A Memorial, Museum, Church, and Castle

On Friday, the team had a hefty agenda, but we pulled it off. First, we made our way to the Jewish Ghetto Memorial and then we headed to the Museum that is now housed in Schindler’s old factory. The processing here centered around some of the unique features of it (informative, engaging, creative, definite flow) but also the felt sense that the Polish-Jewish tension was not properly explored. This was a good opportunity for us to explore some of the questions around discovering and communicating history.

After some lunch, we wound our way over the Vistula River and walked through Kazimierz, the old Jewish district, stopping by the stunning Corpus Christi Basilica as we made our way through. Finally, and with the wind gusting and rain starting to fall, we forced our way up to the Wawel Castle. Unfortunately, the weather was such that we couldn’t get a good picture while we were up there all together.

Thankfully, the weather cleared shortly thereafter and the students were able to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening exploring the beauty and charm of this amazing medieval city. Some of their accomplishments and activities are pictorially recorded below. As for me, I went and found a creative little memorial to Jan Karski. If you don’t know about his life, I would encourage you to learn about who he was and what he did. Finally, in the evening, I snuck away to hear some classical music performed by professional musicians in the beautiful Peter and Paul Cathedral in Old Town this evening. It was captivating and soul-lifting! Perhaps I will be joined by some students when I try to go one more time on Sunday evening.

Tomorrow… well, tomorrow is Auschwitz.