The Stetl and Beyond

Our first day in Krakow started with a tour of Kazimierz, the Jewish quarter of the city. We were met at the hotel by our guide Anna, a young Polish woman who had a degree in Jewish studies, and had spent 3.5 years volunteering at the Krakow Jewish Community Center. Anna was a great guide, and was both fun and humorous, and extremely knowledgeable about the history of Jews in the city and Jewish life in present day Krakow.

Our first stop on the tour was at the oldest synagogue in the city (pictured below). There, she told us about bit about the history of Jews in Krakow. The earliest record of Jews in Krakow date back to the early 14^th century, and Kazimierz was officially established in the 15^th century. Poland was a more welcoming place to Jews in that era, in large part because it did not partake in the Crusades like many other European nations.

Pictured: (Above) This synagogue was originally built for men, and the yellow triangular portion of the building was the women’s section that was a later addition. (Below) Map of Kazimierz.

Our next stop was at Hopper Synagogue, a private synagogue that, according to legend, was built by a father who promised to name the synagogue after whoever married his daughter. The synagogue ended up being named after the man, so his attempt at finding a husband for his daughter was apparently unsuccessful.

Close by Hopper Synagogue was a memorial to the 65,000 Jewish citizens of Krakow killed in the Holocaust. Before WWII, approximately 68,000 Jews Poles lived in Krakow, and there were over 100 synagogues in the city. Today, only 7 remain, because most were destroyed by the Nazis. This memorial was a sobering reminder of the extent of the genocide and how Eastern European Jewry was nearly demolished by the genocide.

Anna then took us to Remuh synagogue, which was built in 1558. We had a chance to enter the building. Inside, Hasidic rabbis were praying and paying respects to a famous rabbi called Rabbi Moses, whose anniversary of death happen to fall on the day we visited the synagogue.

Pictured: (Above) Our group headed into the synagogue. (Below) Wall by entrance of synagogue.

The rabbis took turns approaching the banner in the front of the synagogue that covered the chest that holds the Torah scrolls, proceed to kiss the banner, and then pose for a picture in front of it. I felt fortunate to witness this demonstration of respect to the famous rabbi. After exiting the synagogue, we went to an adjacent Jewish cemetery.

Pictured: (Above) Muraled wall of synagogue, each picture depicting a story from the Hebrew Bible. (Below, right) __. (Below, left)

Outside, the Hasidic rabbis were also paying respects at the tombstones of the famous rabbis buried in the cemetery.

Pictured: (Above, left) Rocks are left on tombstones throughout the cemetery as a symbol of ___. Many of the tombstones had tin roofs to protect them from acid rain, which is a result of Krakow’s problems with pollution. (Above, right) Prayers written on scraps of paper are tucked into the crevices of Rabbi Moses’ tombstone, much like at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. (Below) A view of the tombstones.

Pictured: (Above, left) One of the tombstones, with writing in Hebrew describing the person who is buried there. (Above, right) There was a wall on one side of the cemetery that was made up of tombstones that had fallen apart or crumbled. Many of these fragmented grave markers had graphics like outstretched hands, which symbolizes a blessing, or a candle, which represents women in Jewish tradition. (Below, left) A Hasidic rabbi walking among the tombstones. (Below, right) Our group being led by Anna.

Pictured: (Above) Outside of the JCC in Krakow. (Below, right) A sculpture in the entrance. (Below, left) One of the walls in the main meeting room of the JCC.

After our tour, we had free time in the city, so we made our way to the Cloth Hall, which was a trading market established early in the city’s history. It now is home to a variety of vendors, and souvenir shops. It was a great time to explore the city a bit on our own!

Pictured: (Above) Our group making our way towards the main square of the city. (Below, right) An old church seen on the way. (Below, left) Another building that caught my eye.

Pictured: (Above, right) The square with St. Mary’s church in the background. (Above, left) One of the many vendors. (Below, right) A woman inspecting the wares. (Below, left) Another shot of St. Mary’s.

It was a great first full day in Krakow, and learning the history of Kazimierz and Polish Jews in the city was really interesting!

By Jamie Cohen

Today, our group woke up early to drive from Kazimierz to the Auschwitz concentration camp in the town of Oswiecim. Oswiecim, the town’s Polish name, was largely a Jewish shtetl prior to the holocaust. During our drive to the camp, local guide Elzbieta Pytlarz gave us a brief history of the town both before and after the war. Elzbieta also emphasized that we should refer to the town by its proper name, Oswiecim, and not by the name Auschwitz, which the Germans used to refer to the town during the holocaust.

Prior to visiting Auschwitz, everyone in our class had learned about the camp and the unthinkable horrors that went on within it. Auschwitz-Birkenau was the main mass extermination camp of the Nazis where over a million Jews were tortured and murdered along with tens of thousands of Polish Catholics, POWs, Roma, and Sinti. While we all expected today to be a long and difficult day, we also recognized the value in visiting Auschwitz and seeing the camp with our own eyes. None of us knew how we would react to seeing the sites of murder, separation, and starvation for hundreds of thousands of Jews, but we felt well prepared for our visit having learned the appropriate background knowledge throughout the semester.

Auschwitz I

Above, you can see the infamous Arbeit Macht Frei sign, whose words mean “Work Sets You Free,” at the entrance to Auschwitz I. From the years 1940 to 1945, approximately 1,300,000 people walked through this wrought iron gate and into Auschwitz—1,100,000 of them were Jews. While I walked through this gate myself,  I thought about how little the jews knew about the nature of Auschwitz and their grim futures. The few jews who had heard the rumors of extermination within the camp generally did not believe what they had heard was true. Andrew said that one of the hardest parts about visiting Auschwitz for him was walking back out of the gate and thinking about how many prisoners did not get to do so.

