Poland V

(The fifth in a series of 5 posts detailing my heritage trip to Poland)
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Righteous Among the Nations

"Whoever saves one life, saves the entire world"- Talmud

In a world where morality no longer existed, where any action could lead to one's death, there were people who stood out for risking their lives for the sake of another human being.

Prior to my trip to Poland, I don't think that I understood the magnitude of this. I wondered why more people didn't help, why more people didn't stand up to say "this is wrong." I didn't fully grasp the amount of bravery and courage it took to save another's life.

We had the opportunity to hear from a woman whose family did just that. When she was a little girl, her mother decided to hide a Jewish girl in their home. By doing this, her mother took many risks. But by doing this, she saved this little girl's life, who grew up to have a family of her own.

In another post, I talked about numbers. When we think of the Holocaust, we think of large, unthinkable numbers. Six million people killed. 1.5 million children killed. 500,000 killed at just one death camp. But what about thinking about the number one?

Our tradition teaches us that if you save one life, it's as if you save the entire world. In the case of our speaker, her family didn't just save one little girl, but all of the generations that would come after her.

These few heroic individuals teach us that even in darkness, there can be a flicker of light.

Photo credit Daniel Shibley
The sign outside of Oskar Schindler's factory. During WWII, Oskar Schindler saved  over 1,100 Jews, and all the generations that would come after them.

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The Stuff Nightmares Are Made Of


On the fourth day of our trip, we visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the German concentration camps. This was the site of the Nazis "Final Solution," in which they planned to completely annihilate the Jewish people.

While 90% of the people killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau were Jews, there were other targeted groups, including Poles, Roma and Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war, Jehovah's Witnesses and tens of thousands of people of diverse nationalities.

This sign says "Work Will Set You Free." I was surprised to hear that most of the people brought to Auschwitz never actually saw this sign, because they were taken directly to the gas chambers.

Auschwitz

Empty canisters of Zykon B in the Auschwitz museum. These pellets of poison were found to be the most efficient way to  suffocate people in the gas chambers.

Block 10 was the medical experimentation block. Prisoners were chosen to be a part of special medical experiments, causing excruciating pain and torture, and in most cases, leading to death.

Auschwitz

Picture by Daniel Shibley
10,000 Poles were executed at this spot

Electric fence. Some prisoners chose to electrocute themselves on these fences rather than  bear their fate in the camp.

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Upright


Trains from all over Europe brought shipments of people to the Birkenau extermination camp. That's what the people were treated like: shipments. Traveling for days in cramped cattle cars, with no food or water, they were dropped off about a mile from the entrance to the camp. They had to walk from the train tracks to the entrance of the camp, disoriented, scared, and unsure of what would happen next.

Our group was dropped off in this same spot, and made the same walk that our ancestors did. Our teacher encouraged us to not just walk, but to walk upright, to walk with dignity, to walk in a way that the Jewish people weren't able to walk for so many years.

This was a very powerful moment for me. As we walked, I looked around at my friends, my community. The person walking in front of me, a dear friend, is intelligent, quick-witted, and hilarious. She loves to play the banjo, bake desserts for her friends, and is currently earning her PhD. The person behind me, who I greatly admire, is patient, kind, and curious. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and is currently training for a marathon.

I don't claim to understand the thoughts and feelings of the people entering the camp, not even a little bit. What I came to understand during this walk, however, is something that I couldn't fully grasp by simply looking at a photograph.

Each person that entered that camp was an individual, with unique gifts, aspirations, fears, idiosyncrasies, hopes, and dreams. Each person was a mother, a child, a brother, a teacher, a friend, a leader, a lover. Each person was truly someone to someone else.

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Efficiency

Birkenau is the extermination camp just down the road from Auschwitz. I was blown away by the sheer size of this facility. It was, quite literally, a killing factory.

This was designed with only one factor in mind: how to murder the most amount of people in the least amount of time and with the least amount of resources.

Heading into Birkenau. The train tracks you see here were built towards the end of the operation of Birkenau. Using this track, the trains could bring people directly to the gas chambers, rather than wait for them to walk there.

A cattle car.

Entrance to Birkenau from the inside.

A destroyed crematorium. Many of the Nazi-facilities were destroyed in an effort to cover up what happened.

Birkenau

An eerie sunset in Birkenau.

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Am Yisrael Chai: The People of Israel Live

How do I sum up my trip to Poland? What did I learn? What am I taking away?

