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July 8, 2012 Today, we went to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. It was absolutely magnificent and well thought out. The museum focused on the remembrance of the unnamed victims of the Holocaust. We had the opportunity to explore on our own and fill our heads with so much information. The countless photos of people before the Holocaust had a particular impact on me, because you could see the souls of the people. Their personality and humanity was crystal clear through those photos.After spending about four hours there, we had a discussion with Gil Hoffman, a political journalist with the Jerusalem… Read More

The wooden barracks, stretching off into seeming infinity as the gaps between them are shrouded in a thick white fog, the layers of barbed wire fence with pencil-trunked trees and green grass just beyond the environs of the camp. The atmosphere here is just as I’d seen it in the recurring bad dreams I’d had when I first was taught about Auschwitz-Birkena through viewings of the film Night and Fog. Though I understand that this documentary isn’t used any more, it was the educational tool in my generation; and as we enter the galleries with the grotesque piles of… Read More

On the bitterly freezing day when we were on the market in Karzimierz, Daniel pointed me to a table of souvenirs with a curious collectible set: This was a replica of a seal used in the Lodz ghetto.  The text reads: “Der Aeltester der Juden.  Litzmannstadt”  (The Chair of the Judenrat.  Lodz ghetto).   I’ve seen a lot of Polish tchatchkes in my time, but I found this collectible to be especially painful.  As I was wheeling myself away from the table, I reached a bump in the concrete path and had trouble going further.  One of the souvenir sellers, a… Read More

It is hard to know where to begin in writing about the experience of Shabbat in Poland. Since I had never been here before, I did not know what to expect; now that I am here, I see that this was just as well, because Poland is unlike any other place I have been, and any serious attempts to imagine it beforehand would have in any case been futile. The strange truth is that this place is, in many respects, the most Jewish place I’ve ever been. Jews have lived here continuously for eight or more centuries, and for much… Read More

Today we stood under the Brandenburg Gate and learned about the waves of history that have flowed through this gate.. from the Prussian Monarchs through the Nazi era and the fall of the Berlin wall. Including JFK and his famous declaration.   This moment truly illustrates our cohort of amazing students. After viewing memorials to the darkest times of history they continue to engage intellectually, support each other, and end each day with a smile on their face. They continue to impress us and those we come into contact with along the way.   Enjoy their words from our days… Read More

Our travel portion of the journey has concluded, but our experiences and memories will always be with us. Below are reflections from the final days of the Legacy Tour. July 10, 2012 Yesterday we traveled southwest in the direction of Tel Aviv. One the way we visited a unique farming program that educates groups on agriculture in Israel. I learned that Israel farms in the sand which is amazing and that the state has patented a few agricultural techniques. We were treated to fresh carrots that we plucked from the earth and tomatoes off the vine… all were delicious.  A… Read More