Krakow: A Difficult Reflection of a Dark Past

Anna, James, myself, Dani, and Maddy in Krakow's Old Town Square

I am so privileged to have had the opportunity to travel to Poland this past weekend. I am so happy that my program took us to Krakow this past weekend, because I honestly don't think I would have made it there if it weren't for them taking us there.
My weekend in Krakow was valuable for so many reasons. We spent our first day there being toured around the city by an adorable women with such a cool accent (she said everything in the progressive tense, "now we are walking to the next spot,"). She was extremely knowledgeable of the history of Krakow and knew exactly what would interest us the most. We toured the Wewel Castle, the old town (with the oldest medieval market square in Europe), Kazimierz, and the Jewish Ghetto, ending at Oscar Schindler's factory. And we spent the next morning further exploring these sites, wandering through the markets, and eating some great food (I had the best perogies).

Sukiennice, the "Cloth Hall" Main Square Market dating to the Renaissance

It was so cool to be in Poland because it is culturally (and geographically) further east than the Czech Republic. Our first day in Krakow it just seemed that everything from the clouds to the buildings were gray. As the weather got nicer, it was clear that the sky wasn't always so gray. But irregardless, it was awesome to experience a new Eastern European culture and get a feel for what the east is like. I also really appreciated seeing the historical sites of Krakow first-hand because I have been learning about the history of this city in the World War II period since I was in high school. (The movie Schiendler's List was a part of my high school curriculum, so my History teacher, Mr. Cannon, in high school used the movie as a foundation to teach us about the Holocaust.)

Kazimierz Main Square

"We remember above all that the Holocaust did not start with a concentration camp. It started with a brick through the shop window of a Jewish business, the desecration of a synagogue, the shout of racist abuse on the street."

Tony Blair, Former British Prime Minister 

Last week, in order to prepare for the trip, the program had a screening of Schindler's List. Although I had seen it once before, the movie hit me much harder emotionally this time around. I don't know why it was more difficult to stomach this time around, it could be my maturity level; maybe it is because I work with kids almost every day back at home and the display of such hatred towards such innocent little people was even harder to bare when I work with so many kids; maybe I have a better understanding of social justice now that I have worked in nonprofit for a few years; maybe I'm just more open to baring the emotional pain of the darkest parts of history, more empathetic. I don't know. But it was hard to watch. Spielberg did an incredible job at portraying the painful, disgusting, completely nonsensical filth that was the Holocaust. And part of visiting Poland and living in Central/Eastern Europe is grappling with the history. It would be horrible to come here for a semester and not honor the lives of the millions murdered in this atrocious crime against humanity. So in order to fully honor those lives lost and comprehend the past, we visited Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The gate at Auschwitz I
Arbeit macht  frei- "Work makes free"

"Let us remember that we are on the site of the most gigantic cemetery in the world, a cemetery where there are no graves, no stones, but where the ashes of more than one million people lie."

Waldemar Dabrowski, Former 

Polish Culture Minister 

The day at Auschwitz was a difficult one, but a valuable one and one I will never forget. Walking freely around a camp where so many people were exterminated, literally over 1 million people systematically murdered (in gas chambers or forced labor) on the grounds that I walked, is certainly not something one forgets easily. To think that I was wandering slowly over the land where so many innocent human beings were shot or hung, died of starvation or experimented on, was an inexplicable experience. I knew upon entering Auschwitz that I didn't have to worry about being shot by an SS guard as part of his target practice, that I wouldn't be hung as an example because another prisoner escaped, that in a few hours I would be leaving through the gates I entered, a luxury that over one million people who passed through the camp never had.

It is so hard to conceptualize that these senseless murders actually happened-that people really had to endure this torture. How anyone, at any time in history, could walk into the gas chamber and believe that this death machine was not an atrocity is beyond me. But the important thing to remember is that they did. Six million Jews and a number of other victims (Roma, political prisoners, Poles...) were systematically destroyed, entire lives stolen, in the Holocaust. Our tour guided ended our tour with a quote by philosopher George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." It is extremely important to remember what happened during the Holocaust. It is even more important to never forget those who perished at the hands of the Nazis. 

Birkenau Concentration Camp and Death Camp

Birkenau Concentration Camp and Death Camp

Genocide still exists today. Since the Holocaust we have seen millions of lives taken in the name of "racial cleansing" in many regions of the world. We must, as a human race, learn how to take these horrible mistakes of the past and actually learn from them. As we strolled back from the memorial at Birkenau, placed between the two of the destroyed gas chambers (of four at Birkenau), the sun was setting behind us. The moon was rising in front of us, and a gloomy low fog settling over us, as we walked back towards the entrance- a walk that over a million people sentenced to death at that very place were never privileged enough to make. The scene was a natural beauty, a God sent gift. For me, it was a strong juxtaposition. Humanity has the capacity to do unthinkable evils, there were thousands of people, fathers and mothers, friends and relatives, involved in the atrocity of the Holocaust; but humanity also has the capacity to love, to save lives, to give, to resist evil. I believe that humans are fundamentally good, that we are naturally flawed imperfect creatures with the capacity to do unthinkable atrocities, but that we are equally capable of doing good and that there is a universal moral code that drives us to do so. In the end, it all comes down to what we find our purpose in, where we find our truth. The Nazis found their truth in absolute power, in death, in quasi religious antisemitism, and I pray that we never allow anyone who finds their truth in such things to come to power again. But, if more people found their truth in good, in love, the world might be a different place. I believe it still can be, it will never be perfect, but it can always be better.

