Majdanek - Day 2
Today we toured Majdanek, a concentration /extermination camp. How does one put into words feeling death all around you?
This camp was left mostly intact, many of the others were destroyed by the Nazis trying to hide the evidence of the genocide. But in their haste to flee, most of the camp is still standing. The group saw a gas chamber, a crematorium, the barracks that on a 70 degree day and empty were almost too hot for just a few people, and so much more. The shoes.....all the shoes.
We started the tour by a memorial, and although the memorial was moving, the amazing site was when a group from Israel came and they had an Israeli flag waving with them.
Our group was captivated and uplifted by that image. But that high was shortly lived.
As we walked the grounds, we could see apartments. As the city of Lublin grew, the homes have come right next to the camp. We saw a couple with a young girl on a scooter just cutting through the camp, a woman doing yoga, and every day life continued. For the residents, this is part of history that they are used to, for us we were facing horror, and the dichotomy of life did not belong here.
As we walked I had an indescribable feeling. Hours later I recognized that feeling - it is the same feelings as when I have grieved at the funerals of loved ones. I Knew no one from these camps, yet I, and everyone around me, grieved. We moved ahead, but our legs were heavy in fear for what image we would see next.
We said kaddish outside bunk 51 as one of the participants knew a survivor who who years earlier told his story to her family members who made this trip - bunk 51, bed 19 - his spot - he asked them to look for his spot, and we did as well.
We ended at the most horrible sight - death was in front of us - another monument that had 7 tons of ashes. How many people could that possibly be???
We gathered as a group and Rabbi David led us in prayer and introspection. We are also joined by Cantor Kulp and his wife from the shore and he beautifully chanted kel maleh rachamim - prayer for the souls of the departed.
Before the trip I collected letters to share with all the participants. My co-worker, my friend and angel Charlene Green helped me. This was a surprise for everyone, and Charlene managed to get from my children to surprise me as well. We asked for words of love and support to help get through this difficult journey. I think, I hope, it brought some comfort to everyone.
Chris and I each read letters from our 4 children - they wrote different ones for us. It reaffirmed why we did this March, and we wept with sorrow, but also with hope and pride that we survived and have carried on the Jewish faith. We emailed a thank you to our children with a promise to send them on this journey one day.
Do I even write about what we did after the camp? It seems so trivial. We all needed to be uplifted, so we drove into town, had lunch at a restaurant, relaxed and learned to breathe again. The town had the old world European charm and it began our healing.
Many of us started this journey as strangers - lunch made it obvious, we are now all connected after this experience together.
This camp was left mostly intact, many of the others were destroyed by the Nazis trying to hide the evidence of the genocide. But in their haste to flee, most of the camp is still standing. The group saw a gas chamber, a crematorium, the barracks that on a 70 degree day and empty were almost too hot for just a few people, and so much more. The shoes.....all the shoes.
We started the tour by a memorial, and although the memorial was moving, the amazing site was when a group from Israel came and they had an Israeli flag waving with them.
Our group was captivated and uplifted by that image. But that high was shortly lived.
As we walked the grounds, we could see apartments. As the city of Lublin grew, the homes have come right next to the camp. We saw a couple with a young girl on a scooter just cutting through the camp, a woman doing yoga, and every day life continued. For the residents, this is part of history that they are used to, for us we were facing horror, and the dichotomy of life did not belong here.
As we walked I had an indescribable feeling. Hours later I recognized that feeling - it is the same feelings as when I have grieved at the funerals of loved ones. I Knew no one from these camps, yet I, and everyone around me, grieved. We moved ahead, but our legs were heavy in fear for what image we would see next.
We said kaddish outside bunk 51 as one of the participants knew a survivor who who years earlier told his story to her family members who made this trip - bunk 51, bed 19 - his spot - he asked them to look for his spot, and we did as well.
We ended at the most horrible sight - death was in front of us - another monument that had 7 tons of ashes. How many people could that possibly be???
We gathered as a group and Rabbi David led us in prayer and introspection. We are also joined by Cantor Kulp and his wife from the shore and he beautifully chanted kel maleh rachamim - prayer for the souls of the departed.
Before the trip I collected letters to share with all the participants. My co-worker, my friend and angel Charlene Green helped me. This was a surprise for everyone, and Charlene managed to get from my children to surprise me as well. We asked for words of love and support to help get through this difficult journey. I think, I hope, it brought some comfort to everyone.
Chris and I each read letters from our 4 children - they wrote different ones for us. It reaffirmed why we did this March, and we wept with sorrow, but also with hope and pride that we survived and have carried on the Jewish faith. We emailed a thank you to our children with a promise to send them on this journey one day.
Do I even write about what we did after the camp? It seems so trivial. We all needed to be uplifted, so we drove into town, had lunch at a restaurant, relaxed and learned to breathe again. The town had the old world European charm and it began our healing.
Many of us started this journey as strangers - lunch made it obvious, we are now all connected after this experience together.
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