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Students' experiences - Day 1 (Tuesday)Today was the first day of our trip to Poland. We arrived in Warsaw, Poland at around noon and went straight to the Warsaw cemetery, where 100,000 people are buried. We stood by many famous people’s graves, heard their stories and lit candles in their memory. We were surprised by the lack of upkeep in the cemetery; some graves had fallen on their sides and some were broken into two. A highlight of the cemetery was seeing the mass grave where 50,000 people from the Warsaw ghetto were “buried.” Afterwards, we went to the Korcazk orphanage where Janusz Korcazk and Stephanie Wiltzenska invested their entire lives to protect the children of Warsaw. These heroes of their time teach us that even in times of desperation people were still willing to give so much of themselves in order to better the lives of others. Our final stop was to the Nozyk shul, which is the only practicing shul in Warsaw today. It was a powerful experience to see that there is still Jewish life existing in a place where so many Jewish lives were taken. After seeing today’s introduction, we await what is yet to come and know that we will gain and learn from this experience.
Caroline Alexander and Gabs Lasher
Walking off the plane this morning felt like I was coming from a vacation back to winter. But as we travelled on the bus, I noticed beautiful buildings, trees in the midst of changing colors, billboards and pedestrians. Warsaw looks like any ordinary city. Even though I anticipated what I saw, I was frustrated and angered by it. How can a place where my grandfather suffered so much be so pretty? How can people live their lives in a city that was full of evil only 60 years ago? In the cemetery we saw a mass grave. I tried to imagine the thousands of bodies that were buried one on top of the other. But it was intangible, I couldn’t visualize 50 000 people. As I walked around the cemetery I didn’t feel sad, I was very cold. My toes were numb and I was wearingsocks and rain boots. When I was about to complain about my current discomfort, I thought about all the starving people who didn’t have clothing or shoes and were forced to work for hours and hours. I honestly felt embarrassed. Thank G-d, I am given everything I need or want. We have so much more to see, our journey in Poland is only beginning. I am eager to learn and grow, as I am sure everyone else is.
Valerie Goldberg
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