"It's here, where absolute evil was perpetrated, that the will must resurface for a fraternal world, a world based on respect of man and his dignity."
Simone Veil, Auschwitz survivor and former French Health Minister

New Cultures

In the past few weeks I have visited two German speaking cities: Vienna, Austria (Vein, Austria) and Munich, Germany (Munchen, Duetcheland). And while my inability to speak any German at all have made my interactions there a bit difficult, they have both been valuable experiences that have helped me to continue to evolve my perspective.

Grace and I at the Shönbrun Palace

VIENNA

A view of Staphansplatz from above

Now that it has been more than two weeks since I went to Vienna with my friend Grace (I really can't believe how fast time is going now that I have fallen into a routine.), I should probably post about a few of the highlights.

Vienna was a fun filled trip to say the very least. Our weekend was full of hilarious new cultural differences, new friends, lots of learning, and good wine and coffee in some amazing Viennese cafes.

To speak first to the cultural differences, the thing that shocked me most about Vienna upon our arrival there was the westernness of the city. Being that Vienna is only about four hours south of Prague, I had expected it to be very similar to the city I now call home. However immediately upon exiting the bus, we walked into a city that I saw to be much more modern than I had expected. The technology was as advanced as the technology I was familiar with back home and the public transportation was way different than what I was used to in Prague. I wouldn't call any of these things "superior" to Prague in any way. Prague would not be as charming, beautiful, or incredible if it were like Vienna. But, needless to say, I was surprised that their were such stark differences.

Another new cultural difference that was more difficult to navigate was the new language barrier and a new set of cultural norms to get used to. Upon our arrival at our hostel (after climbing six stairs of an apartment building to the "reception") Grace and I were greeted by a tattooed, barefooted man smoking a cigarette in the stairwell who took my reservation and said, "You come with me." He then led us into an apartment kitchen where dumplings were cooking on the phone and left, returning with a women who said "Josso..." at which point we stopped her and struggled through signing all the paperwork. (As it turned out, the hostel was actually quite nice. We had a room on the tenth floor with a beautiful view of the city. We later met Arabella, the owner, who was wonderful-and spoke perfect English. But our first impression of the place was an interesting one.) we then grabbed lunch at a cafe attached to a supermarket, which one might think would be a non-eventful experience. And it was...until we were on our way out and we came across a door with a sign depicting a little green man walking out of a door. Being that the sign was green (which generally means 'go' in my humble opinion) and there was a picture of a man walking out of a door, Grace pushed the door open. Mistake. An alarm immediately goes off in the entire grocery store. The women at the registers start yelling "Nein! Nein!" and a man runs open and pulls the door shut. So yeah, things are different in Prague. We don't even have emergency exits there; considering I was able to accidentally lock Chelsea in our apartment the first week of classes with no way for her to get out... (We also were able to effectively and accidentally fill our entire apartment with smoke while cooking dinner the other day without any alarms going off...but that's for another blog I guess.

Grace was able to capture my first impression at our hostel (note we are standing in someone's kitchen and there happens to be dinner on the stove...)

Cafe Central

Besides our variety of cultural immersion experiences, I really enjoyed Vienna for its ability to make me feel as if I went back in time to the early 1900s and to reassure me that I am still in the 21st century at the same time. Our first night we visited the Central Cafe-a cafe centuries old. The cafe was once frequented by Lenin and Trotsky, among other politicians and intellectuals. There was live piano playing as we sat and enjoyed a glass of wine, and it felt almost as if we were sitting a few tables away from the men planning the Russian Revolution in the early 1900s. The following night we sat in a cafe called Phil. In contrast with the old Viennese Cafe Central, Phil added a 21st century, modern art flair to the age old cafe tradition.

I could not even begin to describe every hysterical experience and learning experience had in Vienna. Grace and I visited the Shönbrun Palace (a massive palace with overwhelmingly large gardens), visited the Naschmarkt (not failing to get lost and "hangry" on the way), strolled in the Stadtpark (where there are statues dedicated to famous composers), saw Mozart's apartment-the one where he wrote "The Marriage of Figaro" (and learned a lot about the famous composer's life and inspirations), visited the Momok (Vienna's modern art museum, where I saw original pieces by local artists and artists from around the world-including Andy Warhol-apparently Vienna is becoming a cultural center for the modern art movement), and rode a century old gigantic Ferris Wheel, the Wiener Riesenrad.

