What.an amazing two weeks!

What an amazing two weeks in Eastern Europe. I have had the opportunity to be with some terrific people and I really enjoyed travelling with everyone. I believe I have learned a lot of history during this trip. I feel closer to my father, of blessed memory, and his family. Upon my return I will be researching his journey to America. Our tour guide Philip was amazing. He presented the history in a way I could actually understand (or begin to understand) what and how the holocaust happened.

Our trip to Auschwitz and Birkenau was exactly how I thought it would be. I felt sick to my stomach when I witnessed the ways the Nazi’s tortured people. There were so many people visiting from everywhere imaginable judging by the vast number of languages. Our tour guide explained how people lived in the camps, some surviving for months, others for even less. An awful place that I feel I never have to return to.

On Monday we travelled by bus from Krakow to Warsaw. On the route I saw a lot of trees and farm yards. In the past I have heard stories from survivors on how they hid in the trees during the day and walked at night. I just could not imagine it. But now after seeing the landscape I felt like I could see the shadows of people in the woods.

Being in Warsaw was certainly an eye opener. I had heard of the Warsaw Ghetto but could not understand what our ancestors were dealing with.

Today we visited the Jewish Museum of Warsaw. We learned about how the Jewish people came to Poland and if they were accepted or not. We learned that where we stood in the museum was the actual train stop that took Jewish people to the concentration camps.

Last night, a group of us went out to dinner and had a fabulous meal. At dinner we talked about when we watch a movie about the Holocaust we certainly would understand the area and the situation of the Jewish people. Clearly, this trip had an impact on all of us, yet in different ways; our family stories differ, as do our emotions. There is certainly no way that anybody could be left untouched by this trip across a relatively small part of Europe controlled by a raving psychotic who was able to influence his own nationals to act in the disgusting manner in which they did.

We will be meeting with the group for our final dinner then back to our busy schedules in St. Louis. Feel free to stop by my office to hear more stories.

Rosalie Stein