Members of the RKYHS senior class spent a week in Poland for a Holocaust Studies Seminar. After arriving in Warsaw, the group started their non-stop touring immediately, visiting Jewish cemeteries and the site of the Warsaw Ghetto. They had emotional visits to Majdanek concentration camp and the Belzec Death Camp. Students brought the sound of davening and singing to once again fill the shuls and yeshivot that they visited.

After a meaningful Shabbat in Krakow to unpack and decompress they had a visit to Schindler’s factory. The group joined a chassidic celebration on Lag B’Omer, helping to build a bonfire with hundreds of other Jews from around the world in Krakow. The last days in Poland for the RKYHS seniors were incredibly moving and impactful as they visited Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau to bear witness to the harrowing experience of all who were there.

After this emotional and meaningful week for the students, they began the next phase in Prague, where they are currently finishing up their trip. Students are taking in the sights, including Jewish locations and shuls, and enjoyed a nighttime boat ride. They had the privilege to hear from Dita Kraus, a survivor of Auschwitz, Bergen-Belson and Terezin. She wrote about her life story in the book, “A Delayed Life,” and the book “The Librarian of Auschwitz” is based on her life as well.

The students came away from the trip with a new understanding of the devastation of the Shoah, and it has reinforced the necessity to educate themselves so that they can educate others, as well as the importance of displaying their Jewish pride, especially as a way to combat hate. The trip has left an indelible mark on the students, providing an experience that will last them a lifetime.