I really want to sum up my trip to Poland in a way that is positive, that sees the silver lining. But, I'm finding it incredibly difficult to do so. I left Poland feeling bitter, angry, and depressed. I left feeling haunted by what I saw, and the scenarios I imagined in my head. I left with many big questions that I still haven't confronted.

Witnessing such an unthinkable atrocity, one of the biggest failures of humanity, is something that I won't ever forget. I not only feel responsible for making sure this tragedy isn't forgotten about, but also making sure that something like this never happens again.

With all of this horror and destruction, it's important for me to remember that it wasn't total destruction. The Nazis fell short of their goal. The Jewish people, while terribly scarred, continue to live on today. I felt this fact very strongly as we left each concentration camp, as we said prayers at graves, as we laughed on the bus, and as we boarded the plane to Israel.

“I have learned two lessons in my life: first, there are no sufficient literary, psychological, or historical answers to human tragedy, only moral ones. Second, just as despair can come to one another only from other human beings, 

HOPE, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.” 

― Elie Wiesel

Poland IV

(The fourth in a series of 5 posts detailing my heritage trip to Poland)
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Belzec

"Earth do not cover my blood / Let there be no resting place for my outcry" (Job 16:18)

When many people think of concentration camps, they think of Auschwitz. Why? Because many of the survivors of the Holocaust were liberated from there. When we hear horrific stories, they are mostly stories of Auschwitz.

But there are a few camps that aren't as well-known, because there were no survivors. The sole purpose of these camps was extermination; there were no prisoners, no laborers, no hope. Every person that entered through its gates were killed almost immediately.

Belzec is such a camp, where approximately 500,000 Jews were murdered.

Sign outside of Belzec

Part of the Belzec memorial

Entrance to the Belzec memorial

When the Nazis left Belzec, they dismantled the camp so that there would be no trace of the atrocities that happened there. But, the area was essentially one enormous mass grave that could not be covered up.

A large memorial at Belzec was built to remember the 500,000 souls that were killed there. The memorial, however, is quite controversial. As you can see in the picture above, the memorial is built INTO the ground, making the observer feel as if they are entering a mass grave. Although many things were done to ensure the digging didn't interfere with the mass graves, there is still the possibility of error.

We spoke about the implications of this:  Is it necessary to create opportunities for people to feel and experience a small piece of what the Holocaust might have been like? Or at some point, do we say that the magnitude of the Holocaust is simply beyond our comprehension? What risks are we willing to take in the pursuit of memorialization and remembrance?

In the museum at Belzec

In the museum at Belzec

Train tracks at Belzec.

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"If you think good, It will be good."

We had the great honor and opportunity to visit the small town of Lezajsk.

Lezajsk was one of the largest centers of the Chasidic movement in Poland. Chasidism is a movement within Judaism that emphasizes the "inner dimensions" of the Torah, or Jewish mysticism. Followers of this movement consider loving-kindness, spirituality, and joy as fundamental components of the Jewish faith. This movement is incredibly deep and rich, and I am certainly not doing it justice with this basic explanation.

We visited the grave of Elimelech of Lezajsk, an important, foundational figure in the Chasidic movement. He wandered for many years, spreading the word of Chasidism, until he finally settled in Lezajsk in 1772. Next to his grave, we talked about his role in Chasidism, learned a few of his teachings, and told stories of his life.

Photo by Daniel Shibley
Grave of the Chassidic master, Rabbi Elimelech of Lezajsk

After visiting the grave, we went to the nearby beit midrash (house of learning) and, in Chasidic tradition, did a couple of "L'chaims!" (toasts to life!).


Levi asked us to think about why the Chasids were frequently celebrating and making "l'chaims," even in seemingly dark times. He said that our physicality can lead us down to the depths, which is the opposite of what the Chassidic movement teaches us. By easing our physicality, we can make room for spirituality. And the way to spirituality is not through melancholy and despair, but through joy and positive thinking (and sometimes, a little bit of whiskey).

In the words of the Chassids, "If you think good, it will be good." L'chaim, to life!

Levi makes a l'chaim.

L'chaim!

Andrew gives a L'chaim to the group

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Krakow

The Jewish quarter in Krakow is one of the best preserved Jewish neighborhoods in Europe. We had the opportunity to walk around the narrow cobblestone streets and see different sites and monuments, all illustrating the richness of Jewish heritage that existed before the war, and in some cases, still exists today.

We also had the pleasure of meeting with some students that are studying in a Jewish studies master's program in Krakow. They told us about their motivations for choosing Jewish studies (many of them not Jewish), their lives as young adults in Krakow, and how they see present-day relations between Poles and Jews.

