Krakow

What an amazing day and a half in Krakow! Have you ever had the feeling you’ve been inundated with so much information that it becomes difficult to take it all in? That is how I felt today. I have done so much and seen so much in the last 36 hours that it is hardly believable. Here is the sequence of events:

Market Square: After arriving in Krakow and passing through security (a NATO meeting was going on at my hotel with Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright), I needed to get some fresh air and have some time to reflect on my experience at Auschwitz. I decided to go for a walk. I went down a random street and kept walking for a few blocks. What I stumbled into was Market Square.

Market Square is absolutely beautiful. It is immense. I read that it is over 40,000 square meters; this made it the largest place in Europe in the Middle Ages. The pictures that I took of it at night do not do the space justice. It is prettier than Warsaw, and the buildings in Market Square are all original (dating back as far as 700 years). I stopped for a cold beverage and an ice cream cone and did some people watching.

Wawel Hill: I got lost walking back to the hotel. I was wondering around trying to find my way home. I figured that if I walked back to the Vistula River, I would find my way home. En route to the Vistula River, I found Wawel Hill. Wawel Hill was the home of many Polish kings and is the site of Polish state events. The funeral of the Polish president was recently held there (he died in a plane crash). It is filled with beautiful artwork and amazing views of the city. During WWII, the SS used the palace grounds as living quarters.

Kazimierz: This is the Jewish district in Krakow. Let me tell you that there are still Jews in Krakow and they have a vibrant and relevant place in Krakow’s cityscape. I ended up spending half day in the district learning about Jewish culture. I had the opportunity to join up with a walking tour of the area. The woman was slightly annoyed that I was following her group and had not purchased a ticket. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to purchase a ticket; they claimed that all of the tickets were sold out. So, instead of me paying to follow, I followed for free.

While walking, I got to see several of the buildings that were/are important parts of the district. I got to see a Jewish ritual bath, the Jewish Community Center, the Jewish hospital (which Jews formed because they were afraid that Christians might try to baptizes them if they were extreme ill or on their deathbed), and the Jewish school (which the tour director noted ended up assimilating Jews into Polish culture after three generations).

I also had two wonderful opportunities that made the day extremely special for me. I meet a young Jewish couple that were gracious enough to let me tag along with them to the Jewish district. I ended up eating a kosher meal of beans, meat, bread, and specially blessed sweet wine. They explained to me that they need to wash their hands in a ritual way before eating, pray before they eat, and not work from Friday night until Saturday night (including doing any sort of lifting outside the house).

While eating our dinner, I had the opportunity to meet another young Jewish lady who is currently studying in Krakow. Her grandparents had left the country during the Holocaust, her parents left for the States in the 1960’s. She filled me in on Jewish culture and practice. She gave me her contact information so that I can call/e-mail her in the future. This will be tremendously helpful in the future when I teach about the Holocaust.

Besides the meal, I had the opportunity to go into a synagogue and hear Jewish music preformed. The concert was a lot of fun. It was part of the a Jewish culture event that is held in Krakow every year. I also saw a group of Jews leave service and dance in the street.

Oscar Schindler’s factory: Emalia- What a tremendous museum! I thought that the museum was just going to focus on his efforts to save Jews, but it gives an overview of WWII and the Holocaust first before focusing on his efforts. Some of the artifacts are simply amazing. You need to see the movie if you have not done so, then you need to go to the museum. The highlight of the museum: going in his restored office. I could picture him in my mind seventy years ago sitting at the beautiful wood desk thinking of underhanded deals to keep his workforce alive.