We finally had the unique opportunity of visiting this capital city just days before a major election. We ran into demonstrations by entirely different ends of the political spectrum a few times over the weekend. It was awesome to see the way that the democratic process works in European countries, especially since I am currently studying European politics in one of my classes.

In front of the Palace

A selfie in the very old, factory like elevator in the building of our hostel

Embracing a "cultural barrier" and drinking coffee out of a bowl in the Nachmarkt because I ordered without knowing what I would get...

Overall, I am really glad that Grace suggested that we visit Vienna while many of our other friends went to Octoberfest. It was an awesome first long weekend away from Prague and a surprisingly eye opening and cultural experience. It showed me that merely four hours away, a culture can be so starkly different. It also opened my eyes to the fact that I am starting to assimilate to Czech culture in Prague (considering things like people being loud on public transport and going out of their way to talk to us in Vienna seemed shockingly unusual). But more than anything else, I appreciated the experience for the opportunity it provided me to take a minute to step back, explore, relax, and thing. As Mozart once said...

"Patience and tranquility of mind contribute more to cure our distempers as the whole art of medicine"

MUNICH

Gerard, Billy, Chelsea, and I at the top of the Rathaus Tower

Since Vienna taught me some of the major cultural differences between German speaking and Czech speaking countries(i.e.: don't exit through the door with the little green man unless the building is on fire, it's ok to talk as loud as you'd like pretty much wherever you are except inside a church, etc.), as well as the basic "yes, nos, pleases, and thank yous" of the German language, I went into my Munich trip with a bit more confidence than I did with Vienna.

Mine and Chelsea's real purpose for visting Munich was to catch up with two of our friend from TCNJ (Billy and Gerard) for their respective birthdays. I am really glad that I got to see the city. Had Munich not been a halfway point for us, I problem would never have made it there.

Memorial at Dachau commemorating the people
who died there

After a travel debacle with Billy and Gerard's train, they arrived in the morning (although they had planned to arrive about 6 hours earlier in the middle of the night, and we all traveled for a pretty heavy day to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site, about 20 minutes outside of Munich. It was a rainy, cold, gloomy day, which I found largely appropriate. Something about hearing the history of the Holocaust in such a place just makes the whole thing that much more real. Dachau was the first concentration camp opened by the Nazis in Germany and more than 32,000 people died at the camp (according to records, there were countless other undocumented deaths at the camp). One of the more chilling things that I learned from our tour guide about Dachau, which is a symbol for all of the concentration camps, is that it was not only created to work prisoners to death, but also to torture them psychologically from the moment they entered through the gates telling them "Arbeit macht frei," "work makes free," giving them the illusion that they could actually leave if they worked hard enough. The entire experience was very moving and hard to swallow. But I will post a more in depth reflection in a few days. It was a heavy day, as any day spent at such a place could be, but my experience this past weekend was far heavier (I will be posting a blog about this in a day or two).

Schloss Neuschwanstein

The following day we visited Neuschwanstein Castle. I loved our trip to the castle. It was so cool to see the snow on the mountains and the absolutely incredible of King Ludwig II of the Bavarian empire. It is one of the castles, it is said, that Walt Disney modeled his Sleeping Beauty castle ("the Disney Castle") after. It was a great contrast to our gloomy day at Dachau the day before, and even though it was very cold, it was a clear and beautiful day. My favorite part of the day was hiking down the gorge from the bridge. It was a beautiful way to see the nature and the castle from the outside. But mostly this was my ,favorite part of the day because I was able to do it. I wasn't inhibited by my knee injury and it was so awesome to be adventurous. It is so great to no longer have to worry about my knee or be restricted by it.

Me at the castle

Our last day in Munich, Billy and Gerard had to leave pretty early, so Chelsea and I got to go out and explore the city while we waited for our bus back to Prague. It was Sunday morning, and the American in me felt it would be awesome to check out the large local market before continuing to explore the city. Little did I know that, in Germany, almost EVERYTHING, from most cafés to souvenir shops, are closed Sunday. The market was completely empty. So we continued on and checked out the famous Englisher Garten, a park larger than New York's Central Park, and the site of the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Me at the site of the 1972 Munich Olympics

As cool as the city of Munich was, my favorite part of the weekend was getting to spend time with some friends from back home. It was awesome to catch up with Billy and Gerard and exchange experiences from our respective study abroad programs, from culture shock to trip highlights. It did, however, effectively remind me of some of my friends from home. The weekend was bittersweet, because while it was great to hang out with them and see them, in a lot of ways it made me miss some aspects of TCNJ.

Group picture

Either way, after both trips, I returned to Prague excited to be back in "my city" and with a new appreciation from my limited knowledge of basic Czech.