Millions of Jews lived in Poland and millions are buried here. Auschwitz-Berkenau can be considered the largest Jewish cemetery in the world. Over a million Jews were killed there. This number is so large it defies comprehension. After my travels of the last two days, however, I have seen many other places were Jews are …
Random and inadequate thoughts on Auschwitz
I hope these thoughts will help others who plan to visit Auschwitz: 1) There is no one Auschwitz. There is Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz 2. Make sure you give yourselves enough time to visit each. By the time we finished with Auschwitz 1, we were already worn out. 2) Go with a tour guide. We …
On the way to Auschwitz
Yesterday I went to Auschwitz. I didn’t sleep too well the night before. I knew I’d be overwhelmed. Sleeping pills helped a little. How do you prepare yourself emotionally to visit a place where over a million people were murdered? I’ve read many books about the Holocaust. I know the story. But that’s not the …
Transport to Auschwitz
We have divided our stay in Poland into two parts. The first part my wife and I are traveling on our own, first Warsaw, then Krakow, where we now are, and then Lodz. In the second part, we have hired a guide, who we met briefly in Warsaw, to take us by car to my …
To distinguish between dark and light
I spent today observing the Sabbath in Krakow. I prayed in the morning at the Kupa Synagogue, which was built in 1643, and located in the Kazimierz section of the city, where the Jews of Krakow resided for hundreds of years. There were about 100 men at the service (more upstairs in the women’s section). …
The POLIN Museum
Today we spent three hours at the Polin museum in Warsaw, which opened just over a year ago. (see http://www.polin.pl/en) It is one of the most important Jewish museums, dare I say, the most important, in the world. This museum is remarkable in many ways. First and foremost, it is a Jewish museum in Poland, created by Jewish …
Poland versus Jews or Poland and Jews
My first afternoon in Warsaw raised an essential question: Am I exploring the history of Jews within Poland and among Poles or vis-a-vis Poland and Poles. At first impression, it seems more the former than the latter. Consider the deep historical similarities between the two peoples. Poland is an ancient land that is located between …
Getting ready to leave
I’m a few hours away from setting out on an Air France flight via Paris to Warsaw. I’m an anxious traveller, an even more anxious flier. Yet as I prepare to embark on this journey of discovery, perhaps self-discovery, I am more nervous than usual. In my mind I know I will be seeing things …
Learning the geography of Poland
One of my tasks in preparing to visit Poland is to learn the location of various places there. Having studied the history of Jews in Eastern Europe, I know that the borders of Poland changed over the years. In fact, when my Zeidy was born in Zambrow in 1900, Poland was not even a country. …
Poland: it’s complicated
I am the first in my immediate family to go back to Poland since my Zeidy (grandfather) left in 1920. My mother had some desire to see Zambrow, but she and my father focused their travels on places they really wanted to see and experience, such as Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada. The idea …