Facing History & Ourselves in Europe 2008

Today, we visited another concentration camp in Poland called Majdanek. This camp was created because of Rinehart Heydrich’s assassination in Prague, which led to the deaths of many Jews in the ghettos as well as the deaths of 1,000 citizens of Prague. Under Heinrich Himmler’s orders, Majdanek opened in the fall of 1941. It was initially a prisoner of war camp used to house Soviet POWs, however, it was eventually turned into a concentration camp. Between April of 1942 and July of 1944, extermination took place in Majdonek using gas chambers and the crematorium. The capacity of the camp was originally meant for about 50, 000 inmates and was referred to as a ‘little Auschwitz” because it contained everything that the larger camp had, but on a much smaller scale. When we arrived at Majdanek, we noticed how closely located the camp was to the city. This made us realize that the people who lived in this area had to know what was going on in the camp. It is impossible for things to go unnoticed if they occur in someone’s backyard. In fact, after the Russians forces liberated this camp, they made the residents of the town come in to bury the dead bodies. Once again, it became clear that reading about the Holocaust in class is completely different than being physically present in a concentration camp. Standing in Dachau, Auschwitz, or Majdonek is a much more emotional learning experience. 

The seventh day has come and unlike other bus rides we’re not thinking about what is ahead of us, instead we’re thinking about what is behind us. Our thoughts turn to what we’ve seen and learned over the past six days. The long trip from Boston was quickly erased by the beautiful and unique architecture of Munich and the busy city provided an outlet of exploration very much needed.  The hostel experience, new to most, was both fun and challenging.  The ride to Prague was long, but restful, and we rode with anticipation of our next adventure. The rainy weather attempted to quell the excitement of the new city, but even cold, wet, and a little hungry, we all made it through the day (even Mr. Love after the 700 steps up to the Castle of Prague).  Four whole days passed before the first signs of homesickness appeared.  Tears were sporadic, yet noticeable, and patience was harder to find, but what followed was truly special. Relationships that were already established grew stronger, new ones formed, and others were temporarily strained. As a group, however, we showed maturity, chose to put our differences aside, and came together as a class and as friends. Throughout this personal process, we began to understand even more about each other and the importance of this trip. We are, after all, 32 individuals with 32 different personalities, and we had to find a way to align our needs and expectations and form as one. Our visit to Auschwitz reminded us that our problems were trivial, brought us closer together, and helped us gain perspective.

 Go Sox! in Germany Originally uploaded by fhaotba 

Thank you all sooo much for your updates about how our Boston sports teams are doing back home!! We are representing Boston everywhere we go.

 

Boston Pride in Prague Originally uploaded by fhaotba  

At Nathan’s villa Hostel in Krakow we found last year’s TBA students had signed into the guest book : 
 
And also back in the Czech Republic : 
 

Arriving at KrakowOriginally uploaded by fhaotba Dear friends and family - We love all of your posts! They help us feel connected to home while we are so far away. We have a lot of photos and videos to share, so please be patient as we pull all of the media together. We are off to Lublin now!

Click to see photos from our bike tour of Krakow :

Click here for a video from our bike tour of Krakow :

Click here to watch a video of TBA students busting a move in the streets of Krakow : 

Today our group visited the concentration camp Auschwitz. Auschwitz was the largest concentration camp, consisting of three camps: Auschwitz, Auschwitz II – Birkenau, and Auschwitz III – Buna Monowitz. Auschwitz was also unique in that it was the concentration camp where the most killings were conducted. Auschwitz served two certain functions; one, to act as a concentration camp for Poles and other “undesirables,” and two, to serve as an extermination camp for the Jewish people. Throughout the tour we viewed exhibits that provided us with a tremendous emotional impact. For instance, we saw a display of human hair which prompted Jason to say, “I couldn’t believe what I saw; that the hair actually belonged to people. It made me feel nauseous.” Another display presented the clothes and belongings of the babies and children that were killed during the Holocaust. Because they were so young, babies and children were deemed unfit to work and were immediately sent to the gas chambers. The brick building in Birkenau was so raw; there weren’t any appropriate sanitations, heating, or baths. All we could see were rows and rows of bunkers. Sights like these make us appreciate everything in life, even the little things. Chandler describes the feeling as “Someone ripping the ground from under you; that moment of suspension, like right before going down a roller coaster, or falling.” After an emotional morning at Auschwitz, a group of us went on a bike tour throughout the city of Krakow. Our tour guide, John, was very informative and made the tour interesting and fun. We visited the Ghetto where the Jews were sent from their homes. One day while they were in the Ghetto after about two years, they were asked to be packed and out of their homes in a couple of hours. Many people followed these directions while some stayed behind and hid. Later that night, the SS came to the Ghetto with dogs and stethoscopes to listen through the walls to hear if there were any people talking inside the buildings. Everyone who hid (about 1000 people) was found and was shot on the spot. We also peddled over the bridge that the Jews had to walk across to get to the ghetto from their homes. We even biked by a Jewish cemetery that is overgrown with grass and trees because there were no more families of the Jewish people to take care of the cemetery. The tour also included stops at Oscar Schindler’s Factory, three look-out hills in Krakow, and the former gates to the city. Learning about the rival soccer teams in the city was also interesting. My favorite part of the ride was biking past the fire-breathing dragon that actually blows fire. This tour was my favorite tour of all because the tour guide was awesome and the bikes just made it more fun.

 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.

So far in our Facing History class, we have been studying how people throughout history have misused their power for their own selfish reasons and how past examples have influenced others in acts of mass murder. For example, we know that the Armenian genocide influenced the planning of the Holocaust. It is important for people today to learn from the mistakes of the past and educate those who do not understand. Today we took a walking tour of Prague, which is the capital city of the Czech Republic. We learned that the Jewish Quarter in Prague was left completely intact because it was supposed to be a museum to an extinct race. This tour was closer to home because it was led by a teacher named Ms. Neuschlova who once taught alongside one of our own, Ms. Powell. Ms. Neuschlova was accompanied by a group of 12 high school students in her class. Though it was raining uncontrollably, Ms. Neuschlova’s knowledge of this medieval city brightened up our day. We met the students near their school and introduced ourselves to each other. We then walked alongside the Vltava River in the Podoli region which overlooks the city. It was there where we learned that Prague is also known as “The City of 1000 Spires” because after every five houses there is a Romanesque styled Basilica. The city’s evident gothic architecture, which has been well preserved, stood out from all the other cities we have visited. We made our way to the Rotunda of Saint Maarten and then ascended 700 steps to the Castle of Praha. We concluded our tour at famous Charles Bridge, which was created in the 10th century, thus making it oldest bridge in the city. Throughout our walking tour, we visited many sites that were related to significant themes explored in our class. For example, we were led to a very interesting structure known as the Lennon Wall. What was once an ordinary wall in Prague is now covered with John Lennon inspired graffiti. This wall is a haven for anonymous youth and allows them to express their ideas, beliefs, feelings, and morals.  Many lyrics from songs by the Beatles were written on this wall. The quote that stood out the most in the center of the mural was “Some may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one”. During the time of Communist rule, many young people needed to express their views on important issues, including their limited rights. This made me think about the youth in the United States and how many freedoms we have. Some of us even left our own names and messages on the wall. The highlight of the day was meeting with the students from the Czech Republic. Meeting with these students gave me a glimmer of hope. Though we all came from different cultures, and completely different countries, we found a common ground just being normal teenagers, trying to find out more about ourselves and the world we live in. This shows that things can change in our world for the better if we all use our words and actions for good.