From Ashes to Glory
By Rachel Ospalak, High School Intern
In this post I will share my experience of going from ‘ashes to glory,’ this past summer. One month… one month alone is all it took. I got the privilege to travel to Poland and Israel alongside 81 teenagers from all over North America in July, and I got the privilege of feeling extreme happiness and extreme sadness, not alone, but with all of them by my side. This trip was truly life-changing, and such an eye-opener in so many ways.
My journey on TJJ Ambassadors Poland began in Pearson International Airport in Toronto. I really did not know what to expect for the month ahead of me. We took off, and shortly after, we arrived in Poland. First remarks for me as soon as we left the airport were, ‘how can a place that lead to so much misery look and feel so normal?’ It wasn’t what I had expected. We drove all over, visiting several smaller significant areas, as well as death camps and well known areas. During the Holocaust, the Nazis succeeded in murdering over 3 million Jews; in Poland alone. Many people might say “we already know the story of the Holocaust. We’ve read, heard and watched enough movies addressing this topic. We’ve even witnessed current world events of hate towards Jews.” If so, what interest would anyone have in travelling to Poland? To me, the answer is quite simple. There is NO other holocaust. The Holocaust is and always will be a Jewish disaster. Therefore, every Jew has the responsibility of taking on the burden of walking in the footsteps of those whose steps were viciously terminated before them
Over the course of a week, I was flooded with emotions, most of which I had never felt before. Each and every place held a different story, and led to different feelings, than the rest. The concentration camp of Majdanek, specifically, was a very touching experience. As we walked down the road, and I looked around, I could almost feel as if I was walking with the Jewish people during the Holocaust. Surrounded by vast empty space, fields of bare grass, and barbed wire fences, I felt as if I had so much freedom, but at the same time I was trapped. We approached the barracks, where we all sat down and listened to our tour guide share a very touching story. Three people to a bed, being trapped in the cold, disease and suffering all around you. I sat in the dark wooden barrack on the ground and simply listened, trying to imagine what it must have been like. That is all I could do. I know I could never feel the way the people who really had to live in there felt, so I tried my best to imagine.
We continued walking, and approached the barrack with all the shoes. Shoes, upon shoes, upon shoes. It was like millions of footsteps were just washed away and diminished. How could so many innocent people’s lives, including so many children, be taken away so suddenly? I could not understand. I remember feeling cold, and uncomfortable. But these feelings were selfish. There I was, standing in my sweater and long pants, with comfortable shoes on my feet. When I saw all these shoes, which were stripped from the feet of so many people, I actually remember giving my sweater to a friend who said they were cold… and standing in a t-shirt. I felt the need to make myself feel more uncomfortable, although of course nothing could even come close to how the people felt back then.
The things I saw that day were very meaningful. Especially the ovens. They reminded me of the ovens I saw at restaurants, only they were used for a completely different purpose. I couldn’t understand the inhumanity and injustice that the victims experienced.
A few days later, we visited Auschwitz- Birkenau. At first glance, I thought to myself ‘this is just like the movies’… and I couldn’t imagine the horrors that really took place within those gates. We marched along the train tracks together, which seemed never-ending. These were the train tracks that lead to the extermination of so many.
In the museum, I saw the prosthetics and braces that were meant to help with mobility all stacked on top of eachother, like piles of garbage. It was like the ability to move was stripped away from these people. I felt grateful at that moment, that I was healthy, and that my family was healthy enough to be mobile, something so many people were stripped of during the Holocaust.
All I could do was view my surroundings and, once again, imagine as best as my mind would let me. Afterall, it’s difficult to connect to a situation when you’ve never felt anything near to it.
I was very upset, and just flooded with confusion. I didn’t understand how one leader’s cruelty could cause this much suffering, and this much death.
I would say these two places spoke to me the most. They let me go beyond the books I’ve read, the movies I’ve seen, and the stories I’ve heard. They encased the most detail, and therefore the most emotion for me. Here, I could walk in the footsteps of my relatives. As feeling the past horrors is not possible, I believe this is the most meaningful way to continue the legacies of the people who passed away. Poland’s dark, underlying story was terrible, but it made me realize all the million reasons I should be grateful in my life. Ashes will always be embedded in the ground, and these ashes that are embedded in the Polish ground are our story. A verse in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of Our Fathers) states, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” From this, I take away that it is incumbent on us to cherish that which is ours, for no one else will.
It will always be there, and it will always be important for the world to remember.
Out of the ashes we rose, and we flew to Israel. This wasn’t my first time there, so I knew what to expect… and I was so excited! I would get to spend the next 3 weeks in this beautiful land which I felt so grateful I got to call mine.
It is easy to think that after 6 million voices were silenced, and 6 million precious souls were stripped of their dignity, the Jews would have little place left in this world, let alone a state we get to call home. It made me so proud to be a part of it. I was especially proud to call this home after the prior week.
Along with all the other trip members, I participated in so many activities, visited family I hadn’t seen in a while, and learned so many new things. I continuously felt the need to pause and really take in my surroundings, to say thank you for the land on which I was having such a great time.
‘The Land of Milk and Honey’ is right. The landscapes and scenery are beautiful, the weather warm, the food amazing, and everything seems better! I believe spending a week in Poland learning about the tragedies of the past made me appreciate this portion of my trip a lot more. That one week in Poland felt like an eternity, from which I couldn’t wait to finally escape. Israel’s beauty really was a huge contrast.
A very empowering instance on this trip was my visit to the Kotel (Western Wall). With barely enough place to stand, I observed women and children from all over the world praying, crying, and showing so much emotion. Their appreciation for doing what they were doing was clear… as it truly is remarkable. Everyone was so united at this holy site, and everyone connected to it personally. On the mens’ side, they were dancing and singing. Most of them not even knowing each other, yet still forming a brotherhood. As I kissed the wall, I too felt a strong personal connection. Much of my family’s story took place on this land, and if not for it, I understood that there would not be nearly as much unity as I had just seen. This is what keeps the Jewish nation alive and connected.
To conclude, I hope everyone has the opportunity to visit both Poland and Israel. Although not much remains of our rich past in Poland, it is still a major key in unlocking the past, and understanding what built such a strong and united nation today. For thousands of years Jews have been resilient and Jews have been proud. It is this pride and a strong Jewish identity that I feel we are all obligated to nurture. We must never forget the horrors that Hitler inflicted on our people, but we must also carry on the “legacy of the living Jew”. In order to do that, I urge you all to take the journey to Poland!
Israel shows that the resilience of the Jewish people paid off. I believe it is so important to be a part of the land which shows this amazing perseverance. After all the horrors we experienced both now and in the past, we are still standing strong and united! I hope everyone is able to appreciate this generation’s Jewish freedoms… and to use these freedoms to ignite your spark and to be a light unto the nations. Am Israel Chai!