Auschwitz was the largest Nazi German concentration camp and death camp. The Nazis deported 1,300,000 people to Auschwitz from all over:

• 1,100,000 Jews
• 140,000-150,000 Poles
• 23,000 Roma (Gypsies)
• 15,000 Soviet Prisoners of War
• 25,000 Prisoners of Other Ethnic Groups

1,000,000 of these people died in Auschwitz. Approximately 90% of the victims were jews. The SS murdered the majority of them in the gas chambers. This top picture shows the layout of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The bottom picture demonstrates just how far away the Nazis were able to take prisoners and send them to Auschwitz. The diagrams above can be found at the beginning of one’s tour of Auschwitz and serve to remind visitors that the Nazi’s “final solution” was a truly a universal plan to kill everyone they deemed inferior.

When the construction of Auschwitz I reached completion in 1942, the complex had 28 two-story brick buildings. Each building, also known as a block, housed around 1,000 prisoners. The top picture shows a reconstructed version of one of these buildings. The bottom picture depicts what the building’s interior would have looked like at the time. Prisoners slept on tri-level wooden bunks—two prisoners generally slept on each level.

Extermination in Auschwitz started in 1942. The primary method was through gas chambers, which prisoners willingly entered under the impression that they were going to take a shower. In reality, the underground room was locked once all prisoners were inside, and the poison Zyklon B was poured into the room through holes in the roof. Twenty minutes later, everyone inside had suffocated to death. The photo collage above depicts the inside of the gas chamber, the empty/used containers of Zyklon B, and what the outside of the gas chamber looked like from above ground. For me, the hardest part of visiting Auschwitz was standing inside the gas chamber. Because the gas chambers were all underground, I felt very claustrophobic while inside and was truly relieved once I got to walk back up the stairs.

Auschwitz II-Birkenau

As Auschwitz I became overcrowded, the SS authorities started having the prisoners build Auschwitz II, otherwise known as Birkenau. Birkenau, which was 20 times larger than Auschwitz I, was broken up into three different parts: Birkenau I, Birkenau II, and Birkenau III. The top picture above shows the entrance to Birkenau; the bottom picture, the barracks within Birkenau. 

The picture above shows a reconstruction of one of the cattle car wagons which brought prisoners from all over the continent to the camp. In one cattle car wagon, between 60 and 80 people were squashed together without food and water for up to a week. When the trains finally arrived at the camps, everyone was told to leave their belongings on board. The prisoners were then forced to disembark the train and gather on the railway platform for selection. Many of my peers said that standing on the unloading ramp in Birkenau and walking past the reconstructed cattle car wagon was the hardest part of the visit to Auschwitz for them. Dan explained that walking along the unloading ramp was challenging because it was the place where “the journey ended for so many and hundreds of thousands were separated from the family and friends they loved.”

When people arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau, they had no idea what to expect and carried with them all sorts of belongings. Once at Auschwitz, however, the SS officers would confiscate all suitcases and send them to Kanada I and II. At Kanada I and II, Nazi officers would go through the suitcases and send many of the belongings to the 3rd Reich in order to promote the German war effort. While the Nazis attempted to burn Kanada I and Kanda II at the end of the war and erase the concrete evidence of their wrongdoings, they were unable to destroy all of the prisoner’s belongings. The picture above shows just some of the belongings of the prisoners of Auschwitz which were not destroyed.

Above is a picture of the selection process which the Nazis used to separate those they believed were fit to work from those who they believed were not. The sick, weak, and old who were considered unfit to work would be sent straight to the gas chambers. Children were even sent to the gas chambers—approximately 200,000 Jewish children were gassed to death in Auschwitz. Selection, however, was a peaceful process because everyone was assured they were simply lining up to take a shower. In the context of the horrendous conditions which the prisoners endured on the cattle car wagons, showers actually made sense.

Birkenau had four main gas chambers, each had its own crematorium. Because these gas chambers were all underground, they were difficult to destroy completely at the end of the war. Above is a picture of what remains of one of the main gas chambers in Birkenau. Special prisoners who had been assigned the horrible job of Sonderkommandos worked in these gas chambers. After the Zyklon B had killed everyone inside the gas chamber, the Sonderkommandos would remove the bodies, search them for gold, and throw them into the crematoria. Sonderkommandos would often recognize their own family members and friends among the dead bodies. Every so often, the Nazis would also kill the Sonderkommandos because they had witnessed too much of the killing process. However, several  Sonderkommandos survived the holocaust and were invaluable to recounting the Nazi operations within the camp.

Because Birkenau was primarily a death camp and not a work camp, the majority of the mass killings took place in Birkenau. While people could sometimes survive a year in Auschwitz I, it was uncommon for an individual to live longer than three months in Birkenau. The picture above shows the women’s barracks in Birkenau, where women merely waited to die.

The Oswiecim Synagogue

Following our tour of Auschwitz I and Birkenau, we drove to the Oswiecim Synagogue. The Oswiecim Synagogue, also known as the Auschwitz Synagogue, is the only active synagogue in the town of Oscwiecim. At the time of the Nazi invasion, more than half the population of Oscwiecim was Jewish. The Jewish community of the town was over 400 years old, and there were more than 20 synagogues in Oswiecim. The Oswiecim Synagogue was the first building restored to the Jewish community under the Polish government’s post-Communism law governing the restitution of Jewish communal property seized by German occupiers during WWII and retained by the post-war Communist government. The synagogue was built in 1913, but the Nazis demolished its interior and used it to house munition during the war. In 2000, the synagogue was completely restored to its pre-war condition, and the adjoining house was turned into a museum which depicts the life of Jews in pre-war Oswiecim.

The first picture above shows the interior of the synagogue as well as the torah it houses; the second picture above depicts a portion of the museum attached to the synagogue. While the town of Oswiecim no longer has a Jewish population, the synagogue is still active and often used for prayers by groups and individuals visiting Auschwitz. Our class truly enjoyed visiting this synagogue and felt it was the perfect place to go following our visit to Auschwitz. The synagogue reminded us that while the holocaust stole the lives of so many jews, it did not end all Jewish life. Many of my classmates even wished we had spent more time at the synagogue, learning about torah from Professor Lieber who had the opportunity to show us the synagogue’s torah and point out some of its key features.

