Poland Day 7
On the train back to Warsaw with My Polish Wisnia. I am still sorting through a lot of emotions and thoughts after spending time in Auschwitz. My grandfather had taken me 11 years ago as well, but this time has been different. I am feeling more of a connection to Poland itself. I am feeling more […]
Poland Day 6 Part III
After the 70th Anniversary ceremony at the Auschwitz concentration camp, many of the survivors returned for dinner to the Dialogue Center – an old convent located very close to the camp that was housing many of us for the days leading up to the event. It seems these days had been intense for everyone. Reliving […]
Poland Day 6 Part II
Today commemorates the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Death Camp,International Holocaust Remembrance Day. We started in Warsaw, where my grandfather grew up. We traveled through the Polish countryside to end up where my grandfather ended up, in Auschwitz. He often says he has two lives: one before the war, and one after the […]
Poland Day 6
Imagine Hell. Now imagine being rescued from hell, and returning. I can’t. I am trying very very hard, and I can’t. I am on a bus about to enter Auschwitz-Birkenau, watching my grandfather pass by the wooden-shelf bunks where he slept as a prisoner in the concentration camp for 3 years of his life, and […]
Poland Day 5
When we arrive in Auschwitz – or Oswiecim, as the town is known in Polish – our liaison from the Auschwitz Memorial & Museum had a surprise waiting for my grandfather… Copies of documents relating to his time in Auschwitz, documents with his name, and his number 83526 (which ultimately became his name during his time at […]
Poland Day 4
Winter in Poland. It’s like being in Pennsylvania, but with less vowels. We boarded a train leaving Warsaw, heading towards Katowice on our way to the next destination: Auschwitz. We put our bags down on a random seat to get our bearings. Neither one of us had any idea how to read the ticket for […]
Poland Day 3
“A BEAUTIFUL THING” After spending the Sabbath with the Beit Warszawa community, it came time to mark the end of the Day of Rest with the ceremony of Havdallah. 3 young girls lit the twisted candle, and we all sang prayers to usher out Shabbat. As is their weekly tradition, the group then pulled me […]
Poland Day 2
Before WWII, Poland had a thriving Jewish community. Over the course of the Nazi campaign, most of them – about 3,000,000 – were killed (along with 3mil Polish non-Jews), my grandfather’s entire family among them. Polish Judaism was decimated and never recovered, but there is now an exciting movement of “renewal” and revived Jewish activity […]
Poland Day 1
Dzień dobry, Poland! We made it. and my grandfather has already made fast friends with the Israeli Canadian on the bus, the Welsh couple eating lunch next to us, and the hotel concierge. Master Schmoozer at large. It’s the first night in Warsaw and i’ve already put on a show. Today is Grandfather’s Day, which is an actual […]
My Polish Wisnia: Poland Part 1 – Prelude
My grandfather is a survivor. He survived the Warsaw ghetto, the Auschwitz death camp, time in the army fighting alongside the Americans who brought him to the States. His story is a remarkable story, made all the more remarkable by the fact that he is able to tell it. This time I get to not […]