Kosher restaurant in Krakow

Kosher restaurant in Krakow

Krakow

Krakow

The entrance to the Remah's synagogue (Rabbi Mosses Isserles of the 16th century).

Inside the Remah Shul.

Outside the first Torah-learning center for women.
"A spark kindled in Krakow grew to a flame that radiated throughout Poland and across the oceans, this light of Torah continues to illuminate the hearts and minds of Jewish girls throughout the world"

Levi gives us a teaching inside the beautiful Tempel Synagogue, a progressive synagogue in Krakow. The synagogue was significantly affected during WWII, but has undergone major renovations in the past few decades. 

Tempel Synagogue

Tempel Synagogue

Tempel Synagogue

Krakow Jewish Community Center

A cemetary in Krakow.

I couldn't help but to post this picture of Kyle, Levi, and Leah, posing in their hermonits.

Building a Jewish future in Krakow.

Poland III

(The third in a series of 5 posts detailing my heritage trip to Poland)
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Houses of Life

We visited several Jewish cemetaries throughout Poland. In ordinary circumstances, a cemetery would seem like a low point on an itinerary. In Poland, cemeteries were a way to remember and memorialize great lives that were lived.

Prior to the trip, each of us were assigned a "personality" that we were to research and prepare a presentation on. Many of these presentations were given next to the grave of the person, honoring his/her individual life. My classmates and I shared stories of heroism and determinism, stories of great success, as well as stories of tragic circumstances... but mostly, we told stories of individuals who significantly added to the narrative of the Jewish people that is continued today.

Warsaw Cemetary

Warsaw Cemetary

Warsaw Cemetary 

Kyle gives a presentation.

Brrr.

Warsaw Cemetary

Warsaw Cemetary

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Majdenak

The first concentration camp that we visited was Majdenak, which is just outside of Lublin, Poland.

The first thing that I found striking about Majdenak was how close it is to town. Many of the camps were built in remote, rural areas. Here, there were houses that literally looked over onto the camp. These particular houses might not have been there at the time, but the people in the town were certainly close enough to understand what was happening.

Many of the concentration camps in Poland were destroyed to some degree by the Germans immediately following the Holocaust, as a way to cover up traces of what happened. Majdenak is one of the best preserved camps; we were able to see gas chambers, barracks, a reconstructed crematorium, and a mouseleum full of ashes.

I'm not sure how to describe what I experienced here; the feeling of standing inside a gas chamber, where thousands of people met their death by suffocation. The distinct smell of the wooden barracks where people "slept" in unfathomable conditions. The bitterness of the Poland cold, which I couldn't fully understand, as I was wearing winter clothing.

Walking around Majdenak was an eerie and chilling experience, especially because we were the only group there. While I have trouble putting into words the feeling of entering the camp, I have even more trouble putting into words the feeling of leaving. This was a common theme for me throughout my trip: how fortunate am I that I have the luxury of walking away from these terrible places. 

View of Majdenak Concentration Camp

Majdenak

Inside the gas chambers. Shower heads were installed to give inmates the illusion that they were in a shower. 

Inside the gas chamber. The Zyklon B pellets were poured through this roof, creating the blue color.

Majdenak

Storage room in Majdenak

Majdenak guard tower.

Barracks in Majdenak

Reconstructed oven in the crematorium. After bodies were defiled, they were burnt in the ovens.

Inside this moseleum is an enormous pile of human ashes.

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Torah Study


On our second evening in Poland, we had the pleasure of visiting the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva.

This internationally-recognized yeshiva (Jewish study center) was opened in the 1930s, and served as a vibrant center for Torah learning and text study. Students came from all over Europe to study there.

When the Nazis invaded Lublin, they destroyed the building and burned all of the holy books in the town square, in a public display.

Books are of the utmost importance in the Judaism; they hold wisdom, divinity, tradition, and history. When Lublin was invaded, the outcry wasn't over the damage to the building, but over the burning of the books.

During pre-war time, Jews made up about 40% of the town's population. After the invasion of the city, the Jews were moved to the Lublin Ghetto, and eventually taken to either Majdenak or Belzec death camps.

Today, the building is being restored, and there has been an effort to revive Torah study. We spent our evening learning about the richness of pre-war Jewish Lublin, and doing what Pardes students do best: studying Torah.

Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva

Inside the restored synagogue.

A few of the Pardes educators in the sanctuary.