We awoke early today to check out of our hotel and bid farewell to Kraków and make our way by train to Warsaw. I think we were all a little sad to leave Kraków. It is a beautiful and vibrant city. And while it lives in the shadow of Auschwitz, our evening at the Kraków JCC changed how we feel about being in that place. We found many blessings there, and were eager to share our blessings with others.
Our train was waiting for us when we reached the platform.
Normally, the sight of a Jewish group boarding a train in Poland would make anyone uncomfortable, but our witnessing the resurgence of Judaism in Kraków settled any nerves. And the train was actually really nice! It was great to relax while riding through the Polish countryside towards Warsaw. I heard comment after comment about how beautiful the scenery was.
We arrived safely and immediately boarded our bus to start experiencing Warsaw. Aren't we a handsome group?
We learned some interesting things about Warsaw on our bus ride to our first stop. Warsaw actually dates way back to the Middle Ages. The first Jews weren't allowed to settle in Warsaw until the late 18th century. We weren't allowed in... Here is another example of how we were treated as "other" from way before the persecution leading up to World War 2. I think that is one of the most disturbing things I have learned while in Poland, just how deep rooted antisemetism was throughout our history in Eastern Europe.
Warsaw was almost completely destroyed during World War 2 and has since been rebuilt. We drove by some prewar buildings that are ready for demolition. Because it was rebuilt, it was completely redesigned. The streets are wider and you can see very few remnants of old Warsaw. Most of prewar Warsaw is indistinguishable. For example, look below because these buildings are where the concentration camp at Warsaw was located.
Today, they are apartment buildings. Did you know that there was a concentration camp there? Neither did I! It was created in 1944 following the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto and the uprising that it is known for. Prisoners were brought in from Auschwitz to completely demolish the Warsaw Ghetto. There was so much rubble that it was not all removed and new Warsaw was built on top of the rubble. You can actually see some buildings higher off the street level because of the rubble underneath. Our first stop was near the only remaining wall from the original Warsaw Ghetto.
Marcelina tried to explain how large the ghetto was, with 400,000 to 450,000 Jews living in it. It was incredible to be touching this history with our own hands, feeling the power of the resistance against the Nazis. We then went into the Okapova Cemetery, one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in the world. Walking through this cemetery was like taking a step back in time. Look at the detail in the stones. You can see how old some of these stones are by how they are leaning or cracked... Walking through this cemetery is like walking through hundreds of years of history in Warsaw. It was really amazing and quite beautiful especially with the beautifully colored leaves falling all around us.
Ron began reading some of the Hebrew carved into the stones. The poetry about the deceased was incredibly moving and dramatic, and the detail in the design of the stones is something we just do not see in modern cemeteries. This is indeed a dying art form, and these stones, both the wording and the design are pieces of art.
We spent some time at the grave of Adam Czerniakow, the leader of the Judenraut for the Warsaw Ghetto. His story is quite unbelievable and tragic. As leader of the Judenraut he was in charge of the ghetto. He did his best to make life a tolerable there as possible. When word came down that he had to begin to choose thousands of people each day to "relocate" to the east, to begin too liquidate the camp he had an impossible decision to make. He knew that relocation to the east meant the sending of Jews to the death camp of Treblinka. First, he was ordered to send the children of the ghetto. Imagine, for a moment, if we were in his shoes. He was asked to play God, much like the monster Dr.
Mengele would with the wave of his hand decide who works and who dies at Auschwitz. Czerniakow had to make an impossible decision, a decision he knew he couldn't make, which children to send to their certain death. So instead of choosing who would die, he chose to end his life. I cannot possibly imagine having to make such a choice, especially in terms of children. I empathize with his struggles.
We were able to see stones that had bullet holes in them from the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. These holes represent our strength in the weakest of times, and for me are a symbol of heroism.
The cemetery is huge. So huge that we could easily spend days exploring the stones and learning the stories of the people buried there. We learned that there are more than 200,000 souls buried in this cemetery. And it is still active today.
The most chilling part of this visit was the mass grave of victims who succumbed and died during their time in the ghetto. We learned that each and every day Jews would carry the dead into the cemetery (it was part of the ghetto) and throw them into a pit. There are more than 70,000 dead buried in this mass grave pictured below. 70,000. An unimaginable number.
After a lunch break we then went to visit the Noryk Synagogue, the last remaining Pre-Holocaust synagogue in Warsaw. This community is still active today as an orthodox community. It was so nice to walk inside an active, living Jewish community. You can really see old Warsaw in the structure of the synagogue and new Warsaw in the skyscraper behind it.
This congregation is also well known because of the famous cantors who have sung here. I was proud to lead our group in the singing of Hine Mah Tov, how good it is that we can gather together. And it was good indeed!
After checking into our hotel we had time to freshen up before heading to the outskirts of Warsaw to share a Shabbat service and dinner with the Beit Warszawa Comminity, a Reform congregation in Warsaw. We walked in to a group of about 30 sitting on couches and singing Jewish music, specifically Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, Jerusalem of Gold. How appropriate it is that we walked in during the singing of this song as we are getting ready to transition our trip from Poland to Israel where we will experience Jerusalem in person. It made us all so excited to get home to Israel.
The service was wonderful. It was full of music, a lot of which were the same melodies we sing in Thousand Oaks. Judaism is a great connector. Even when we do not share the same language we can share a service together where everyone sings and participates. I can't tell you how special it was to be in a reform congregation in Poland, especially after walking Auschwitz. It was another clear reminder that Judaism is alive and well, growing and thriving in Poland. They are passionate about their Judaism; you could tell with the intensity of their participation. And we were eager to sing along and add our voices to the strong Jewish voice coming from Poland. It was a powerful and important service.
At the dinner we were able to share some music with our new friends and they were eager to learn about us and share their stories. Our little Klezmer group played 5 tunes for the community and we all are delicious food and shared some wonderful conversations.
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