Wadowice (Birthplace of Pope John Paul II)

After visiting the Oswiecim Synagogue, we drove to the town of Wadowice. Wadowice was the birthplace of Pope John Paul II. Because the town of Wadowice is close to the Auschwitz concentration camp, almost the entire town’s Jewish population (more than 2,000) was exterminated in the camp. Nevertheless, during the pontificate of John Paul II, relations between Catholicism and Judaism improved dramatically. John Paul II spoke frequently about the Church’s relationship with the Jewish faith. John Paul II was the first pope to visit Auschwitz in 1979 as well as the first pope to visit a synagogue. After reading more about the extent to which John Paul II improved relations between jews and catholics, I would agree with Michael Schudrich, chief rabbi of Poland, who said that “never in history did anyone do as much for Christian-Jewish dialogue as Pope John Paul II.”

While in Wadowice, our class took an extensive tour of the Pope’s family home. Unfortunately, very little of the tour focused on how the Pope improved relations between jews and catholics. The picture below shows the basilica dedicated to Pope John Paul II in Wadowice. 

The town is also known for its Polish Papal Cream Cakes which Elzbieta insisted everyone in our class try. However, many of my classmates were not too fond of these cream cakes and gave them mixed reviews. Below is a picture of Professor Lieber and Professor Holmgren trying one of these Polish Papal cream cakes.

May 17th, 2017

I had the privilege of documenting the most beautiful day of our trip so far in Poland. Our morning started with meeting up with our awesome tour guide, Anna Baryla, who we had already met two days prior when she took us around the Jewish Quarter in Krakow. Today, we toured the Royal City of Krakow that is 1000 years old and learned about the history of the city.

Anna told us that in the year 965, Jewish merchant names were first documented under Mieszko I, the first documented ruler in Poland. Ibrahim ibn Yaqui wrote the Chronicle. In the year 966, the written history of Poland began. In the 13th century, the city of Krakow was almost completely destroyed by Mongols.

We proceeded to learn about the Wawel Royal Castle which used to be the center of the city. The Main Market Square became the center of the city after the city was rebuilt. The castle was built under the reign of King Casimir III The Great. The names of the donors who helped to fund the reconstruction are still displayed today on bricks. The cathedral next to the castle was rebuilt many times, but the castle wasn’t because the Mongols never went to the hill so it wasn’t destroyed.

Anna also taught us about the tale of the dragon. There is a metal sculpture of the dragon on the foot of the hill by Vistula River, although the tale of the dragon is that he died by drinking too much water. The King wanted to marry off his daughter but also wanted to kill the dragon, so he offered his daughter’s hand in marriage to whoever could kill the dragon under the castle. Many suitors tried until this one man named Skuba put a lamb outside of the dragon’s den for him to eat which caused the dragon to become incredibly thirsty. The dragon would keep drinking water from Vistula River but could never quench his thirst, and the moral of the story is to not drink too much water. I wonder if that’s why bottles of water were so small in Poland and you had to pay for water at restaurants? The dragon’s bones now dangle in front of the entrance to the cathedral and the tale is said that as long as it is hanging there, everything will be okay.

We then learned about the union between Poland and Lithuania which was started by the King and Queen Jadgiwa. In 1572, kings were first elected. In the 17th century, there were wards between Sweden, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. In the 18th century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was partitioned into three separate parts. Krakow was a part of the Austria-Hungary partition.

We then headed to the Courtyard of the Castle which was a beautiful place to take photos in front of. The design was created to force you to use the balconys to get to the other rooms. The ground floor was where servants lived, while the first floor was the private apartments of Polish Kings. On top of the castle is the Polish flag, which is red and white. The white symbolizes the eagle emblem of Poland, while the red symbolizes the attire of noblemen. 3000 people petitioned for the flag to be on top of the castle and it was approved. In 1918, the capital of Poland moved from Krakow to Warsaw.

We then passed through the Main Market Square and Saint Mary Basilica Church. At the top of the tower of the church, a trumpet tune is played every hour and stops mid-tune to commemorate a trumpeter in the 13th century who was shot in the throat with a knife while he was playing. We also saw Eros Bendato, a sideways head bronze sculpture which was only supposed to be displayed until 2007 but remains today as a meeting spot.

The cloth hall has many vendors that are selling souvenirs to tourists and the entrance has two forms of security. It has a typical security camera, but it also has a pigeon resting upon a dangling knife. The tale is that if you steal from the cloth hall, the pigeon will cause the knife to fall and cut your arm off.

We also looked at three pieces of stained glass that weren’t allowed in Wawel Cathedral and are now displayed in Wyspiański Pavilion due to being deemed inappropriate. Henryk Pobożny was portrayed as being killed, Saint Stanislaw was portrayed as having a face of suffering, and King Casimir The Great was portrayed as being a skull. We then went to St. Francis’ Basilica to see more of Wyspiański’s stained glass art.

Our tour with Anna concluded at the Barbican gate which is a remnant of the Polish defense system. It was kept in Krakow with the argument that it would prevent wind from blowing into the market square. The Marilyn Monroe argument was that the wind would lift all of the women’s skirts and show their underwear which was the convincing piece to not tear down the gate.

We all gave hugs to Anna as she left us for another tour. It was a wonderful day learning about the Royal City of Krakow!

We then headed to Jagiellonian University where we met with 5 third-year students in their Jewish Studies Department (Kristopher, Jacet, Piotr, Julia, and Agnieszka). We also met with two professors in the department (Edyta Gawron and Marek Tuszewicki).

There are 12 universities in Krakow, all of which are tuition-free. Jagiellonian University is the oldest university in Poland and was founded in 1368. The Polish Queen Jadgiwa supported the university financially after the King died. Both Nicolas Copernicus and Pope John Paul IInd studied at this university.

The Institute of Jewish Studies was founded in the mid 1980s. It was interesting to learn that the program enrolls about 40 students a year for the BA program plus another 40 students for the Masters program, but only about half of the students regularly show up to class. The Jewish Studies major is one of the hardest to get due to having to study both Yiddish and Hebrew for three years.

We learned about what made them choose to study Jewish Studies, how often they go to class, what they do in their free time, and what they want to do after graduation. They were very hospitable and even gave us cookies!

