Saturday, October 31, 2015

Poland's Dark Years.

If you read my latest blog post, you will be aware that a number of staff and students recently travelled to Krakow, Poland, for a school trip. Although Krakow is, in itself, a worthy destination, the main incentive for this excursion lies some 45 minutes away from the city: Auschwitz.
Auschwitz I
As difficult as it may seem, our pilgrimage to Auschwitz was an important element of our students' education. Of course, none of us looked forward to seeing such a place, but we all realized how important it is to honour the victims of the Holocaust.
The harsh facts
Auschwitz comprised three large camps, as well as many satellite camps. The original camp was designed to hold Polish political prisoners during the early years of the war after the country was annexed by the Germans. Later, it became an administrative centre for the "Final Solution", Hitler's plan to exterminate the Jews. Situated in the centre of Europe, this site took in prisoners from all over the continent.
Arbeit Mach Frei
Entering the compound, we were met by the famous sign: Arbeit Mach Frei (Work makes you free), the Nazi lie which also greeted those imprisoned in Dachau. Looking around, we were struck by how benign Auschwitz seemed. This area, still surrounded by barbed wire and dotted with watchtowers, is otherwise very ordinary looking. Identical red brick buildings face each other along short streets lined with trees. If we did not know better, this could be a typical 1940s suburb.
Some of the luggage found after liberation
Inside the buildings, though, relics and photographs of those who died tell a different story. In room after room, items in glass cases testify to the losses that occurred here. When prisoners arrived by train, they dropped everything they owned beside the tracks. Since many were sent to the gas chambers shortly afterward, their possessions were stored away. We saw hundreds of shoes, combs and brushes, men's shaving equipment, and most appalling, mounds and mounds of human hair.
Our students listen to information about Auschwitz.
In another building, called Block 11, we saw small cells where prisoners were kept if they broke the draconian rules of the place. This was a prison within a prison, a symbol of the absurd world that existed at the time. Outside was the "Death Wall", where some inmates were executed.
Wreaths at the Death Wall
We walk along the streets of Auschwitz I
The final building we visited in Auschwitz I was the most horrible – the gas chamber with a crematoria next to it. From the outside, it is partially hidden by high walls.
The chimney of the gas chamber in Auschwitz
A few kilometres away, we entered Auschwitz II, also known as Birkenau. As horrendous as Auschwitz I was, Birkenau was worse. It was built as an extermination camp, with a capacity to murder nearly ten times more prisoners each day than was possible in Auschwitz I.  In 1945, when the Russians were closing in on this place of death, the Germans evacuated the area, and set the buildings on fire in an effort to cover up their crimes.
Chimneys stand as reminders of those who lived (and died) here
The track at Auschwitz II.
The site is still very haunting. The horizon is dotted with chimneys, the only remainders of numerous barracks designed to house up to 200 000 prisoners. A lonely railroad track seems to come out of nowhere – and then end nowhere too. A single box car sits at the end of the track.
A wreath lies on the edge of one of the collapsed gas chambers
The International Monument
At the far end of the compound, the ruins of the massive gas chambers and crematoria are marked by a grim art work erected in 1967, the International Monument. While we visited this memorial site,  a group of rabbis chanted nearby. How difficult it must be for Jews to come here!
We walk the length of Birkenau to honour those who lost their lives here.
The sheer size of Birkenau only added to the chill we experienced there, both literally and figuratively. Since it is basically an open space, we found ourselves bending into the brisk October wind that day. Far be it for any of us to complain of the cold, though, when we imagined those who had suffered here during the war. Many of the the students are in my English class, where we have been studying Elie Wiesel's Night. They know that Elie and his father had been held here; they were worked to the bone, tortured, and nearly starved.

