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)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Poland Journey 2010
I am happy to write to you that the Shnat group has returned from Poland safely and soundly, having gone through a challenging but very meaningful experience there. The group visited extremely difficult places and also heard stories of hope and heroism, and went through it all together.
The first day was spent in Cracow, walking around the old Jewish quarter - Kazimierz - exploring the syngagogues and Jewish culture that existed for hundreds of years. Outside the Temple Synagogue there, Hailey read the story of her great-grandfather, a former president of that synagogue, whose name is still inscribed on stained glass window there:
The second day we traveled to Auschwitz and Birkenau, which was a long and intense day. At the close of the day, the first tekes (ceremony) of many that were planned by some of the shnatties was held:
The third day was spent mainly in Cracow, first in the Plashow labor camp outside the city, and then in the Jewish ghetto area, including the former youth movement apartment where resistance was organized inside the ghetto. In the morning of the forth day, we visited the Jewish cemetary of Lublin and talked about some of the Hasidic leaders buried there. Then we walked around what used to be Nazi headquarters in Lublin, and focused on some of the different groups involved in the Nazi party and Hitler’s regime. In the afternoon we went to the concentration and death camp, Majdanek, situated only a few kilometers from downtown Lublin.
We spent the fifth day, walking around the Ghetto area and learning about its history and different aspects of life inside the Warsaw Ghetto. By one of the last remaining pieces of ghetto wall, Tal read his great-grandfather's last letter from inside the ghetto:
We also visited the Jewish cemetary of Warsaw, a massive cemetary with an incredible number of different stories, from famous Yiddish writers, to Jewish communists, to Hasidic saints, to get an understanding of the great diversity of pre-war Jewish society.
The sixth day we visited what once was the shtetl of Tykochin, where Jews had lived peacefully for many hundreds of years before traveling to Lopochowa, the site of their eventual demise. The afternoon we were in another death camp, Treblinka.
The last day in Poland was spent in Warsaw talking specifically about the youth movements and how they responded to the situation around them. We visited the site of a “chava” (literally – farm, but equivalent to “Shnat”) and Dzielna, the site of the Dror commune in the ghetto. The afternoon was spent walking through the path of remembrance and heroism, learning and discussing the uprisings and other various acts that took place in the ghetto. We finished with a rainy but moving final tekes at the Rapaport monument:
We left Poland Wednesday night and returned to Israel early Thursday morning, starting the Rosh Hashana chofesh period. Hopefully they've gotten some rest since the flight. After chag and Shabbat finish Saturday, they will be starting their first days of Kaveret and mesima (volunteer projects) Sunday morning.
The first day was spent in Cracow, walking around the old Jewish quarter - Kazimierz - exploring the syngagogues and Jewish culture that existed for hundreds of years. Outside the Temple Synagogue there, Hailey read the story of her great-grandfather, a former president of that synagogue, whose name is still inscribed on stained glass window there:
The second day we traveled to Auschwitz and Birkenau, which was a long and intense day. At the close of the day, the first tekes (ceremony) of many that were planned by some of the shnatties was held:
The third day was spent mainly in Cracow, first in the Plashow labor camp outside the city, and then in the Jewish ghetto area, including the former youth movement apartment where resistance was organized inside the ghetto. In the morning of the forth day, we visited the Jewish cemetary of Lublin and talked about some of the Hasidic leaders buried there. Then we walked around what used to be Nazi headquarters in Lublin, and focused on some of the different groups involved in the Nazi party and Hitler’s regime. In the afternoon we went to the concentration and death camp, Majdanek, situated only a few kilometers from downtown Lublin.
We spent the fifth day, walking around the Ghetto area and learning about its history and different aspects of life inside the Warsaw Ghetto. By one of the last remaining pieces of ghetto wall, Tal read his great-grandfather's last letter from inside the ghetto:
We also visited the Jewish cemetary of Warsaw, a massive cemetary with an incredible number of different stories, from famous Yiddish writers, to Jewish communists, to Hasidic saints, to get an understanding of the great diversity of pre-war Jewish society.
The sixth day we visited what once was the shtetl of Tykochin, where Jews had lived peacefully for many hundreds of years before traveling to Lopochowa, the site of their eventual demise. The afternoon we were in another death camp, Treblinka.
The last day in Poland was spent in Warsaw talking specifically about the youth movements and how they responded to the situation around them. We visited the site of a “chava” (literally – farm, but equivalent to “Shnat”) and Dzielna, the site of the Dror commune in the ghetto. The afternoon was spent walking through the path of remembrance and heroism, learning and discussing the uprisings and other various acts that took place in the ghetto. We finished with a rainy but moving final tekes at the Rapaport monument:
We left Poland Wednesday night and returned to Israel early Thursday morning, starting the Rosh Hashana chofesh period. Hopefully they've gotten some rest since the flight. After chag and Shabbat finish Saturday, they will be starting their first days of Kaveret and mesima (volunteer projects) Sunday morning.
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