Many of them said that they liked Jewish Studies since it’s something they didn’t learn a lot about growing up besides going on the mandatory school trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau. When their families asked them why they chose this course of study, they responded by saying it was marketable both in the EU and in Israel by becoming fluent in Hebrew and Yiddish. For some of them, this was their second or third degree. Many of them said that they go to class for about 20 hours a week. They had their own opinions on which language they thought was easier than the other. In their free time, Kristopher watches Netflix and likes to create websites. Many of them also hold jobs outside of school. After graduation, many of them are hoping to be recruited by big companies that are looking for those who can speak Hebrew and Yiddish. The professors said that for those that have a Jewish Studies degree, they have had 100% job placement rate.

It was interesting to listen to Polish university students who grew up in a predominantly Catholic community and still chose to study Jewish Studies. It was inspiring to see their passion for learning something outside of their comfort zone and also realizing the importance of learning about the history of a group of people that contributed so much to the creation of their country.

We encouraged them to come visit their new friends in North Carolina and Kristopher said that he would love to watch House of Cards with all of us in America.

All of the Duke students were amazed at how the students from Jagiellonian University could speak Polish, English, Hebrew, and Yiddish so well and really enjoyed learning about the culture of college students in Poland. It was definitely one of my highlights of the trip and I am excited to keep in touch with everyone we met over social media.

After leaving Jagiellonian University, we went back to the Golden Tulip Hotel and rested before we met again for dinner.

Dziękuję Anna and Jagiellonian University students!

MINISTRY OF CULTURE:

Our group woke up bright and early all excited to see the gorgeous capital of Lithuania- Vilnius. The day started with a visit to the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture- located in a building that was once part of the Jewish Ghetto in Vilnius.  Our group was able to meet with Audronis Imbrasas, the Vice Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania. The discussion focused around the difficulties that are faced when it comes to preserving sites of Jewish culture throughout the region. We discussed with the minister how difficult it was to create centres of Jewish life without a particularly large Jewish community in Lithuania today.

Vice Minister Imbrues also was able to give us a new perspective on the state of affairs of promoting Lithuanian culture within the country, and also noted how there is a clear cultural divide. “If you ask someone over the age of 30 they will likely speak russian as a second language, if you ask someone under the age of 30 they will likely converse with you in english.”  Furthermore we discussed the many implications that our visit will have on the youth in the village. He said that some of the most important work that can be done is often times not through a government initiative but rather through private ventures that create positive connections with the local community.

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR:

While we had originally planned to visit the Israeli embassy a new plan was established that allowed us to visit a Lithuanian Holocaust survivor, at Vilnius University. This was a great opportunity  as due to the passing of time we are left with fewer and fewer survivors with whom we are able to speak with. This is compounded with the fact that very few survivors of the Holocaust actually choose to return to their native countries.

After leaving the Ministry of Culture we started our walk towards Vilnius University. On the way we decided to stop and have brief a coffee break.  Cough* For some this coffee break lasted longer than others 🙂 Cough*

Upon arriving at the university we were directed to the centre for Jewish studies located in a beautiful courtyard. Vilnius University is distinguished as the largest university in Lithuania and is one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe- founded in 1579!

Once we got settled we were delighted to find out that we would be speaking with Mrs. Fania Brancowskaja -a Holocaust survivor who did not simply return to Vilnius after the war but rather took an active part in the liberation of Vilnius by working with the Soviet partisan movement agaist the Nazi’s! The discussion primarily focused on her memories from living within the Ghetto and her life as a partisan during the war. Thanks to our guide and translator Ms. Ruta we were able to really get a feel for her wartime experiences.

Mrs. Brancowskaja was in her early 20’s when she first entered the Vilnius ghetto with her family in 1941.  Within a short period of time she was able to join the soviet partisan movement. She noted how difficult it was to understand and react to the Nazi liquidation of the ghettos which made it difficult to organize a resistance.  She also noted the importance of maintaining a positive attitude during the war; even as she spoke of the horrors of the war more than 50 years later we could still hear how she discussed many of the events with optimism.

Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of the discussion was actually the time that Ms. Brancowskaja spent after the war and upon returning to Lithuania- an experience that is not often reflected in the memoirs of many survivors which usually end with a discussion of the challenges of finding a new home… not rebuilding in their native country.

LUNCH BREAK:

After walking for what seemed like an entire marathon we were able to enjoy some local Lithuanian cuisine! After parting with Ruta we returned to the old town of vilnius finding a nice little restaurant on Bernardinų gatve.  Among the many options we enjoyed beetroot soup, Blynai, Šašlykai, and the essential Cepelinai.  Each of thee foods tasted delicious and would set the tone for our later culinary adventures in the country. Interestingly enough as we were dining we encountered a group of ISKON followers chanting in the street- an interesting sight indeed!

AMERICAN EMBASSY:

With our bellies full we trekked across the city towards the American Embassy. The beauty of the city was on full display as we walked past gorgeous churches and passed many quaint shops along the street. When we arrived at the American embassy we had to go through a strict security screening- during which our phones were taken away! Once inside we were seated in a room that reminded me of my elementary school back home  waiting for the cultural attache Mrs. Anne Hall to meet with us.  

Mrs. Hall was very kind to us and thanked us for the work we are doing- one of the most important things she discussed was the challenges that come from working as a diplomat. She explained how sometimes even when she knows what is the best course of action, she has to sit back and let others figure it out for themselves. She provided to us a brief history of U.S- Lithuanian relations.

How we were seated inside the embassy (stock photo)

Only a few years after Lithuania declared independence (1918) the U.S established first diplomatic relations with the young nation (1922), this continued even after the Soviet Union’s invasion and incorporation of the Lithuania into the U.S.S.R. The United States never accepted this forced incorporation and chose to continue relations with the Lithuanian government in exile. This decision of viewing the present government (post 1991) as the a legal continuation of the interwar republic- has since resulted in the U.S having over 85 years of continuous diplomatic relations with Lithuania.

Mrs. Hall explained how it was this continuation of relations during the soviet period that has contributed to Lithuania being one of the most pro-American nations in Europe and the world, with 73% of Lithuanians viewing the U.S. positively in 2011.

