Photos and Text by Sarah Tagg
As we reach the end of the trip, I can’t help but reflect on everything I have experienced so far. I am so unbelievably lucky to be on this trip and I am so fortunate to have experienced everything. I thought the best way to reflect on my time here was to pick five of my favorite places, the places where Iearned the most, or places that deeply impacted me.
(In no particular order)
Experience One: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, and Stutthof
Seeing places of such tragedy in person and putting into perspective the level of atrocity that occurred was truly an unforgettable experience. In Auschwitz-Birkenau, the hair from victims, the shoes, the suitcases, the crutches, prosthetics, mobility aids, and the clothes will never leave my mind. I don’t think I will ever be able to forget the haunting emptiness as all I heard was the sound of footsteps, birds chirping, insects buzzing, and the wind. It feels so wrong that nature can thrive where such horrors happened. It doesn’t make sense in my mind. At Treblinka, one artifact stood out to me, which was the gold pendant. I don’t understand how it was looked over and nearly perfectly preserved after all these years. I couldn’t stop thinking about who it might have belonged to. At Stutthof, I was taken aback by the glass cases of ashes from Holocaust victims. It was devastating to look at and I can’t mentally comprehend the amount of death and destruction that occurred in these camps.
Experience Two: The World War II Museum in Gdansk
The World War II museum, to me, was the most comprehensive WWII museum I had been to. They included perspectives and history from the Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, and many other countries. Before this, I had never really heard from others or museums about this specific history. I truly learned a lot from this museum. I found the inclusion of art from those in concentration camps to be an impactful inclusion (picture attached). Another thing I found impactful was the inclusion of sex and violence against women. Below is a picture of a Soviet figuring meant to depict sexual acts, which now symbolizes the mass rapes Soviet Soldiers committed in Gdansk and many other cities.
Experience Three: The Solidarity Museum
As a person with interest in the Cold War Era, as well as a participant focusing on the Cold War Era for their short term curricular project, this was a worthwhile experience. Learning about the buildup of the fall of communism in Poland, through the Worker’s Defense Committee, the Young Poland Movement, John Paul II’s pilgrimage to Poland, and the spreading of strikes before the implementation of martial law, as well as the implementation of martial law, the music and theater that was created, all of it genuinely was of great value to me. I just wish the bookstore had more books in English. Or maybe I’m glad because my suitcase is already extremely overweight, how would I bring the books home...
Experience Four: Meeting Warsaw Uprising Hero Janusz Waledzik
Being able to talk to a World War II hero is an experience I will never forget. I was truly honored to be able to hear his story and I am incredibly privileged to be able to tell his story, as well. My great grandfather, John Pertuset, was a WWII POW in Poland (Stalag Luft III in Zagan), and I was too young to have heard his experience. So to me, this is the first time I have gotten to listen to somebody with such an experience, especially from the WWII era. I made sure to take very detailed notes of his story so I could share as much as I can. Prior to his talk and the Uprising Museum, all I had known about both the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw Uprising was that it happened and it was big. I also think that sharing I spoke to a hero from the 1944 Warsaw Uprising will put into perspective that the events of World War II was not that long ago, and it still deeply affects how things operate today. I hope to incorporate this into many conversations going forward to educate others on the horrors of World War II.
Experience Five: The Small Town of Krynki
It blew my mind that such a small town in Eastern Poland, Krynki, experienced what they experienced. It also blew my mind that such a small town could have that much history. I found the efforts of our tour guide to expose the history of Krynki and to create such an in depth historical project almost entirely alone (to my understanding). It made me reconsider how I view small towns in the United States and world wide. Each place has its own unique history and each place is important in its own way, and Krynki is the perfect example of that. I hope to use Krynki as a case study of how small towns were affected. Pictured below is the ruins of the former Great Synagogue of Krynki.
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