In all, we spent about three hours at Auschwitz I and II. We were drained emotionally, but humbled by the experience.
Sign outside the museum
The following morning, as snow fell on Krakow, we were bused to the Schindler Factory for a guided tour. On the way there, we passed by a memorial to the Jews of Krakow. It is a square full of empty chairs, symbolizing the many lives lost.
Krakow Ghetto and Deportation Monument
The Schindler factory building was made famous by Thomas Keneally's book and Steven Spielberg's film. The real Oscar Schindler manufactured enamel products here. He was a member of the Nazi party who later aided many Jews to escape from Poland.
Oscar Schindler 
Today it is a museum documenting Poland's recent history, with a special focus on the years during WWII and afterwards. This country was first invaded and annexed by Nazi Germany and then "freed" by the Russians, who then influenced the politics of the country for several decades, as it became part of the Soviet Bloc.
Our guide points out where the factory was located in 1940 when it opened.
I really enjoyed this museum, which has been open for only five years. The narrow pathways from room to room are adorned with photographs that capture Krakow's changing landscape and people.
The stairs that were made famous in the movie.
Some of the people that Schindler aided.
It helped that our guide was terrific. She really knew her stuff, and geared her presentation to her young audience. In fact, she was so good, that we picked up an extra person as we moved through the exhibits – an older American gentleman joined our group. You can see him on the stairs in one of the photos I have included.

Often, we felt as if we were among the Polish people, the images on the walls were so lifelike.
One of the many unusual rooms in the museum.

The writing on the wall of the room above.
The museum was also very interesting to look at. There was obviously a lot of thought put into the way Poland's history was depicted. We were always surrounded by visual stimuli, so that the ninety minute tour just flew by.
One thing I learned was that the Grunwald Monument near our hotel is a reconstruction. The Nazis destroyed the original.
Then it was time to head to the airport for our flight back to Zurich. Or so we thought. Instead, we discovered on arrival that the plane we were supposed to take had never left Zurich in the morning so there would be no return flight from Krakow that day. So there we were –  thirty-six students and five staff with no flight home.

As the rest of us hung around the airport (which was unheated, by the way), Terry worked hard to solve our problem. We were eventually sorted into three flights for the next day, all of which had to include at least one teacher-supervisor. All planes would go through Munich or Frankfort with connections to Zurich. Swiss Air also gave us rooms for the night at a hotel in the city, and dinner, breakfast and lunch vouchers to sustain us for the next day.
How teenagers hang around at an airport.
Dan and Will play on a luggage cart

You might think that being stranded with so many teenagers would be a nightmare, but you could not be farther from the truth. The students were patient and easy-going throughout the delay. For them, it was just another part of the adventure. Perhaps, too, having to lose a day of travel was inconsequential compared to the sights they had visited on this trip. They are a great group.

Our group in Krakow - in the snow.
So about twenty-four hours after we were supposed to fly out of Poland, we finally left. For many reasons, this was a trip to remember.



Sunday, October 25, 2015

Behind the Iron Curtain

In spite of several vacations in Europe since 2008 and over a year spent living in Switzerland, I had never made it to Eastern Europe until recently, when I travelled to Krakow, Poland. This was an exciting first for me, an experience that I recommend highly. There is much to see – and like – in Krakow. In fact, my trip to Poland will require two blog posts. Here is the first, with a focus on the ancient city.
Carriage drivers await passengers in Krakow's beautiful main square
Since this was a school trip, everything was organized for us. Early on a Friday morning, thirty-six students and four staff travelled by train to Zurich to catch our flight. The journey to Poland could not have gone more smoothly, so by mid-afternoon, we met our guide, Barbara, and boarded a bus which would take us to our hotel in the centre of the city.
The Barbican
Saint Florian Gate
Not long afterwards, we headed out on a walking tour of this beautiful place. Luckily for the modern tourist, Krakow's character and buildings have remained intact because, unlike Poland's capital, Warsaw, it was untouched by WWII. As a sort of protection of the city's medieval heart, a park encircles the old town. I discovered recently that city planners just filled in the original moat and then planted trees. What a great idea!
Walking in the park.
At one end of the perimeter of the old city is the 15th century barbican, part of the original fortifications, and the Saint Florian Gate, while at the other, Casimir III's 14th Century Wawel Castle stands perched on the crest of a hill.
Wawel Castle

Famous scholars dot the lawns of Polish Univeristies
Krakow has a proud history as a centre for learning which has left it with several beautiful University buildings and quadrangles, the most impressive of which is Collegium Maius, where a statue to Copernicus honours the city's most famous son. Marie Curie also spent time in the city.
Part of our group in Collegium Maius. The white statue is of Copernicus.