Lithuanian American protesters

Mrs. Hall also acknowledged the great benefit that our program will have to improve the relationships for our two nations. Acting as student ambassadors we may be the only point of contact with locals “As an American” this meant that we should always be aware of our actions and strive to maintain a positive relationship wherever we would go.

DINNER:

This action packed day was concluded appropriately with a traditional Shabbat dinner that was presided over by our very own Rabbi-  Dr. Lieber! During this dinner we were able to reflect on the events of the day- and unwind…. With half of the table engrossed in a deep discussion of politics whilst the other nonchalantly joking about passport photos and our time in Europe.

Blog Post by: Shaun Taraporewalla

This morning, our group awoke to a surprise: we needed to leave our hotel in Vilnius. While we were under the impression that our reservation lasted until Sunday, we were shocked to find out that this was not true; our time at the Hotel Domus Maria had come to an unexpected end. Due to miscommunication, the hotel thought that we were leaving on Saturday and they assigned our rooms to new guests. As a result, we no longer had anywhere to stay, since there were no spare units.

Accordingly, we decided to modify our itinerary. Rather than remain in Vilnius to do a tour of the city, we elected to head near Šiluva a day early, where we could be accommodated.

Before arriving at the Pakalnė Lodge in the village of Kušeliškės, we were fortunate to visit Ponary.

Ponary, otherwise known as “Paneriai”, is a forested area and a former resort destination that is approximately fifteen kilometers away from Vilnius. More importantly, it is the mass-execution site where around one-hundred thousand people were killed from July 1941 to July 1944. Most of the victims of the Ponary massacre were Lithuanian Jews from the nearby capital of Vilnius; however, other groups, such as Soviet POWs, members of the Polish intelligentsia, and Jews from surrounding Lithuanian villages were also exterminated here. The murdered were either shot or buried alive by a group of about one-hundred Lithuanian Nazi collaborators.

The perpetrators selected Ponary as an execution site since the land contained deep pits, which had been created by the Soviets in 1940 to store emergency fuel reserves. These ditches, they believed, would be extremely effective in gathering and containing the dead bodies of their targets. Moreover, Ponary was chosen due to its accessibility by train; although many of the victims arrived by motor vehicle or even by foot, most were transported to Ponary via rail.

After several years of gruesome and inhumane acts, the Nazis returned to Ponary in 1943 in order to hide the traces of the murders. To do so, all corpses were dug up from the pits and burned. It is for this reason that the exact number of victims cannot be determined.

Following World War II, a monument was erected by local Jewish survivors to commemorate the killings that took place at Ponary. Shortly thereafter, it was removed by the Soviets, who were occupying Lithuania at the time. Nevertheless, in 1986, the Soviets constructed a memorial for the massacre, which continues to stand to this day. This was the site that we visited.

Our time at Ponary can best be described as numbing. Students could not help but sense an eerie presence as they walked through the dense forest and encountered remnant burial pits. Unlike the industrial undertone of Auschwitz-Birkenau, students recounted that Ponary’s pastoral and intimate setting made the atrocities raw and uniquely disturbing. Knowing that the perpetrators of the massacre had to face their victims directly – many of whom could have been neighbors or acquaintances – was chilling beyond belief. This feeling of discomfort was additionally exacerbated by Ponary’s great size and ironic beauty.

It too is important to note the number and diversity of monuments that were on this site. As seen in the above pictures, monuments were erected to honor various groups of people, including Jews, Soviets, Poles, and Lithuanians. The variety of monuments underscores the sociocultural divisions that existed at the time and how one all-encompassing monument could not accurately memorialize the experiences and legacies of each group.

All students were very grateful to visit and learn about this tragedy. Unquestionably, it was one of the highlights of the trip thus far.

Following Ponary, our group re-boarded our bus and made our way to the Pakalnė Lodge near Šiluva. Upon arrival, we settled into our rooms, ate dinner, and had the evening at leisure on the property.

The entry of the cemetery that has a fence around it marked with a Star of David.

Above is the memorial stone for the cemetery. This stone is important because by placing this stone in the cemetery, the local government is required to upkeep it.

On our first day in the cemetery, May 22nd, we spent time finding and uprighting tombstones that had writing on them because an integral part of our work in the cemetery was being able to archive the names of those who had been buried there. The next day, May 23rd, Professor/ Rabbi Laura Lieber read the tombstones for the archiving process.

There are several integral elements on Jewish tombstones that involve Hebrew. First, I am inserting a chart of the Hebrew alphabet. The first line that typically appears on all tombstones reads  פּ’נ meaning “here lies.” Following this phrase is typically the name of the person who has been buried there to rest with a personal phrase connecting to who they were. Often, in the case of a woman’s burial, her father’s name is also engraved on the tombstone. Within the women’s tombstones that were catalogued, one of them read: “daughter of our teacher, our rabbi Noah.” This style allows for a record of not only the woman who is buried, but also of someone from her family another generation prior to her burial, giving more history from the few words that are found on the tombstone.

After the name on the tombstone and personal phrase connecting to the person’s life, generally, the day, month, and year of their death is recorded. The month and year originate from the Hebrew calendar. I have inserted a chart which gives Hebrew months a Gregorian calendar equivalent. Of the tombstones on which the month could be deciphered, Iyar and Nisan came up frequently. Iyar falls around April/May during the Jewish holiday of Yom HaAtzmaut and Nisan falls in March/April which is during Passover.

Following the day and month on the tombstone is the year of death. For years, the Jewish calendar starts at year one with the Creation of the World. The Creation of the World was based on the design of Hillel II who calculated the age of the world by trying to figure out the ages of characters from the Bible and other Biblical events, resulting in a calendar that beings 3760 years before the Christian calendar along which time is arranged in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. In the cemetery, the years found on the tombstones fell around 200 years ago. Some of the tombstones catalogued were from 5566 or 1806, 211 years ago, 5590 or 1830, 187 years ago, and 5600 or 1839/40, 178 years ago, etc. Letters in the Hebrew alphabet have numerical value, so to figure out the year on the tombstone, you have to figure out the numerical value of each letter and add them up. There is a chart inserted below showing the Hebrew alphabet letters numerical equivalents.

