Auschwitz I and Auschwitz Birkenau We spent today in Oświęcim, Poland. The Germans, when they came in the Fall of 1939, renamed it Auschwitz. How does one prepare for such a visit? How could my students have possibly been given “informed consent” for what they will experience this day? A few years ago I started to write down some thoughts for them to consider as we approached the camp – the most current version I’ll share below. Pictures from the day will follow. A few words as we approach Auschwitz today. Please prayerfully consider these thoughts. There is so much

Schindler’s Factory Museum and Free Kraków On our first full day in Kraków, we started off walking from Old Town to the Schindler Factory Museum. On the way we stopped by a 14th century basilica (Corpus Christi), the Ghetto Plaza Memorial, and a small stretch of the ghetto wall. In the afternoon and evening students explored widely what Old Town Kraków has to offer. Some pictures are below feature a Wawel Castle tour, some cultural performances in the Old Town Square, and a classical music concert at the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Tomorrow is Auschwitz I and II (Birkenau). We

Off to Kraków Most of today was taken up by a 9-hour private bus ride from Berlin to Kraków. We got to our destination with just enough time to take a quick walking tour around the Wawel Castle and Old Town Kraków before we needed to crash and prepare for the next day. A few pics are below. Tomorrow we walk through the old Jewish district, peak-in on Corpus Christi Basilica, take in the ghetto wall and plaza memorial, and then go through the Schindler Factory Museum. Those hearty enough for a lengthy walk will go on to check out

Alt Rehse and Free Berlin For our last day in Berlin, we split up to follow different interests. About half of us went 2-hours north of Berlin by regional train to a small village called Alt Rehse. Here, the Nazis set up a training facility for medical doctors and midwives. It was a program for medical leadership – i.e., to groom and prepare the next generation of medical professionals to put into practice the racial-hygiene policies and eugenic principles that sat at the heart of the Nazi utopic vision. (This place was constructed to reflect the Nazis understanding of the

A U.S. Embassy and two Concentration Camps The last two days featured a meeting in the U.S. Embassy in Berlin with embassy personnel, and our first visit to a concentration camp…two, as a matter of fact. At the embassy we spent an hour or more with Cherrie Daniels, a cultural attaché with the department of public affairs, as well as a few of her graduate interns. We discussed the importance of holocaust awareness and education, and we were informed about some of the policy efforts and international agreements the U.S. State Dept. is spearheading to help return back to their

Church, Work, and Play On this Mother’s Day Sunday we first made time available for folks to attend a local service. Most students either went to the Berliner Dom (Lutheran) in the morning or an Anglican service that met in the early evening at nearby St. Mary’s (a Catholic church which changed to Lutheran post reformation). Confused yet? In early afternoon we made our way to the south central part of the city where we took in one of Berlin’s most visited museums, The Jewish Museum. Lastly, students found their way to various eating establishments – and a few brave