Apr 20 2008
Day 5 - Sonia’s Tree
Today we headed for Krakow and the bus ride took seven hours. Many of us had to finish reading I Promised I Would Tell by Sonia Weitz. Sonia is a survivor of the Holocaust who, along with her sister and brother-in-law, was the only member of her family to survive. As we continued through Poland, we noticed the land was very flat. We realized that was a big reason why it took the Germans only one month to take over Poland. Sonia’s book talks about the hardships she had to go through while she was staying in the camps. She created bonds with her sister Blanca and three other prisoners in order to survive. When her sister got typhus, Sonia and her friends helped Blanca survive by risking their own lives to take care of her when she was sick. They later did the same for Sonia when she was sick. She spent time in five camps and she was in the march of death days before Auschwitz was liberated. Before Sonia went to any of the camps, she promised her mother that the world would know what happened as her mother was being taken away.Sonia’s father planted a tree for her when she was born and we were lucky enough to stand by it to take a picture when we reached Krakow. When the Germans took over Poland using their blitzkrieg strategy they destroyed the Jewish section of town. When Sonia came back after the Holocaust, she went back to her home and found that the tree that her father planted for her still stood. Sonia believes that the tree symbolizes her survival because they both lived through the Holocaust. In honor of Sonia’s resilience we took this picture and hope to send it to her.
4 responses so far
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Interesting thoughts about the German overthrow of Poland. I remember the ride through Poland and was also very taken by the landscape - Weren’t the Poles also fighting with 18th century equipment and horses against the Germans?
Looking forward to your reflections on Krakow and more
Best
Ms. Turin
What a wonderul tribute to Sonia and all of the other Holocaust survivors!
I hope the weather has improved.
~Ms. Martinez
Hi Everyone,
I am really enjoying reading all of your posts, especially after seeing so many of the places a few years ago. Your writing makes it seem as if we are there with you too. The red sox have wom 3 straight and the celtics had a big win sunday night. Can’t wait to read more about your travels!
That is a really beautiful story…very inspiring and encouraging for those who struggle through life…. nice pic & i hope you guys get to send it to her
I hope you guys are having a great time though & we all cant wait until you get back so we can hear some stories !