Poland write-up

Here is a write-up by two Shnatties to share with parents and friends what they experienced in Poland:

If you were to look up the word "Poland" in the dictionary, you would find "A republic in central Europe; the invasion of Poland by Germany in 1939 started World War II". In the Shnat dictionary you would find a very different meaning. The reality of Poland for us was a very intense journey in an emotional, mental and physical sense. We went to concentration, labour and death camps including Auschwitz, Berkenau Majdanek, Plaszow and Treblinka. Testimonies were read. Memories were honoured. We visited the ghettos of Warsaw and Krakow and relived history in Synagogues, Cemetaries and at the Tykochine Shtetl. At Mila 18 we learnt of our ancestory, the uprisers of the Dror Movement. Simply put, we slept a little and learnt a lot.

It was a very difficult experience for us to be at the actual sights of the holocaust, many of us for the first time. All the stories and education suddenly became tangible and real. A lot of us struggled with conflicting emotions and were very confused that sometimes the predominant emotion we experienced was not, in fact, sadness. After much discussion we decided that this was not a negative thing because there are more powerful and complex emotions which better equip us to act, rather than simply dwelling on the sadness.

The reason that the Poland journey is such an integral part of our shnat year is for us to see and experience some of the greatest evils the world has ever committed, in order for us to be empowered to strive towards greater good. Throughout the journey, a huge emphasis was placed on our shichvah (group). We learnt about Dror’s role in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and how their brave madrichim (youth leaders) had such an impact in revolting against the Germans. This enabled us to critically evaluate our place, as a shichvah and individuals, in the movement back home. We dissected what it means to be a leader in a movement and began to think about how we could effect change (although not quite to this scale).

We feel that it is this aspect which set our journey apart from the others. As well as uncovering the horrors of the holocaust we were able to be inspired by the work of our movement and others, and this has set us down our own path in preparation to rejoin our communities next year as bogrim (leaders).

Aleh Ve’hagshem

Jade (Melbourne) & Hayley N (Sydney)