Monday, June 26, 2017

Reflecting on Auschwitz I & Auschwitz II- Birkenau

There is no way to compare learning about the Holocaust through textbooks and pictures in a classroom setting versus my experience setting foot on Auschwitz I (concentration camp) and Auschwitz II- Birkenau (concentration/extermination camp). As a Human Rights cohort (of 10 women), we had become relatively comfortable around each other, talking quite a lot, and cracking many jokes. When the van (containing 5 of the 10 women) approached the camps, I noticed how quiet we became. If was as if our minds needed the silence to grasp the experience before us. Personally, my lips felt sealed and my eyes felt wide as we approached the gate surrounding each camp.
Our cohort was fortunate enough to have a guide, Paweł, with extensive knowledge of the concentration/extermination sites. Paweł led us through each, explaining every space we entered, whether it was a physical building or the remains of what was once there.
It is impossible to label every emotion I felt while taking in such devastating historical sites. I would like to share a few moments from these two places. In Auschwitz I there was a whole room in Block 5 piled high with shoes worn by the prisoners. The shoes fill the room and none of them were in an exact pair. There were many children’s shoes in these piles. One tiny child’s shoe stood alone and caught my eye. So many shoes worn by the feet of so many innocent people. Then there was Room 5 of Block 4. This room contained a glass display of the hair cut off the prisoners. There was so much hair and it was kept in original condition with nothing to preserve it. To me, this means that the mountain of hair had already started to deteriorate. I couldn’t imagine how tall that mountain was to begin with. Both camps impacted me greatly but Birkenau overwhelmed me the most. Birkenau was quite larger than Auschwitz I and was the location of the exterminations. I will never be able to forget the smell of the women’s and men’s barracks. The smell is not something I can explain, but it sticks with me to this day. We also walked to Crematorium IV and the gas chambers where the prisoners were exterminated. As we stood there staring at the leftover rubble from the building, Paweł painted the scene for us. He read a story from a surviving Sonderkommando who had to escort the prisoners to the extermination chambers. I won’t tell you the story but I will tell you that the Sonderkommando felt very conflicted having lied to the prisoners to keep them calm and then stood there as they screamed in panic until their deaths. At this point, I wanted to throw up and couldn’t keep my eyes dry. In both Auschwitz I and Birkenau, I couldn’t help but notice how easily we walked back and forth, inside and out, of the camps’ gates. I feel so guilty for being able to drive away from the camps when so many lives never had a chance to leave and live.
Leaving each camp was no different than how we arrived. We left in silence. My mind felt so full and my heart ached. It is hard to fathom that someone strategically planned the construction of these places, including the various ways to dehumanize in the quickest and most effective manner. I am disgusted. I am sad. I am angry. A comment of hate-speech or discrimination, that may seem so harmless, is what begins the process of genocide. It is my duty as a social worker, as an advocate, and as a human, to reduce discrimination and educate always (including myself).

In the words of the Righteous, Paulina Plaksej, who shared her story with our cohort, “you must help people in need”. This may seem so simple to state, but every small act contributes to an even bigger movement. In Paulina’s case, it was an act that saved lives.





Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Cześć wszystkim!




The past 3 days have been absolutely jammed packed with tons of information, opinions, walking, and food! I apologize for not being able to write on the blog as we have been out until at least 11pm every night. I will give you a quick run down on what I have been up to.

The first 2 days were spent in Warsaw where we toured the POLIN Museum, lectured with Dr. Mikloaj Winiewski from the Center for the Study of Prejudice at Warsaw University, Professor Pankowski who is the Co-Founder of the Never Again Association, Gert Roehrborn from the Heinrich Boll Foundation, LAMBDA Warsaw (the LBGTQ headquarters in Warsaw), and also toured around Warsaw's former ghetto unraveling the city from the present day construction and life. 

So much information and  many questions have been brought up along the way concerning current issues and historical issues here in Poland. One of the questions the cohort has continued to discuss is "Whose story is it to tell?" There are many women in my cohort who have familial ties to the Holocaust (the Shoah) however, I am not one of them. This means my experience, and even each of our experiences here in this space, and discussing such topics, is quite different. Nevertheless, we all are coming together and experiencing each of these museums, tours, and lectures together creating great discussions and a unique bond.

Today, June 21st, we spent the morning travel to Oswiecim. Once we arrived we went straight to the Auschwitz Jewish center for a tour and then spent at least 3 hours on an emotional journey walking through Auschwitz I on a guided tour. Right now we are collecting our thoughts on the whole experience and will be coming together in a few minutes to eat dinner and discuss our day. I will be writing another blog on this tour later as I am still sitting with my thoughts on how I experienced the tour. 

By the way,. our cohort found out that we are actually the first group to do this Human Rights Program. How cool is that?! 

Tomorrow we will be touring Birkenau. Another day that just cannot be completely mentally prepared for, but a day that is extremely important on this journey in Poland.

Until next time,
Sydney

Friday, June 16, 2017

Welcome!

Hello All!

As promised I will be blogging, or as I like to call it, journaling, while on my trip throughout Poland. I plan to post pictures periodically as well as descriptions of the various experiences I will being having.

Again, I want to thank each and every one of my supporters because without your donations and support this trip would not be possible. Can you believe it?! We did it! This once in a lifetime opportunity is really happening! My plane takes off tomorrow around 7am and I'll have been at the airport much earlier than that. By tomorrow evening I will have flown on 3 different planes to arrive in Warsaw where I will meet the rest of my cohort to begin the Human Rights Summer Program.

Besides blogging throughout the trip, I have made the decision to disconnect from communication via social media, email, and phone in order to use this experience to become more self-aware personally and spiritually. So please, no hard feelings if I don't respond to any contacts until I return home on the 30th.

Let the journey and fun begin!

Cheers,
Sydney