Sunday, July 5 – By Shelly Itskowitz
Today, Sunday, July 5, 2026, our group visited the fortress of Masada, located at the Dead Sea. This fortress had been built around 40 BCE/BC. Herod built it as a “vacation home” to enjoy for himself, as well as to entertain dignitaries who came to visit. Unlike all the other mountains around it, Masada stands […]
Jewish Life – By Sandi Criswell
Our lively tour guide took us to some wonderful Jewish life locations today. Well, what remains of those locations. Not only were many of the rich Jewish life examples lost to bombing during WWII, some were blatantly disregarded by the city of Berlin and not preserved. However, our tour guide started us at the site […]
New Synagogue – By Andrea Dreger
The new synagogue of Berlin reached new heights of beauty externally, but exemplifies the idea that one cannot please everyone. Some loved it’s “Moorish” architectural styling, specifically the emperor of the time. However, many Orthodox Jews of the time outright rejected it’s soaring cathedral aesthetics indoors. They went on to build their own synagogue elsewhere. […]
Nuremberg – By Michael Fratangelo
Visiting the Memorium Nürnberger Prozesse — the Memorium Nuremberg Trials — is not like visiting a museum. It’s stepping into the birthplace of a new moral vocabulary: crimes against humanity, international justice, responsibility before the world. The building itself, located at Bärenschanzstraße 72 in Nuremberg, sits directly above Courtroom 600, where the post‑WWII trials of […]
Our first Day in Berlin – By Josh Ault
What an amazing day! We left Nuremberg this morning and took a three-hour train ride to Berlin. Each city we have traveled to has its own character. Berlin is definitely unique. Massive buildings, graffiti art everywhere, and music blasting wherever you go fill the city. Our first stop was at the location where the massive […]
Magdala – By Amy Matthews
Most people think of Magdala as the birthplace of Mary Magdalene. And so it is. An ancient history. But today when we visited Magdala we also discovered new found history. A simple digging accident unearthed a stone from 2000 years ago thought to be covered over by the Romans It contained a menorah inscription leading […]
Wheels Up – By Katherine Rutherford
For me, the Classrooms Without Borders Poland, Personally seminar was a once in a lifetime opportunity for educators, a comprehensive lesson in what Poland was to the Jewish people for centuries before World War II, what it was during and immediately following the war, what it is today, and what it will be in the […]
Thursday, July 2 – By Meg Frank
We started the day by taking the train to Nurnberg. First we were given a tour of the former Nazi rally grounds, including the massive Congress Hall which was being built to hold 50,000 people to attend a yearly rally. The building, designed to mimic the Roman Colosseum , was never finished due to the […]
Dachau Concentration Camp – By Sandi Criswell
Today, on a rainy summer day, our group had the honor of visiting Dachau concentration camp. Our tour guide, Gerd, described the long-running camp to us in terms of the many layers it had: the town of Dachau restoring from the Middle Ages, the camp as being initially for deportees as far back as 1933, […]