraków. The whole time home, I sat on the bus reflecting on the day, where I had walked, and what I paused to remember. And so it was that I left Auschwitz, thankful for having the opportunity to see these places, but also deeply saddened by what I saw- the reality of the Holocaust visibly in front of me. As strange as it sounds, those words of the memoirs I've read also seemed to follow me throughout my day, once again lending their voice as a way of remembrance to such atrocity- these survivors' words breathing life into my experience. This day will be something I never forget, for such atrocities should never happen again.

Snow White and the Five Dwarfs

Hello friends! What a weekend it was! As I reflect on this adventure, there is still a lot that I'm processing but I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to travel to Kraków! I'm a little tongue and cheek when posting this because I traveled with five other guys who are in Poland in the same program as me. They are all far from beings dwarves, most of them are my heighth or taller- but I think you understand what I mean. The seven of us are all from the states, but here in Poland taking classes together and doing internships at different places throughout the city, most of them in political or foreign affairs appointments.

The organization that we are traveling with is Collegium Civitas, whose American equivalent is Global Education Leadership. Collegium Civitas is actually the college here in Warsaw where I am taking a Polish Foreign Policy class and Polish language lessons. Both are very challenging, but really interesting. Another component of my internship is also these cultural immersions that CC plans throughout our time here in Poland. The first of these was our day trip to Kraków.

Hi ho hi ho, it's off to Kraków we go! (I'll let you finish whistling the tune...)

The van left bright and early, 7:00 am Saturday morning and we headed for Kraków. All of the six of us loaded up in the Mercedes Sprinter that met us in the parking lot and we were off! It was a rather uneventful trip, plenty of time to view the Polish countryside from my window, but otherwise, everyone slept. When we finally arrived in Kraków, one of things I failed to realize was that the bag I had packed for the couple extra days I was planning to spend there would be one that I would need to carry with me. Mind you, this was a walking tour through Kraków and I had packed at least 25-30 lbs for this weekend adventure! At this point, I should give a little 'thank you shout-out' to REI for outfitting me with a nice duffel that turned into a backpack that made this weekend possible. It was just me, my backpack, and my messenger bag/purse all under the hot, humid Polish sun. Here goes nothing!

We were met in the parking lot by a Polish university student who spoke English and was going to be our tour guide for our walking tour. Our first stop was making our way up the hill to Wawel Castle. 

Wawel is the structure that is cream on the right with the reddish roof and the Royal Cathedral is the ornate structure on the left. 

Kraków is a very interesting city in that it was virtually untouched by the war, unlike Warsaw that had been completely devastated. When I arrived in Kraków, it is exactly how I had always pictured a European city; one that is full of rich architecture and old beautiful buildings. Simply beautiful, but a sharp contrast to Warsaw that had been rebuilt following the war and has more commercial architecture and more of a post- Communist feeling to the city.

Wawel itself has a unique history in that it has great significance to Polish people. It is situated along the Vistula river in Poland and was originally built at the request if Casimir III the Great who ruled Poland in the fourteenth century. Over time, the structure took shape and changed into what it is today, building living quarters for the additional clergy and royal clerks as well as defensive structures. Fast forwarding to the 20th century, the Polish Second Republic decided that Wawel was to the home for the president at the end of World War I. 1921 marked the year that it was officially named as the Presidential Palace. After World War II; however, the State National Council decreed that Wawel and surrounding structures would be set aside as a museum, which is still the purposes for which it functions today. Because it was a walking tour, we didn't actually go into all of these places, but just saw the structures themselves.

After our time here, we wandered down towards Stare Miasto (Old Town). It was a beautiful walk and we had the opportunity to go through several Catholic cathedrals, which were all beautiful and breathtaking (both outside and inside). We travelled through these backstreets for a couple of hours, looking at churches, universities and other structures that held unique stories of Polish history inside their walls.

Our guide told us one particular story about Nazi occupied Poland and Jagiellonian University that really stood out to me. After the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, the universities were all closed and no one was allowed to attend. As these academics tried to wrestle with this changing climate, they were at a loss, until about forty professors heard of a meeting in the university courtyard. They all came there in the middle of the night, not knowing exactly what was happening, but then arrived to find that it was a trap and the Nazis were waiting for them at the courtyard instead. While standing there in this actual place and listening to this story, I couldn't help but feel this eerie sense that I was standing where forty professors had been executed by the Nazis. I had many similar moments throughout the weekend, not specific to Nazi Germany, but rather Polish history itself. It was this feeling that I was standing in places of history and seeing what was left behind to communicate the stories of the past and the people of Poland who had lived there.