At the end of some tombstones in the cemetery was also the phrase ת נ צ ב ה meaning “May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life,” which is from the first book of Samuel 25:29.

Following are the tombstones that were decipherable and able to be catalogued. 

“…” and “(?)” indicates indecipherable sections of the tombstones some of which were difficult to read because very fancy script and raised script is more difficult to decipher as opposed to text that is carved down into the stone.

Heres lies a woman Fruma

Daughter of …. Year 5640(?)

Here lies Rachel daughter of our teacher, our rabbi Noah

Who Died on the 19th of … in the year of …

Here lies …. Son of Hiem

The year 5568

Here lies Yahuda Levi son of the club member/association member/scholar

Rabbi Yosef who died in the year 5566 (211 years ago, 1806)

Here lies murdered (?) Ben Morenu (son of our teacher hypothetical) Eliemella

Son of Moshe (?) He died in 5580 (1820s)

Here lies Master Moses the son of Master Naftali

Who died on the 20th day of Iyar in the year 5590 (187 years old)

Here lies Rabbi Sulliman Son of Our Teacher, Katriel (a Yiddish name from this period) (respected for his learning, but not necessarily a rabbi) on the 16th in the month of Tevet in the year of 5600 (1839/40)

Here lies Moses who died in the month of Nisan 5640 according to the common reckoning (shortened form of the year)

Here lies Rabbi Abraham son of Yacob he died on the 25th of Adar

“May You Have Mercy” year unclear

“May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life”

Upon this is the Spirit of the Son (reference to the father) Yahuda Hiem… the pure youth

He died on the 10th of the month of Iyar in the year 5685

“May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life”

Here lies Hiem Benyahudda

He died on the 10th of the month of Tevet the year of 5653 (according to the abbreviated date)

“May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life”

Here lies a woman Maura

Daughter of …. Yacub who died 11th of Shevat in the year 5600 (1839/40)

Here lies my father who will rest

Joshua …. Son of …. Yosef (a personal name?) Who died in the month of Nisan the day of … the year of 5673 (1917)

“May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life”

(more modern Ashkenazi phrase)

Here lies a woman Mena Fiva (a Yiddish name) daughter of Mosha Kilanamos (Askenazi name)

She died in the month of Iyar… a date in the month of Iyar… who departed in the 5600s (between 1839-1939)

Today was a non-stop day. We first explored more of Raseiniai, highlighted by our visit to the former prison. While the prison has not been active since 1953, it has been put to good use as a museum.We learned about the Raseiniai’s history as a Jewish cultural center (of majority Jewish population), its status as the birthplace of two revolts against the tsar, and its housing of what was once the highest and longest bridge in Europe. Additionally, the museum has rooms for artwork, clothing and old books. Tragically, what was once a thriving town was essentially demolished in the Second World War. Luckily, the museum provides a strong history of Raseiniai’s strong past.

We next visited another Jewish death site during World War II. Much like Ponary, this place was unassuming at first glance but incredibly eerie with its history known. We pulled off the side of the road near by some trees. We walked and found the memorial site in which Jews from the ghetto were killed. Given false hope in believing they were digging sand for the road, these Jews were in fact digging their own graves. When visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau, I was struck by its factory-like features which made the experience overwhelming. In contrast, this site’s simplicity, calmness and beautiful landscape create an uneasy feeling, knowing that mere feet in front of us approximately 1,677 individuals were murdered. It was a truly chilling experience.

After our exploration of Raseiniai, we went to the secondary school of Šiluva. This time, though, we did more than eat lunch! We sat as a group on stage in the school auditorium. After an introduction by Dr. Lozman, we all introduced ourselves to the students and faculty. After the mayor presented us with gifts (including a spiky but nevertheless delicious cake), we were treated to a singing performance followed by traditional Lithuanian dance routine by the students, both of which were extremely impressive and well-rehearsed. It was truly special for the students to share their customs and passions with us. We then watched a short video about Lithuania and a powerpoint presentation about the school, which, interestingly enough, predates the United States by over 200 years! After another stellar dance performance, the students asked us questions, such as our why New York City is named the Big Apple (a question for which none of us had an answer), if we had tried any Lithuanian cuisine and what defined a kosher meal. As a big basketball fan, though, my favorite portion of the Q and A came when one student asked whether we knew any Lithuanian basketball players in the NBA. As our resident Torontonian, Cole shared his affinity for the Toronto Raptors and praised Jonas Valančiūnas, for which the entire school erupted into applause and cheering! Following our discussion, we were swarmed with requests for selfies and Snapchat information. Our group selfies were certainly  one for the ages!

After our last selfies were taken, we went with Šiluva’s mayor and the local priest on a tour of the city. Our tour focused upon the commemoration site, across from the town’s church, for which an apparent miracle occurred. Inside the church-like structure lies a stone. In 1608, residents of Šiluva said that on this stone the Virgin Mary and baby appeared. The entire structure has murals of the miracle occurring, with a centerpiece of Mary with the child. It is because of this miracle that so many Catholics make the pilgrimage to Šiluva’s.

The area’s site as one of importance for Catholics is self-evident. Still, its history of Judaism is a crucial element of its culture as well. It is imperative to visit Holocaust and death sites so that we remember these atrocities and fight to ensure that they never occur again. As we highlighted throughout the course, though, we must strive to remember Jewish life and the ways in which these Jewish communities were a part of the greater community, whether it be in Poland, Lithuania or elsewhere. While we didn’t have the opportunity to fully discuss these relationships with the kids at school or the members of the community at-large, hopefully it is a discussion that is present now and in the future.

Thursday morning everyone slowly appears at the dining room, ready to venture out beyond the grass fields and windowless grocery stores of Siluva. We await Antonas, our savior, and his yellow bus, our escape to freedom. We made the hour journey, arriving at a bus parking area with unique art on one of the buildings, making it quite easy to spot afterwards.

