Day 11 - Krakow

As we began our scheduled day this morning, we could not have forseen the special and rare encounters that our group would, by chance, experience today!

Our day began in the Jewish Quarter, Kazmierz. Shalmi gave us the history of why large numbers of Jews came to Poland in the 16th century when they were invited by the aristrocracy. Jews came here and formed communities called shtetls in the rural, mostly unpopulated areas. Jews provided capital for the seeds that needed to be planted, and also had a monopoly on the sale of vodka. According to Shalmi, Poles really like alcohol, so this became very lucrative. Because Jews were protected property of the sovereign, and they collected taxes from the local peasants, and they controlled the sale of alcohol, the local peasants became resentful. Fueled by their simple education, mainly by the Church, they viewed Jews as Christ killers and periodally acted out their resentment in antisemitic acts.

Inside the Stara Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter, we learned about the history of Hasidism, a part of Judaism that reflects emotional piety of the people who practice it. From here we visited the Remu Synagogue, where Shalmi explained the first hyperlinks, contained inside religious texts. Outside of this synagogue, we walked through the Jewish cemetary, where Jews were given land to bury their dead.

As we walked down the sidewalk, Shalmi ran into a friend, Jonathan Ornstein, the director of the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Krakow, who invited us inside his center. He explained that the primary function of his center is to promote a thriving Jewish community, only 40 minutes from Auschwitz, where the doors are wide open to anyone who wants to come in. This center, dedicated in 2008 by Prince Charles of Great Britain, shows an optimism, and even though some of the members lived through the Holocaust, and are Holocaust survivors, the label isn't all that they are. They are people who overcame, and went on to have families, professions, and most importantly, they live.

After a quick lunch at McDonalds, we went to the Jewish Ghetto of Krakow. The Nazis forced the Jews to move away from their Kazmierz neighborhood, to a section of Krakow across the river. This ghetto was a sleeping ghetto--Jews left during the day to work in factories. From the museum that once was the pharmacy of Tadeusz Pankiewicz, we looked out over the open memorial, with chairs, that represent the furniture that the Jews carried over the bridge into these cramped quarters, where 17,000 people crowded into 320 houses.

From here we drove by Oscar Schindler's factory, a recently painted and newly opened part of the Jewish Museum of Krakow. We stopped to look at part of the original ghetto wall, which was built by Jews, and shows an ornate style.

We ended the day at the Plaszow Camp, which was built by the people from the Krakow Ghetto who believed they would survive the war because they are building a labor camp. They even built a barrack for children there, so they believed that their families would remain intact. However, on March 13, 1943, all Jews from the ghetto were supposed to report to the square at 7:00 a.m. Once there, all children under age 14 were told to line up separately. Their parents were told that they would come to Plaszow the next day. Those who didn't believe them rushed to the pharmacy and purchases one of two drugs: 1. Valerium--a drug that put their babies to sleep, so that a few parents could smuggle their babies into the Plaszow camp. 2. Cyanide, for suicide. At 1:00 p.m., the Nazis ordered those not in the children's line to start marching from the ghetto to Plaszow. They left behind what they were unable to carry. Their children were taken away and shot. Two days later, some parents were forced to sort the children's clothing, and found the clothing of their own children.



Who would have thought, even for a moment, that our day in Krakow would end with us inside the villa of Amon Goeth, commandant of Plaszow Concentration Camp, where Spielberg filmed parts of Schindler's List? After visiting the area of the camp where today lay the ruins of the Jewish Burial Hall and a memorial to Sarah Schenirer (this is the area of the camp that the HST 2009 participants cleaned up), we walked to the villa of Amon Goeth. While looking at the house from the street, we saw a gentleman come out of the doorway and wave us up the walkway. We, of course, approached the house with Shalmi and Ewa, our Polish guide, and immediately took him up on his offer to come inside. This man is the current owner and resident of the villa who is hoping to sell the house to the museum community of Krakow. This was an incredible chance meeting that demonstrates the importance of experiential learning and its possibility for rare opportunities that become profound teachable moments. Shalmi, Ewa and our group have never been inside the villa because it is privately owned. How fortuitous that we were walking down the street and the owner happened to see us standing outside his house and welcomed us inside.





After this completely surreal experience inside Amon Goeth's villa, we returned to the hotel to say goodbye to our historian, our guide and our friend, Shalmi.

Student Reflections:

Reagan says... Today I was really inspired by Jonathan and his work at the JCC in Krakow. I can't imagine how challenging a task it must be to rebuild a community that faced so much horror in recent history. It is incredible what he and his team have accomplished there. Through promoting an atmosphere of positivity, optimism and tolerance they have made much progress in rejuvinating a Jewish-Polish identity that its members can be proud of.

Casey says... Tonight we discussed whether Goeth's house near the Plaszow site should become a museum or not. Personally, I felt that making it a museum would make it seem too sanitized. I would much rather it have some sort of small commemoration plaque to recognize its historic value.

Jordan says... Today when we visited Goeth's villa, we were unexpectedly invited in by the owner. There was a for sale sign on the front of the house. The owner expressed his goal to have the villa turned into a museum. However, I disagree with the owner's intent because I am not clear on what the museum would represent.

DaiQuan says... The JCC is a community center that serves the city of Krakow in Poland. Its purpose is to bring change to the community of Krakow. It gives the community hope that Jewish life in Poland can be revived. Also, it brings life to people who need it and who are looking for a new beginning.