Pilgrimage: Poland

Pilgrimage: Poland explored the roots of Judaism in Poland and how Jews were able to thrive. We learned how the Catholic nature of the country shaped the Jewish experience and how the Jews helped shape Poland. Then, we saw the lead-up to and effects of the Holocaust for Poland and the Jewish community. Implicit in the exploration were the questions of responsibility, culpability, and victimhood. Finally, we saw how the communities dealt with and still handles the ramifications of the Holocaust.

The spring break experience in Poland included stops in the cities of Krakow, Lublin, and Warsaw. Among many exciting workshops, lectures, and tours, we visited museums, universities, churches, castles, and historical sites within each city. We visited Auschwitz, Birkenau, Plazow, and Majdanek Concentration/Death Camps to view the sites of unspeakable atrocities and how these spaces have been converted to memorials. We shared in Catholic Mass and Shabbat Worship with local communities and met with organizations trying to grapple with these difficult questions and trying to facilitate the painful work of reconciliation.

The Chaplaincy traveled on pilgrimages to Poland in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.