Following this story, we made our way to Stare Miasto square. Stare Miasto is the Polish way of saying Old Town, so you will see this phrase repeated in different cities such as Warsaw where they also have an Old Town district. In the middle of the square is the cloth hall which is a building now filled with vendors in booths, selling souvenirs to tourists. In medieval times, it was home the marketplace and people came to sell their produce, cloth and other goods here, hence why it is named cloth hall. In the corner of the square is also a beautiful church: St. Mary's Basilica Church. We had to pay zloty (Polish currency) to enter and it was well worth it. The detail to the stained glass windows and panels inside was beautiful! Poland itself is about 90% Catholic so there is ample opportunity to see churches throughout different cities, each with its own unique artistry on the inside that is rich in Polish culture as well as church history.

These are all photos of Old Town taken on Saturday night, but the middle photo depicts cloth hall. I have photos of St. Mary's church as well but they are on my camera. (I'm balancing photos both of the iPad and the camera itself). I will have to share them all with you when I return!

After touring St. Mary's, we went to find lunch, which at that point, sounded wonderful to rest my tired shoulders. We ended up at this traditional Polish restaurant that was an outdoor cafe right on the square. All seven of us sat at this long table and made our way through this menu, our eyes getting bigger as we didn't necessarily recognize words, but rather the pictures of blood sausage and other Polish delicacies that accompanied the menu's description. Three out of the seven of us ordered Polish "sampler" platters with goulash, blood sausage, pierogis and other traditional Polish dishes. One of the guys, Eric, got a steak with a fried egg on top (a very common Polish thing to put eggs on everything, even pizza). Karol and I got Polish breaded pork chops, which are HUGE to say the least! I thought it might eat me as the sheer size of the thing was about as big as my head!

Feeling full and somewhat rested from lunch, we met up with our guide and went to the area of Kraków called Kazimierz, which is the Jewish area of the city. This neighborhood was once one of Poland and the world's most significant Jewish areas. It was home to many Jews from the 14th century up until the Holocaust, which ended in 1945 and by that time, many of Poland's Jews were no longer actually in Poland, unless in a camp. Following World War II, the oppression of Communism continued to plague Kaimierz and it became a rather "shady" district of Kraków. It wasn't until 1993 and a little movie, Schindler's List, that served as a catalyst to revive this area of  Kraków. It soon began to transform due to increased tourism. People were coming to the place of production and trying to connect to some piece of Jewish history in Poland, especially with Schindler's factory right across the river. 

We spent some additional time in Kazimierz before heading over a bridge to the site of the former Jewish ghetto. What a humbling sight to see a place of empty chairs that have now been made into a memorial for the Jews who were once housed there. We were told stories of those heroes within the community who did what they could to aid the Jews over the ghetto wall as well as the significance of these empty chairs in this open concrete space. Following the war, all of the furniture that had once been in the ghettos or the homes of Jews flooded this square, a sure sign that it was forever abandoned by their former owners. Today, in this place, is a collection of these oversized empty metal chairs, symbolizing a life lost due to the Holocaust. A deep and moving depiction of what was lost...

At this point, our walking tour ended. Eric and Karol both headed back in the Mercedes Sprinter towards Warsaw, Minh had already separated from the group to catch his train and the remaining three made our way to the tram stop to go back towards Old Town to sit and cool down a bit from the hot summer sun. Pierce, Jared and I quickly found a restaurant and after finishing dinner, headed on a quest to find our hostel, as we were all exhausted from a long day. After an hour or so of circles, we found our Ikea furnished hostel. My head hit the pillow and I was asleep, trying to rest for our journey to 

Auschwitz in the morning.

Morning came early, we grabbed breakfast at the hostel and went to the bus station to catch an 8:25 bus for Oswecim, the city where Auschwitz is. As we boarded the bus, the thought that I was actually headed for Auschwitz hit me as a reality. This was definitely one of the most emotional experiences I would say I have ever had; something I think is hard to even adequately put into words. And because of this, I find myself still reflecting on this day. I want to share about this experience but will do so in a subsequent post after some more time has taken place for me to digest the day. For now, here are some of the photos from my day I will let do the talking for now.

The infamous sign to Auschwitz, which translated, means "Work Makes You Free."

The wall that Jews faced as their backs were turned to the ends of guns held by Nazi soldiers only moments away from executing them.

The entrance gate to Auschwitz II- Birkenau.

An abandoned train car, now a memorial, but once was the vessel that transported Jews to this death camp.

The barbed wire fences, a blatant reminder that these Jews were in fact the Nazi's prisoners. There was no way out...

Later that day, I rode the bus back from Auschwitz sitting next to Pierce, exhausted but silent, pondering and feeling deeply impacted by what I had experienced.

