To next year’s Poland Personally participants: get ready for an unforgettable experience, one that will change how you teach, think, and live.
From June 20–30, I traveled alongside nearly 90 educators and students from across the country (Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Montana, and more) to Warsaw, Lublin, and Krakow. Together, we confronted the enormity of the Holocaust through site visits, survivor testimony, and deep, sometimes painful, conversations. We walked the grounds of Treblinka, Majdanek, and Auschwitz, spaces that leave you breathless with sorrow but awaken a deep sense of responsibility. You will bear witness to the worst of humanity, but you’ll also learn stories of resistance, of upstanders who risked everything, and of educators who carry the torch today.
You’ll meet survivors and second-generation survivors whose stories will stay with you long after you return home. You’ll reflect not only on history, but on your own life–how small choices can build toward collective violence, and how the lessons of the Holocaust speak urgently to today’s world: Immigration policy, antisemitism, and the erosion of democratic norms.
You’ll think critically, speak honestly, and grow immensely. The conversations you’ll have with fellow educators and students will be unlike any other–raw, honest, and inspiring. You’ll return home not just informed, but empowered. As educators, we already make a difference. But after this journey, you’ll feel convicted to do more.
My advice to you is simple–apply to the program! If you’re accepted, go to everything. Journal daily. Talk to the students. Ask hard questions. Sit with the discomfort. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so don’t waste a moment.
Good luck and embrace every part of this transformative journey!