Poland Personally 2023 by Dr. Emad Mirmotahari
I have had an exceptionally difficult time generating ideas for our Poland Personally 2023 blog because of the magnitude of the experience and because of doubts I had about being able to craft something responsible and edifying. The problem was resolved for me over the last two days of our trip, however, as I found […]
THERE IS A SONY SKYSCRAPER BUILT ON TOP OF WHAT WAS THE LARGEST SYNAGOGUE IN WARSAW By Rowan Acadia Dunlop
Warsaw is so flat I expect to find an ocean at the end of it. I don’t know if this is the natural topography or the results of the bombs. I’ll have to look it up back at the hotel. The streets are very, very clean here. Everyone waits for the little green man to appear in the […]
A Math Teachers Perspective By Jessica Kerr
When I first applied for this trip, I had doubts that I would get accepted. What could a Math and Computer Science teacher contribute to CWBs mission and goals? I felt like I was the outlier in a group of ELA, History and Arts teachers. But I really felt I could benefit from the seminar and so did […]
EVIL AT AUSCHWITZ By Charlene Foose Geyer, Dedicated to Howard Chandler
Don’t tell me evil is not real.It’s as real as hair used to make rugs after shaving it off a person you are about to kill.It’s as real as shoes collected from children and their families you are about to suffocate with chemicalsthen burn to ash.It’s as real as prosthetics stolen from the injured and […]
Flowers By Chessa Crum
I have seen a lot of upsetting things today. It brings the whole “I’m not prepared” blog post to a whole new level. We visited Auschwitz today… Hair Glasses Shoes Suitcases Children’s drawings Names So many names. People. PEOPLE!! These were people. Husbands and wives. Children and babies. I have a husband and two beautiful […]
Poland Personally Blog By Elijah Koziar
We went to Auschwitz today. The concentration camp was large, seeming similar in size to Majdanek. It was also full of terrible spaces, torture rooms and gas chambers. We then went to Birkenau, where we listened to Howard’s story more. His connection to Birkenau is tragic, but one we can all learn from. We could […]
Traces By David Parker
We are lingering past the photos of Polish prisoners. We gaze too long, drinking in their features, until the next guide hurries us along. They are shorn and wear identical stripes, but the camera captures their individuality in every detail. The angle of their chin, the notch in their brow, the direction of their eyes—the […]
Majdanek By Tracie McMurray
This was our second concentration camp visit. It was an emotional day all around. I participated as a reader in the memorial service so I was trying to control my emotions the entire time. I literally did math in my head to activate my logical brain in the place where logic was used to make […]
What lies just beneath the surface? How many more secrets are buried here? By Dana Safarek
Today, as we observed the monument being placed into the ground, I couldn’t help but be consumed by these thoughts. Throughout our entire journey, a lingering feeling of forgotten stories has followed me. In the bustling city of Warsaw, I wanted to shout, “Wait! What about all the Jews who once thrived here?” And as […]