The group walked together to the main square to obtain maps of the city, then we walked down the main street, Vilniaus Street, which is lined by cafes, shops, boutiques, and lovely little shops. Jamie and I left the rest of the group to see some of the boutique shops while they continued on to look for a café. Although many of the stores appeared to be high-end, modern fashion boutiques, their prices were quite reasonable.

After walking to the end of the street, about a mile, we also felt the need for caffeine so we found a modern looking café. I loved the interior decorations, it was the perfect combination of a library and a cozy dorm room, but with a clean, white, modern style. The coffee was also delicious.

Since we had walked up and down the street, Jamie and I headed towards the Neman River to walk around, see some of the older architecture and churches along the way. With still an hour before lunch, we ran into Andrew and Shaun, then later Cole and Dan, and together walked to see the Kaunas castle.

For lunch, our group met up with the others (including Antonas!) at Berneliu Uzeiga, a Lithuanian restaurant. The most eloquent order was what Dan and Alycia had, an assortment of meat skewers, vegetables, and sauces, apparently very delicious and filling! After lunch, it was time to head back to Pakalne before the traffic would get too bad.

Those of us who decided to take advantage of the homestay grabbed our bags for the evening and headed to school, where we were greeted by teachers wearing red velvet dressed, and asked by the gym coach if we were ready for physical activity! The event was lovely, the teacher choir sang a few songs, and then the true entertainment began! Those who weren’t in heels and a skirt got to join in on races and games, and even I got to jump in for a traditional Lithuanian circle dance. After doing the Macarena, we decided it was time to meet our host families. I had already met Kristina, the English teacher who is familiar with my unique diet and promised to take good care of me. The other students were randomly paired with a host.

My night was wonderful! I went with Kristina and two of her friends/ English students, Ligita and Sonata, to Kaunas for dinner. We stopped along the way first for coffee, then also at a monestary where we were not able to go in, but we took a short walk in the woods. Over wine and a platter of hummus, we talked about the differences between American and Lithuanian culture, our discontent with American gun laws, and their practice of writing down wishes at New Moon and their insistence that the moon will make your wishes come true. Around midnight we drove back to Raseiniai. In the morning, I woke up to the smell of something delicious, and was greeted with hot porridge with fruits and raisins!

Dan, Brittany, Jamie, and Shaun stayed together after the ceremony and spent more time with the local students. They got to zipline and enjoyed multiple feasts of hearty food throughout the evening. They all loved their homestay families very much, and were received with open arms. In my opinion, this was the highlight of my entire trip because we got to see how families live in Lithuania and actually spoke to them, got a glimpse at how they perceive the world. If I ever travel to Europe on a similar trip, I would love to do a longer homestay for more than just a night!

Our final day in Šiluva began with the same beautiful weather as every other day of our trip: sunny and warm. In the morning, six of us returned from our home stays just after 8am and joined the remainder of the group for breakfast around 10am. At 11:30, the twelve of us boarded our van headed for the cemetery dedication ceremony. Upon our arrival, we were surprised to see a great deal of students from Šiluvos Gimnazija (the local school with which we were involved). At 12pm, the ceremony began, starting with opening remarks and a prayer by Professor and Rabbi Laura Lieber. The English introduction to the prayer was translated into Lithuanian by Greta, our amazing caretaker/host/chauffeur/jack-of-all-trades at Pakalne. Photos below showcase Professor Lieber in front of the cemetery gates and Professor Beth Holmgren delivering her remarks to those gathered for the dedication.

From right to left, those leading the dedication ceremony included Professor Holmgren, Professor Lieber, Greta, Dr. Michael Lozman (who organized the cemetery restoration project), Darius Velička (a friend of Dr. Lozman’s and a Lithuanian politician), the regional mayor for the district, Arnas (the historical liaison for the Raseiniai museum), the mayor of Šiluva, and the principal of Šiluvos Gimnazija.

The regional mayor then proceeded to give gifts to all of us visiting from America, which included boxes of Lithuanian tea and a book on Raseiniai for the Duke students.

Following this, the winners of the school’s essay contest, organized by Dr. Lozman, were announced. Students were asked to write about the Holocaust in Lithuania. Pictured below is the first-place winner of the contest giving her remarks as Greta translates into English.

After all parties had given their remarks, Dr. Lozman explained the importance in Jewish cemeteries of leaving small stones on (or next to) the beautiful tombstones. Though he admitted that there were several reasons for this, the reason he described as his favorite is that it shows that someone was here to remember the deceased, even if their familial descendants no longer could. The stone featured below originally was only showing an inch above the ground. A group of students dug it up and brushed it, revealing a perfectly preserved inscription, dating back from 1806, per Professor Lieber’s translation and calculation.

A few photos taken after the dedication ceremony. The first shows five students with a couple of Lithuanian students, in their school uniforms for their LDOC (Last Day of Classes). The second and third are our student group with Dr. Lozman, Greta, and Darius the Selfie King. Finally, the fourth is the plaque installed on the gate commemorating our work.

Following the dedication, we re-boarded the van and headed to the local school, where the community and staff had prepared a wonderful lunch in the school cafeteria. After this, we returned to Pakalne to grab our belongings. Before we left, Greta and her parents thanked us for staying with them and gave us bread as our departing gift, which is a sign of respect in Lithuania. Without a doubt, this family receives the award for best hosts ever, if I may say so.

After we said goodbye to Greta, her family, Dr. Lozman, and Darius, we boarded our van headed to Vilnius. Our driver was a wizard when it came to making our ridiculous amount of luggage fit in the trunk. Somehow, he single-handedly organized our 20-something suitcases perfectly, including lifting them all the way to the roof of the van, the height of which can be seen below with the driver.

Tired as we all were, we decided that it would be a nice break to get dinner in the hotel, rather than make the trek to a restaurant nearby. I cannot speak for all the food, but I can attest to the exceptionalism of the BBQ burger at the Hotel Congress. Everyone seemed happy with their relaxed meal after a long day and a two-hour trip back to Vilnius.

