A large group departed from Memphis International Airport Sunday, traveling to Poland to begin their journey from Warsaw to Israel. The JCP/MJCC-sponsored trip will connect the travelers to their Jewish history, taking them to important sites from the recent past. Here, our director of community impact, Bluma Zuckerbrot-Finkelstein, shares her thoughts from the group’s experiences in Poland.
Krakow
The contrast between Warsaw and Krakow is striking. While all vestiges of Jewish life in Warsaw were destroyed – save one Synagogue – the pre-war Jewish Quarter in Krakow survived. It is the best preserved Jewish Quarter in all of Europe. Pre-war Jewish culture comes alive in these narrow, cobblestone streets where we visited Synagogues and Yeshivot dating to the 15th century.
As an Orthodox woman who is actively engaged in Jewish learning, I whispered a thank you to the pioneer of Jewish education for girls, Sarah Schenirer, as we stood in front of the building that housed her Beis Yaakov, the first Jewish school for girls in Europe.
Also in contrast to Warsaw, there are physical remnants of Krakow’s Ghetto. We saw a Ghetto wall fragment and the pharmacy building owned by a righteous Pole who refused to relocate his pharmacy when it ended up within the walls of the Ghetto. In addition to providing Ghetto residents with much needed medications, the pharmacy served as a hub of Ghetto underground activity.