Jews in Poland: Life and History Directly Witnessed

This article is written by James Young, a rising third-year student who is majoring in Political Science and is minoring in History and Spanish. Hoping to ultimately go into diplomacy and international relations, he is working as a policy intern for AstraZeneca this summer.

I was drawn to the Jews in Poland 10-day study abroad course because of my background in World War II History, having a solid background in the realities of the Holocaust and the role that Poland played in it. However, I didn’t know as much about the storied Jewish history that extended for a millennium before the Holocaust, that has lived on even after Nazi occupation.

The opportunities that lay within this brief, 10-day excursion were boundless. One gets to see before their very eyes what most can only ever read about in textbooks, and being able to witness this history in person gives the viewer a level of understanding that cannot be matched in a typical classroom setting. For example, touring Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Kraków ghetto brings the viewer directly into contact with the place of suffering, which in turn gives one a deeper appreciation for the experiences of the victims and for humanity in general. 

Additionally, I was able to interact with Polish and Ukrainian Jewish students, getting unique access to their understanding of how Jewish history is remembered and reckoned with in a nation that saw 90% of its Jewish population destroyed.

By going on this trip, I was able to get a sense of Jewish life that you cannot truly grasp without truly being there. Visiting Jewish cemeteries and surviving synagogues and seeing museums such as the POLIN History of Jews in Poland museum unveil the culture and intrinsic ties of Jewishness in Poland.

In addition to the heavy content that was a core piece of the Polish narrative, there were also moments of levity. We visited sites such as the famous Wieliczka salt mine, which was chock- full of sculptures, history, artwork, and of course, salt! We also were given free time to explore Kraków on our own, which I spent perusing the stalls of the vibrant Rynek Główny marketplace, hiking up Mount Krakus to get an incredible view of the city, and enjoying the beautiful architecture of the storied Wawel Castle. I was also surprised at the life of the rebounding Jewish community in Poland, accentuated by a Shabbat service that saw 180 Jews from all around the world breaking bread together.

Published 7/22/24