When in Lithuania, you can’t go to bed too early! After dinner, around 9pm, a couple of us took a walk outside the hotel while a couple of us, per Darius’ suggestion, took an Uber out to Akropolis, the giant shopping mall in Vilnius. Old Town Vilnius feels like a very quaint city on its own, but there is definitely a larger city outside of the Baroque architecture. This shopping mall had a hyper-Maxima (a grocery store), various clothing and food shops, and even came complete with an active ice hockey rink, on which local adult teams were playing. Friday the 26th was a packed day, filled with communication with Šiluva locals, travel, food, and shopping. I think it is safe to say that we were all growing accustomed to and taking a liking to the Lithuanian lifestyle by the end of the night.

We made it back from Šiluva the night before and I think I can speak for everyone in saying that we had all enjoyed a hot shower and our night’s rest in the Hotel Congress. As the last full day in Lithuania, today’s date had been designated as a free day for students to roam the city and explore what they please. Since we left Vilnius for the countryside earlier than expected last week, we took the opportunity to finally have the tour of the old city. With the wonderful and knowledgeable Ruta as our guide, the area of the city which was previously the Jewish ghetto, Vilna, was explained in thoughtful detail and places we had read or heard about visualized before us. The ghetto was in operation from September 6, 1941 until September 23, 1943. There were 2 sections to the ghetto: the small part which housed ~11k and the large part which housed ~35k people. People living in the small part arrived at the ghetto on September 6 and by early October almost all had been sent to the murder site at Paneriai. It is estimated that more than 40 thousand Jews from Vilnius and its suburbs were imprisoned here and that almost all of them were murdered at Paneriai. The ghetto was liquidated in 1943. All the meanwhile, groups were trying to escape the ghetto to join the partisans who were living and working out in the forests. Groups who managed to leave were often besieged or betrayed and rumors would circle back to the camp that these people did not make it, thus lowering the inmates’ desires to escape.

This plaque and the bust below commemorate the life and teachings of Vilniaus Gaonas Elijahu. Ganous translates to “genius” which is an accurate description of Vilniaus. He was a great rabbi of Vilnius and champion of technical text study. He is famous for his traditional ideas of Jewish intelligentsia, such as the intense study of the Talmud.

Professor Lieber remarked in front of the bust that the importance of Vilniaus to US visitors may seem “obscure, but there are actually many significant splits in Orthodox Judaism”. Americans understand orthodoxy as an example of the division in practice of Judaism, but are often unaware of the distinct branches within orthodoxy.

The Great Synagogue of Vilna was the oldest and most significant monument to Litvak Jewry. The construction of the building took place between 1633 and 1635 in Renaissance-Baroque style. A labyrinth like complex was formed around the synagogue and 12 other buildings, forming a prestigious center of Torah study and the spiritual home of Vilna Gaon. Despite the 20th century German destruction and consequent Soviet construction  of a school over the site, 3 items of the Great Synagogue survived through WWII: a door of the Holy Ark, a reader’s desk, and a bas-relief with the Ten Commandments which are all now on display at the Vilna Gaon Museum.[1]

The building pictured here was a school built by the Soviets in 1950s. It was recently discovered by a team of archeologists that the Great Synagogue of Vilna lies below the foundation of this school. During WWII, Nazi bombing left the synagogue in great disrepair which eventually led to the Soviets’ decision to raze the building to the ground in the 1950s.

Pictured is the group walking along what used to be the Main Street of the Jewish ghetto during WWII. This area is now extremely cosmopolitan, with lanes of traffic of both sides of the median and upscale cafés and restaurants lining the streets.

This street sign translates to “Jewish Street”, which marks the beginning of what used to be the main street through the Jewish ghetto.

Group makes it deeper into the heart of what used to be the Jewish ghetto through the old Main St.

These photographs were found in the ruins of the Vilna ghetto.

Translating to “Hospital Street”, this sign marks the road on which the hospital of the Vilna ghetto used to be located. Many of Vilnius’ current residents do not know the history behind the name of the street and question why it is named so.

Pictured is the structure that used to house the hospital of the Vilna ghetto. Today, the building has been converted into apartments.

Here, we see the school of the old Jewish quarter of Vilnius. Ruta let us know that Fanya, the partisan we listened to who survived the Jewish ghetto and lives to share her stories, attended school here. Yiddish was a primary language taught here. The memorial plaque on the building reads that on November 3, 1941 200 Jews were selected for mass murderer by the Judenrat, Jacob Gents, who was not well liked for his cold demeanor and the luxuries his family enjoyed during the war.

This plaque is in the sidewalk out front of the old school building. It commemorates Icchokas Rudaševskis who wrote a diary detailing the humiliation of not being able to fight the atrocities being committed against the Jewish people; the feeling of helplessness. He was murdered at Paneriai. There are 4 or 5 other similar squares across the city.

Words from the past fighting to shine through on a street from the ghetto…

The future standing tall in the streets of Vilnius.

After parting ways with Ruta, students had a few hours to wander, shop, and eat. The group reconvened at 3PM for a gondola tour on the Neris river. This river snakes through Belarus and Lithuania, connecting Vilnius with the old capital Kernave. According to Lithuania’s travel page, the banks of this river house burial places of pagan Lithuanians, many mythological stones, and a sacred oak. [2] We concluded our day with dinner at Vegafé, a vegetarian restaurant highly recommended by Ruta. Here, we reflected as a group over our time in both Poland and Lithuania as well as brainstormed improvements for the class in the future. One of the more prominent themes we came up with would be increased involvement with the school children. We all felt that the period of time we spent talking at the school with the students was a hi light of the trip. It was also agreed that interaction with the community, whether it be the schoolchildren and their teachers or the townspeople as a whole, plays a crucial element in the experience of the trip and class.

Some of the modern art that has been incorporated onto or below bridges that cross the Neris River.

View from inside the gondola

A view of the remains of the Upper Castle, once a part of the Vilnius Castle Complex, from the Neris River.

Sean having a photo shoot on the Upper Castle remains.

A cauliflower couscous salad from the restaurant Vegafé we ate at on the last night.

1. http://destination-yisrael.biblesearchers.com/destination-yisrael/2015/08/vilna-gaons-great-synagogue-discovered-in-vilnius-by-israeli-archeologists-unveil-nazi-and-russian-j.html
2. http://www.visitlithuania.net/nature/rivers