*FYI: I will be posting less-than-pretty (graphic) pictures, if you don't read today's post. I totally understand*
I've been meaning to blog this even before I became I legit blogger. Two years ago, I embarked on a journey called March of the Living. I am jewish, incase you were unaware! (I feel like there are ZERO jewish bloggers....!) March of the Living is a two week trip to Poland and Israel. I wanted to share with everyone my experience, because it's not everyday you walk up to a friend and say "Oh hey, just last week I was walking through a concentration camp in Poland. What's been up with you?" Weirdly enough, I could say that. Except, tears were 99.99% involved. I was able to walk where many of my distance ancestors once suffered. Even some of my friends great grandparents. Throughout my trip I had too many mixed emotions, but I wouldn't trade this trip for the world. The greatest part? You could go on it too. Jewish or not.
I don't want to bore you with writing, because as cliche as it is, pictures are worth a thousand bajillion and ten words. Feel free to continue to not read, or read on. Luckily for my trip, I was able to experience the hardest parts holding my best friends hands and even experience a survivor of Auschwitz's story...first hand.
Here goes nothing:
Famous sign at Auschwitz. The "B" in Arbeit (first word) was switched by the prisoners, as a sign of rebellion. The phrase means "work will set you free", and sadly it did not.
Inside a barrack at Auschwitz. While there, my friend found pictures of documents of his great grandparents.
The view outside the cellblock 10, where experiments among other things happened.
One of my favorite pictures. The hands of a holocaust survivor (of Auschwitz) on my trip. Interested in her story? Watch videos here.
Cattle car used to transport from Auschwitz to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
A beautiful thing to see while leaving a terrible place. (@ Auschwitz-Birkenau)
Trudy telling her story in a barrack at Ausch-Birkenau.
The actual march. We marched out of Auschwitz into Auschwitz-Birkeanu.
Majdanek. A concentration camp right outside Warsaw that could be up and running in 48 hours today.
My best friend (who I'm seeing in a few weeks) and I at Auschwitz-Birkeanu. Beyond thankful for a friend like him.
Hey, thanks for sticking around. I didn't mean to put a damper on your day. SO SMILE. Just remember to be thankful for all that you have, everyday. And to remember that we should never forget.
If you want to see more, email me. I love to talk about my experience with others and I am ever so thankful for my parents sending me on this life changing trip.
(the dead sea, israel)
Wow what an experience. My mom went to Dachau when she was in high school and she said it was like nothing she'd ever seen before.
ReplyDeleteWow, that looks a great experience. I would love to go to that place and check something like this out.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great experience, even though it's the history of such terrible things. It's so important to embrace history and to remember that stuff like this has happened.
ReplyDeleteI love this post and your pictures, it's important to never forget and to honor those who died.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this! What an amazing experience that must have been for you.
ReplyDeleteI just got chills, thanks for sharing this Rach <3
ReplyDeleteWow, what an amazing experience to have. I can't imagine how wonderful and horrible that trip must have been!
ReplyDeleteWow this is seriously amazing!! What an awesome experience! Would you be willing to email those pics to me? My history loving self and teacher would love to show them in class! Obviously giving credit to my bff blogging friend :)
ReplyDeleteThat seems like a really amazing trip! When I visited the Holocaust museum in D.C., I echoed similar sentiments.
ReplyDeleteI went on that trip, too! It was in 2010! We went all over Poland visiting the terrible monuments of those days, and ended up at Auschwitz-Birkenau for the ceremony. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life. If you want to talk about it more, I'd be happy to!
ReplyDeleteThat seems like an AMAZING trip!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your great information, the contents are quiet interesting.I will be waiting for your next post Japan used cars .
ReplyDeleteI visited a concentration camp a few years ago with one of my cousin. The ambiance when i went was weird, we were the only two there, and it was a cloudy/rainy day. I am not jewish but, some of my family are and i married a jewish man whose grandfather was the only one of his family to escape a concentration camp, and therefore survive. It is so difficult to imagine how things must have been and all those horrible things that happened there, and yet it's real... Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletexo, Elizabeth