Monday morning, it was just Jared and I left in Kraków as Pierce had already headed back to Warsaw. We started the day making our way back up to Wawel to see the interior of the structures that we had visited on Friday. We got there just in the "nick of time" and got into Wawel just before it closed. A lot of what was there was architectural ruins from the fourteenth century, when it was originally built. Quite interesting to see the different pieces and take note of the intricacy of the design. After Wawel, we visited the Royal Cathedral, which is also home to the Royal tombs. A beautiful builiding inside and out, with these ornamental golden caskets throughout different places in the cathedral.  We spent a couple hours here and then returned to Old Town for lunch. Jared and I decided to try a Georgian restaurant that was quite delicious! I had pear lemonade (yummy!) and this crossiant-like pastry covered in seasoned chicken and cheese! I couldn't finish it, but it was pretty delicious! We spent some time making our way through Old Town and then finally decided to sit at a cafe for dessert.

Poles love their ice cream- I feel as though I fit right in! They are these huge sundaes with pieces of fresh fruit, wafer cookies, and all sorts of goodies.  I enjoyed quite a delicious sundae and then the two of us headed for the train station to get tickets, make it to the platform, etc. And what an adventure the train was!

So, this was actually my very first time that I have ever rode on a train! I figured- I'm in a foreign country, I don't speak the language, why not give the train a whirl? I had been told that the women who issue tickets do not speak English so at the suggestion of Melissa, I planned to have everything written out and just show that paper to the woman. However, I ended up taking a screenshot of the schedule and sliding that in the window to show her what train I needed to get back to Warsaw. She issued me my ticket and I headed back towards the underground area that leads to the platforms. I thought, "Wow, that was painless." Despite looking, I didn't see the reader board that showed a train for Warsaw. With only twenty minutes until my train, I ran up to this independent ticket booth and showed her my ticket. She explained I was supposed to go to platform 5, but said to me in broken English that I needed a reservation. Not knowing exactly what she meant, I ended up showing her my Eurail pass and she waved me through as if to say, I was 'okay' to board. After getting to platform 5, I looked down and realized that my Eurail pass had not been activated, which, becomes invalidated if you start traveling without having activated the pass first. With now ten minutes until my train, I RAN back to the train station to get that precious stamp, only to find that there were now only two women selling tickets at the counters, when there had been four what felt like moments ago. I got in line, but then realized I was not going to make my train. In my moment of panic, I went to the front of my line, tapped a women on her shoulder and tried to explain in Polish/ broken English/ hand motions that I needed a stamp on my pass or else I was going to miss my train. Thankfully after some further explanation and repetition, she let me in front, get my stamp and then I "beat feated" it back to the platform. 

I boarded the train, but saw that as people are getting on, there are numbers above each seat, which was exactly why the woman had mentioned that I needed a reservation. I went into a cabin, but soon it flooded with people, so I made my way against the flow of traffic, the Polish people all looking at me like I was crazy. To avoid more confused and somewhat judgmental stares, I darted into a semi-occupied cabin and took a brief seat. As people continued to board the train and come into this cabin, I just moved to the unoccupied seat, not really sure what was happening or going on. The train started to pull away from the station and I was super anxious, fairly certain I wasn't in the right place, but I stayed there- I knew at least right now, I had a seat. I pulled out Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl and tried to stay occupied as the train kept barreling through the countryside. We made stops along the way back to Warsaw, each time a new passenger boarded I was sure they were going to take my seat, but thankfully was able to maintain a normal sinus rhythm and stay put.

About two hours into the journey, the conductor came through to punch our tickets. Oh no! Here it comes! Moment of panic! (Am I exaggerating? Not really! But it sure was intimidating to have him speak only in Polish- no English and try to respond in a reciprocal manner) He punched my ticket and I thought I was in the clear, only to have him take my ticket from my near grasp and inspect it further. He was speaking in Polish, I'm guessing something about my ticket being wrong, but I was not too sure. The only thought I had was that showing my Eurail pass before worked, it must be worth a try. I felt like I had Willy Wonka's golden ticket and he waved me through, saying something in Polish, but nonetheless, it was okay. Phew! What the adventure! 

I finally stepped off the train close to 11:00 pm and made my way towards the tram stop that would get me home. My keys entered the lock on our apartment door at 11:30 pm and my head hit the pillow about half an hour later- completely exhausted and likely smelling of train. But it was all part of a wonderful, although slightly panicked, adventure! Here's to many more!

These past couple days in Warsaw I have been trying to just recover. I'm feeling pretty tired and have spent these past couple nights with some good friends of mine: Joey, Chandler, Monica, Ross, Rachel and Phoebe. You might know them? :) I spent yesterday translating emails from Polish to English, trying to understand what pieces of their history they are looking for, key facts, etc. All truly fascinating stories!  Today was an early morning filled with my first Polish language lesson and a field trip to the Lauder Morasha school, a Jewish Private School here in Warsaw. (Here is the link for the school so you all can read more if you wish:  http://www.taubephilanthropies.org/node/69) Quite an eventful and packed last couple of days at work, but truly loving every minute! 

