A Unique Moment in Poland by Tatum Perez
Going to the town today was beautiful. Starting off with the bus ride to it. The whole route was just view after view. It goes to show that there’s so much beauty in Poland that doesn’t go unnoticed even with the history that comes with it. During the meeting, we got to see how people […]
Hiding in Plain Sight by Rachel Sager
We started our day with a walking tour of the limited remains of the Warsaw Ghetto. Among the bustling capital city of Poland are fragments of the ghetto wall, unobtrusive memorials to denote where the wall once stood, and others to honor the members of the Jewish community who lived within its confines. But, there […]
“Echoes in the Footsteps” by Kristina Rhoades
In Majdanek’s silent blocks they lie,Echoes of lives that passed us by,A sea of shoes, a testament,To lives extinguished, souls that went. Leather worn, fabric frayed,Tiny shoes where children played,Heels and soles in quiet piles,Speak of journeys, countless miles. Each shoe a story, untold, unheard,Silent screams without a word,Mothers, fathers, daughters, sons,Thousands lost, here as […]
Describing the Indescribable: Reflections on Language and Historical Memory by Cynthia McGrae
As an English teacher and a First Amendment professor, I spend a lot of time thinking about words. In my role as a high school English teacher, I am constantly pushing my students to experiment with language – to show rather than tell, to describe rather than state and to be specific instead of writing […]
A Different Kind of Understanding: A Middle School Teacher’s Reflections on Majdanek by Traci Borden
I teach middle school ELA, and my literature textbook for 8th grade has a story in it entitled “Walking With Living Feet.” The story is about a high schooler visiting Majdanek with 5,000 other teens during her birthday week. The story goes on to explain how when standing in a gas chamber, the student could […]
Bricks and Stones by Nancy Glick
Warsaw bricks on the sidewalk marking the borders of the ghettoBrick wall without the sharp glass and barbed wire appearing so non threatening , innocent in the drizzling rainNot revealing the horrors that took place on the other side. Later, long stones, trees on the left, giving way to trees on the rightArrived at TreblinkaA […]
Pieces from Poland by Heather Pettry
Sure I could write about what I have been doing, thinking, and feeling for days, but as far as making meaning and processing this is not my method. To really capture the moment I am in, I take pictures. To deal with the things I am feeling and thinking, I write. So I have a […]
A Science Teacher’s Journey Through History’s Shadows by Stan Smith
I have always loved history. As far as my memory allows, I have been captivated by the events that shaped the world in which I live. I served in the United States Army as a young man, and at 22 years old, had the opportunity to visit many historically significant German sites, including Dachau. I […]
Capturing Meaningful Moments by Zachary Burns
I wondered which of the places we would be visiting would allow us to take pictures. Before I left Pittsburgh, everyone said “Make sure you take a lot of pictures!” and asked to see them as soon as I return. When we arrived at Gesia Cemetery this morning I realized that we were allowed to […]