By Ari Kim-Leavitt, Bus 1 Yallah! Israel 2024
Today was Day Three of our Poland trip. Having arrived at Krakow last night, we had plans to visit many different significant historical places in and near the city. Heading towards the Jewish quarter of the city at the start of the day, I noticed architecture that was significantly different from that in Warsaw. Warsaw had many “American” aspects to it, with fast food places, taller buildings and more commercialized areas, whereas Krakow felt more traditional in the sense that the styles of structure around us had more of a “European” and long-established look to them. We first stopped at a Synagogue at the heart of the Krakow Jewish section. Inside, there were many different Jewish Artifacts, such as Menorahs, Arc Coverings, Pictures, etc. Next, we ventured into another Synagogue, this one being significantly smaller, but still important nonetheless. The main focus was the cemetery outside of it. I felt very strong emotions when stepping outside near the cemetery, as it was quite sad; the stories that Talia told us about how many gravestones were destroyed both by Nazis using them for walls and streets and also the extent to which poor Jews after the war had to go to; taking the marble from the graves to sell.
Next, we stepped into a third Synagogue, this one sort of resembling a church with the decorations, stained glass and other aspects that demonstrated the prosperity of the Synagogue’s community. After that, it was lunch time, and I went with a few friends to this pizza place. The man at the counter named Matthew was very nice, and suggested that I should try Zapiekanka, a Polish meal. It’s been nice trying different types of foods that you can’t normally get in the United States (even if they are pretty messy). We then got on the bus to go to an area that was a significant part of the Krakow Ghetto from 1940-1943. We saw the chairs where the Nazi Officers sat down and counted/profiled every Jew in the Ghetto, we were near the factory from Schindler’s List, and we went inside the Eagle Pharmacy Museum, a place where a Pharmacist illegally helped the Jews during their time in the Ghetto; coupled with learning about the Righteous Among Nations.
After touring many different places in the Jewish portion of Krakow, we shifted our attention to the Salt Mines, a place not as connected to Judaism, but still quite important in terms of Polish history. We went on about a 2 1/2 hour guided tour of the mines, seeing different sculptures, areas (there was a church made out of salt!) and areas of the mine that were important. We then drove back to the hotel, ate dinner, and the Counselors held a mindfulness session about going to Auschwitz tomorrow and what it will be like/entail. I enjoyed all of the learning that was presented to us today, both in a Jewish sense and a non-Jewish sense. Even though they may not have been as important/meaningful as places such as Auschwitz or Jerusalem, I felt as though the places we toured gave me context and insight into more specific areas of Judaism and Poland combined.