Beautiful building at the Jagiellonian University. There are coats of arms above each window.
Although there are many worthy places to see in Krakow, the highlight of the city is the main square, which at 200 square meters is the largest one in Europe. It is a spectacular space! In the centre stands Cloth Hall, an indoor shopping mall erected in the 15th century. Here, you can buy amber jewelry of all sorts as well as other Polish products (and some from China too, no doubt). There are other buildings of note in the square as well, including the town hall tower and Saint Mary's Basilica.
Saint Mary's Basilica and the Adam Mickiewicz monument.
Although our itinerary took us to other places in Krakow, we always ended up returning to the square. We were not the only ones. One of the most attractive features of this part of Krakow is its liveliness. The plaza is always buzzing with people, especially in the evenings when heaters warm up outside patios of the many restaurants on its perimeter.
Another view of Cloth Hall
A unique sight in the square is the Eros Bendato by Igor Mitoraj, a sculpture of a head with a blindfold over the eyes. It is common for tourists to climb inside it and look through it.
Eros Bendato at night
A view of the castle from below
Our first walk though Krakow was an orientation of sorts, so that buildings were merely pointed out to us. I wish there had been more time to explore the castle, the basilica nearby, and the walkway beside the river where a symbol of the city, the Wawel dragon, breathes fire every few minutes.
The eclectic towers of Wawel Cathedral

The fire-breathing dragon of Wawel
On our second day in Krakow, we were taken by bus to the Wieliczka Salt Mine on the outskirts of the city. Before I saw it, I could not imagine why a salt mine would be a major tourist attraction, but, based on the crowds lined up, it clearly was a very popular site.
The entrance to the salt mine.
Now I know why! We spent over two hours underground in this place and it was truly awesome. Here is a little history lesson: the mine began operation in the 13th century. At that time, and for centuries afterwards, table salt was a valuable commodity. (Trivia fact: the word salary comes from the word salt.) For over eight centuries this mine operated, as the search for salt led the miners to burrow more deeply and more widely into the bowels of the earth. It is 327 meters deep and extends over 287 kilometres. In short, it is massive!
Tracks in the mine
In 2007, the mine closed. Salt had become so common and mining so costly, that it was deemed more economical to open the mine as a tourist attraction than to continue digging.
Alec tastes the salt on the walls.
Now what the public sees are walls that still taste of salt – yes I stuck my tongue on the walls – but also wondrous caverns created over the centuries by human hands. Bored and creative miners left their mark with room after room filled with "salt art".
Our group in front of a miner's sculpture. The floor tiles are also made of salt.
This was the first sculpture we saw.
The seven dwarves, lit up.
The most impressive space is the Chapel of St. Kinga, a beautiful room devoted to Catholic worship. It is very large and is adorned with religious iconography. Everything, of course, is made of salt, even the chandeliers which are salt crystals. Awesome.
The Chapel of St. Kinga

The Last Supper in the chapel
The altar and crucifix.
Nowadays, the salt mine operates a large cafeteria and a restaurant in its depths and rents out some of its chambers to groups for gatherings or weddings. It is clearly a money maker!

This room is for rent.
The salt mine dining room.
During our time in Krakow, we found other places to gather and dine as a group, however. One night, we headed to the old Jewish sector for a delectable traditional Jewish meal at the Klezmer-Hois restaurant; on another night, we feasted on Polish fare, including soup served in bread bowls and four kinds of perogies. This charming venue, Restauracja Wesele, was one of the many on the square.
Alec and Jake joined their teachers for dinner.at the Jewish restaurant.

Brianna, Ellis, Rebecca and Andie enjoy dessert in a Polish restaurant.
Krakow's long history, its fascinating architecture, its reputation as a centre of art and education and its many good restaurants make it a great place to see. In the next blog post, I will discuss the dark history of the area, another important reason to visit.