This weekend, I'm actually headed back to Kraków for The Jewish Culture Festival and then touring Prague the early part of next week! Looking forward to what lies ahead! It'll be a busy next couple days of great food, Yiddish song and dance and then to Prague to fall in love with yet another city! 

The Start of Little Polish Tidbits

I thinking that I may try something a little different for this blog and that is to highlight places, museums, monuments and other significant places with little tidbits.  Especially with the rich nature of both the Polish and Jewish history here in Poland, I figured that it would be a unique way to highlight these places that I have really loved throughout my adventures through this beautiful country!

On a side note, it is currently down pouring with thunder and lightning, which makes for a cozy blog writing atmosphere.

Here goes...Tidbit #1. So Monday I went to work and got let off at around 2:00 pm.  I try to find little adventures or take purposeful detours on my way home in hopes that I will actually stumble upon something unique and exciting here in Warsaw! (which is not hard to do :) One of the benefits of living with Melissa is that she knows so much about the city already and shares with me all these places to visit while I am here! Needless to say, I anxiously await her emails that come through during my work day.

My first BIG "on my own" adventure involved me walking from the Family Heritage center where I am working to finding a street called Grzybowska.  I wandered a little while and then found the street but was on the other end of where I needed to be, so I pulled out my camera and just started walking.  It was amazing to me to see all of these old buildings that were ruins, that served as reminders of places of business and homes that people once lived.  At one point, I even found the only Jewish synagogue that had survived the war, which stood simply beautiful! As I looked out from the church, I was struck by a Jewish man that was sitting on a bench and appeared to be praying.  He didn't seem to let the noise around affect him but he just sat there in silent reverence. For moments, he'd raise his head to connect to the present, but then bow his head again and lose himself in his prayers. In light of the history of Jews of Poland, I found this to be a rather poignant moment of my day.

I kept walking down this street, sweating in the hot summer heat, and continued until I finally reached 69 Grzybowska, which is the Warsaw Rising Museum.

This museum's exterior encompasses almost an entire city block, but after passing through the outer gates, you seem to be transported back in time. The museum itself is in an old restored power station. I was thankful when I entered the museum that admission was free, which is something I had not realized until I got there.

When you walk inside, there is this large concrete wall that has this loud thundering heartbeat sound coming from it, which seems to build as you take steps closer to it.  The Warsaw Rising Museum is actually on the corner of the former ghetto and houses a collection of artifacts, photographs, film footage.  The Warsaw Rising, in 1944, was an attempt of the Poles to take their city back from the Germans before the Red Army, or the Russians, advanced into Poland.  While initially this looked like it may succeed, the end of this 63 day struggle resulted in the death of 200,000 Polish lives.

This is the sewage system that the Poles made use of trying to advance against the Germans.  You can go in them, but I only went in a little ways as I was concerned how a tall girl would make her way back out.

I don't remember exactly what this is and since I don't read with Polish or German, I couldn't tell you for sure.  I just thought the attention to various details seemed quite extravagant for that time.

Warsaw Rising Propaganda.

The museum's unique collection of materials really helps to paint the picture of what it may have been like under German occupation in Poland.  I think probably the most impactful portion of the day (which ended up being about 5 hours here :) was the German portion of the museum.  There is such a large emphasis on the Polish involvement that the German perspective is removed and placed in more of a basement area.  The really odd piece is that it is behind these heavy black curtains, so you also have to make the conscious decision to go to this part of the museum. Right when you enter, you see this:

And while I guess I should have expected something like this, it was the mixture of color, the shouts of German soldiers and this overwhelming heavy feeling that gave just a taste of what life was truly like in Warsaw during occupation, especially the Warsaw Uprising.  There are even other pieces of this German part behind other curtains that have violent images of executions as well as first hand accounts of those who participated in the Nazi offensive.  While chilling, it provided a strong perspective that to a degree I seemed to have removed myself through reading memoirs in the past, but then was confronted with in that moment.

As someone who is also split between passions, the attention to those Polish men and women who participated from a medical standpoint was truly interesting. From seeing the surgical tools to the hospital gowns to the nurses caps, it showed the profound presence of medical personnel amongst such tragedy.  Sadly, the fate of many of these men and women was that they were executed by the Germans, despite them trying to save the wounded.

I could go on about this museum as it was really well done and a very lively picture of what it might have been like in Poland during the Warsaw Uprising.  If anything, this has given me a bigger excuse to order some new books off of Amazon to learn more about Polish history. :)

I hope to provide more of these "tidbits" to you all as I continue to stumble upon and find these pieces of Poland through my time here.  Next, it will most likely be pieces of my trip to Kraków this weekend, which I cannot wait to share with all when I return! For now, have a wonderful weekend!