Monday - Auschwitz I and Survivor Reception

I am not sure I can adequately express the flood of emotions that I have had today.   I really tried to prepare myself for this experience, but being in Auschwitz I was something I will never forget.  I was very thankful to be led on the tour by our group's own Adam Musial, a teacher and amazing historian from here in Krakow, and our group's own Steve Richardson, a teacher from Ripley, Derbyshire, England, who leads groups of students on trips to Auschwitz several times each year.  Their knowledge and insights were so meaningful, and I am grateful for their leadership and guidance.

It will likely take weeks for me to fully process my visit to Auschwitz I, (Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum) and I feel like I will be even more confident of that after our trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau tomorrow for the commemoration.  There is just so much to process.  So, for now,  I will share the most gripping moments for me and then list other significant events.

The shoes.
Many of you have seen the pictures from the display of victims' shoes.  Many of you may have read about it - particularly about the red shoes.  I will say that the display of children's shoes - particularly the little red Mary Jane's  - was the most emotional moment for me.  I cannot think of a time in her life that my own daughter, almost six, has been without a pair of red shoes.  I will likely post more extensively on this later, but it reminds me of my earlier post when I mentioned "phone home."  Little girls in red shoes are supposed to be able to click their heels together and wake up at home.  For this victim, that dream was not to come true.  So, atop this mound of children's shoes sat a pair of red shoes that likely belonged to a feisty little girl with a big heart and big dreams.  I remember her because of her shoes.

The hair.
The room of hair was likewise overwhelming.  There was hair of all color and texture and length.  I think of my own personal vanity about hair.  I recall the frustration when my daughter cut her little blonde ringlets  - like many little children do.  And then I think about the hundreds of thousands of people who were dehumanized with a haircut.  It was astounding.  There was just so much hair.

The crematorium.
I am not sure I can ever fully reclaim the feeling of walking into a gas chamber and crematorium.   I cannot describe the feeling with words, but it was some sort of mix of oppression and fear and anxiety and grief. First, I saw the scratches on the wall. . . and next I took a step through a doorway into a smoke-stained crematorium.   And then, unlike millions of others. . . I was able walk out.

Other moments of note from Auschwitz:

• Seeing survivors walking through the camp with their families and being thankful that they are here to share their stories, and being amazed that they are so poised in such a desperate place.
• Seeing the crews of media and cameras and preparations throughout the camp and thinking how glaringly different the coverage was 70 years ago.  (One newspaper article, I believe, was written immediately upon liberation.)
• Tour of the penal barrack 
• Tour of the Yad Vashem exhibit
• Exhibit of drawings of children of the Holocaust
• The Book of Names
• The Gallows (Where Commandant Rudolf Hoess was hanged following the Nuremberg Trials)
• Seeing Rainer Hoess (grandson of Rudolf Hoess who expresses deep remorse and regret for his grandfather's crimes) being interviewed inside the camp (This was a major moment for me as I had watched his story in the documentary Hitler's Children. Here is a recent article about him.)
• The slushy pathways between buildings as the snow melted and my thankfulness for warm, waterproof boots.
• The two rows of barbed wire with coils for electricity.  

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Our evening began with a debriefing session.  We then made a very quick change of clothing and headed to the survivor reception.  It was certainly a gala event!   I had an opportunity to meet with a survivor named Gisselle.  She survived at Auschwitz, moved to New York in the years following the war, and moved to Israel about 20 years ago.  She now works for the organization Yad Vashem counseling Holocaust survivors.
Tonight's program included these people:
David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery Communications; founder of Auschwitz: The Past is Present
Ambassador Ronald S. Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress
Steven Spielberg, director, producer, founder of the USC Shoah Foundation, founder of Auschwitz: The Past is Present.

Music was provided by descendants and relatives of Holocaust victims and survivors.  The most notable to me was Alex-Biniaz-Harris, grandson of Holocaust survivor Celina Biniaz, one of the Schindler Jews.

*****
After a roller-coaster day of emotions, I ended the evening with dinner in the hotel and a walking tour of the city center in Krakow.  It is still decorated for Christmas, and the snow and lights are enchanting.  I was with two veteran teachers who have led student groups on travel tours throughout Europe, so I was in excellent hands! Laurie Schaefer, a teacher from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has traveled to Poland many times, so you will hear her voice in the videos that follow.

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Tomorrow:
Tour of Auschwitz Jewish Center & Cemetery
70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz

(I believe the ceremony will be streaming live.  It will be late afternoon/evening here, so it will air in the morning in the USA.)

*****
For those of you who are watching the weather in the northeast, my flight is scheduled from Frankfort to Washington-Dulles early afternoon on Wednesday.  Hopefully the DC area will not be hard hit by the storm. Many from my group are traveling into Newark, so we are keeping an eye on the weather and hoping that it doesn't get as bad as predicted.

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The wi-fi is painfully slow tonight, so I am unable to upload any photos.  (I've been trying for an hour.)  I have a three-hour layover in Frankfurt on Wednesday, so maybe the wi-fi will be faster there and I can post an entire album and videos.  Please do explore the galleries on the museum sites I've listed.