Cody Selker:
“Today we went to the concentration camp and I have to say it was the hardest day we have had so far. Everything was so unbelievable. We went and saw the barracks where everyone slept so close together and packed together; and we saw the showers and the ovens—or fireplaces where they were put into and burnt. It was just horrible. The one thing that got me the most was seeing all the shoes of everyone in the Holocaust, and that wasn’t everyone—it was unbelievable. It gave me a real visual of just how massive it was. I have read books but this gave me a much more realistic vision of what really happened. It was so hard to imagine all the people who were killed here; just because I did not want to imagine all of them being murdered. Later we saw a humongous pile of ashes and the bones inside of it were still there. It was horrible to think that that many people could be killed in one small place.”
Josh Katz:
"I want to thank you for letting me come on this tremendous trip because today really let me realize just what the holocaust is all about. Thank you! Bye!”
Chad Miller:
“I just wanted to say this trip has really been surprising given the emotions I have felt in the camps and the ghetto. It is so hard to imagine how these horrible things could happen. But I have been feeling really more angry than sad that this could have ever happened—I don’t try to control my emotions; I let myself feel what I feel. I just want to say hi to my family. I hope all is well as things are going well here. Tomorrow we go to Auschwitz and I think that is something that really will be life-changing and I really look forward to going to Israel
Rachel Barr:
“Today we visited Majdanek. I was really shocked having seen concentration camps before. We saw the gas chambers and a barrack that was filled with piles and piles of shoes and I cannot imagine how one human being could do this to another human being and how someone could even build a gas chamber specifically to kill others. How could Nazis believe that shoes, clothes, and the hair of people were more important than the people themselves? It was really weird to be walking around a place where so many people had been murdered.
When we saw the ashes of the victims there was a bouquet of flowers that had also turned to ash and there were even bones. I could not imagine just how many people had been turned to ash—and for what.?
Finally I was really surprised with how close the town was to the camp. The people (of the town) had to know what was going on in the camp and yet they did absolutely nothing. The entire city of Lublin had to know what was going on in this camp.”
Sarah Warren said the group had lots of deep discussions tonight so that they could process what they saw. She said everyone is doing great and they are a very bright and sensitive group of students.
All the best,
Barb
Monday, July 7, 2008
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1 comment:
This whole blog has interested me because when I read some of the over the top remarks about Poles during WW2 on sites such as Haaretz, Vosizneias and Ynetnews, I can’t help wondering what is being taught. Obviously the posts are going to be misrepresentative of Jewish people as a whole as people most likely to post are those with a grudge but still I am intrigued as to what students are learning.
The following comment above interested me:
“The people (of the town) had to know what was going on in the camp and yet they did absolutely nothing”
It is understandable to identify with the chief victims of the camp and think as they must have felt -that their neighbours who were less likely to be killed weren’t doing enough to help. However if you want to learn a full history – rather than just learn those selective facts that enable you to cast aspersions on an entire nation – then you must also learn to view things from the neighbours’ (ie the Poles) point of view.
They had already been beaten militarily. They and their families faced the death penalty for providing assistance to Jews. They did not have any local government to protest to. The only way they could help was by a suicidal uprising. In light of these facts what do you expect them to do? What do you think the Jews would have done for the Poles had the situation been reversed?
To better understand the complexities of the Polish/Jewish relationship at the time I recommend the following book.
www.secretcitybook.com
It neither fully condemns nor fully condones the Poles, but I think it would give students a better understanding of the history of Polish/Jewish relations – as opposed to merely teaching students reasons why they should condemn an entire nation , which is sometimes what I suspect is happening.
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