Reflections on Druskininkai

Lithuania: August 21 - August 22, 2006

We arrived late in Lithuania and just had time for dinner before we had a presentation by Trygve Olson. He is a UWEC graduate who is now living in Lithuania, married to a Lithuanian diplomat, and works for a non-profit organization that works to gain democracy for the people of Belarus, a country that is increasingly being ruled by a dictatorship. He was very interesting and showed what incredible lives people can have and how much of a difference one person can make.
The next day, we visited a Soviet propaganda museum which was really fascinating. Seeing huge busts of Stalin and Lenin, Soviet art, Soviet monuments, hearing about typical stories of what it was like to live under Soviet rule. For instance, the story of the man who was the first to sit down after 10 minutes of clapping at a Soviet propaganda meeting. They made sure he was never the first one to sit down again. We learned about how important children were to the empire; education was a top priority. And we also heard some Soviet music. I can see how that was a strong point for the Soviets and was useful in pumping up crowds; its very happy and up-beat with an attractive rhythm. It was a very enlightening museum.

Reflections on Warsaw

Poland: August 18 - August 20, 2006

Warsaw appeared to me as many other European cities; it has a new and modern part, and an Old Town area. And, as with too many other cities we've visited, the Old Town is only about 60 years old as Warsaw was completely destroyed during WWII. To me, what made Warsaw interesting wasn't the churches or architecture but the history I learned about and the new experiences I had.
On the first day, we visited Church of the Sacred Heart in the morning which was just as beautiful and imposing as many cathedrals I've seen. But, more importantly, that is where I learned about the massacre at Katyn as there was a monument to the victims. The story is that thousands of Polish officers, the best and the brightest of the Polish military and the intellectual elite, were shot and killed by Soviet officers. This occurred in 1940, but the Soviets denied it was them for 50 years, saying it was the Nazis although they did not occupy the area where the bodies were found until 1941. The Russian government finally admitted in 1990 the Soviets were responsible for the murders of more than 22,000 people, although they continue to deny it was a war crime which would force them by international law to prosecute surviving perpetrators.
Next, we went and heard a presentation by a Mr. Koslowski, a former Polish ambassdor to the US and Israel (I once again marveled at Professor Lazda's connections). Everything he told us about Polish foreign relations and their history in international organizations was very interesting. He is very knowledgable and an articulate speaker. However, the thing he said that stuck out most in my mind was his description of how America is viewed (or used to be viewed) by other countries. He said that America is like the most popular guy in high school who is smart, a jock, good-looking, and rich but whom everyone secretly hates. I think this is an accurate description of how other countries view and treat America, and also how America sometimes treats other countries.
Afterwards, we visited the presidential palace (I don't really remember this but I think something interesting was that the walls were painted in very strong colors, like dark blue, or deep pinkish-red) and also we went inside St. John's Church (I don't remember anything about this either; forgive me, this was our 18th day of travel).
We ate dinner at a little restaurant in the Old Town called the Barbakan. This would not be worth mentioning if not for the incident that occurred there. Two of our group ordered a meal that was described as having "an assortment" on top of it. Thinking this was an assortment of vegetables, they ordered, and were shocked to be served a meal covered in fish eyes, fish tentacles with suckers still visible, and other interesting fish parts. It was quite a scene. When the two went to tell our professors and mentioned the name of the dish, our professors immediately said, before the story was finished "Oh, no; you don't want to order that." It was pretty funny.
On the next day, we went to the Warsaw Uprising Museum which was phenomenal. If you don't know the story of the Warsaw Uprising, here's a quick overview (I hope I do it justice): Towards the end of WWII, the people of Warsaw were given to believe that the Soviets were coming to Warsaw and would help the inhabitants take back Warsaw from the Nazis. A revolt started in the city that lasted over 2 months. The Soviets, however, decided not to intervene in the battle and let the Nazis finish the city off. Well over 200,000 Poles were killed during the fight. Towards the end of the struggle, the last fighters took to the sewers to continue the resistance. There are monuments around the city depicting people emerging from sewer covers as well brick lines following the underground sewers where the fighters were. Parts of the museum were "decorated" as sewers to help people imagine what that must have been like. There was footage of the city and of survivors telling their stories. There were also huge blown-up pictures of people of the city. Its so much more powerful when you can put a face to a situation; its that much more real.
Afterwards, we also saw a monument to the youngest fighter in the Uprising. He was about 12 or 13, wearing his oversized helmet and uniform, clasping a gun in his arms. He died with the rest. The city was of course lost in the end.
We also saw the changing of the guard in front of the tomb of the unknown soldiers. I'm not sure why, but I always find this so fascinating. They have this in Riga as well. Every hour, on the hour, for most of the day, three soldiers approach the tomb in the military style, marching and what not, and two of the soldiers take the place of the two soldiers standing guard, and then the three soldiers turn around and leave. That sounds confusing. Anyway, when we were there to watch, a little girl was standing in the place where one of the soldiers needed to be as the guard was changing. As he came towards her, she kind of frantically scrambled out of the way. The soldier, young and good-looking, kind of smiled at her, and the crowd chuckled. The guards are not supposed to show any emotion or react to anything, so its always really fun when you get them to smile, like we did once to the guards in Riga.
Next, we visited the site of the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, where the only ghetto uprising took place. There is nothing there now, just a park and a large monument, with stones showing the dimensions of the ghetto. In one section, there is a special monument as that is the place where one of the last holdouts from the uprising was, and where many people were killed.
On our last day in Warsaw, we went to Lazienki Park (spelling?) and saw the Palace on the Water, which was a rather small palace but still fabulously ornate. Afterwards, we heard a Chopin concert live in the park which was pretty sophisticated, even though we were sitting on the ground.
Warsaw is a beautiful city but the real draw for me was the amazing history. I'd love to learn more about it.

Reflections on Auschwitz-Birkenau

Poland: August 17, 2006

Today we saw Auschwitz, the death camp, and Birkenau, the connected slave labor camp. Being there was unreal. You know what happened, but its too much to think about; you can't really comprehend it. I could only think about the small things, like how the prisoners' shoes must have made the same sound on the gravel as mine did, assuming they had shoes. The buildings seemed harmless from the outside, but then you walk in and the atmosphere is completely different. Some buildings were so dark and wet inside, threatening, and mean. I saw the rooms where people slept, three-level high bunks put one right next to the other with no space in between. Other rooms only had hay on the floor. Some rooms had what looked like benches with circular holes cut in them; we were told these were the bathroom facilities. Other buildings had exhibits about specific events that occurred while Auschwitz was in operation; revolts and their consequences, specific groups of people who were punished for one reason or another, escape attempts. One building I walked into had pictures of the victims; only a small percentage were photographed for records, and the walls were just filled with pictures. Seeing the faces of those who suffered made me understand what happened on a completely new level. No matter how much you hear about what was done, to see the faces, to look into the eyes of someone who died, I can't explain it. Some looked so young, others so old and weak, all so thin.
In another building, there was a room behind glass halfway filled with what looked like clumpy rats. On a closer look, I saw it was human hair that was shaved off after the victims were gassed. I believe the hair was shaved to be used to stuff pillows.
I saw the wall where thousands of people were lined up and shot, and the wooden pikes stuck in the ground where prisoners were hung by their hands as punishment.
I went in the building where the medical experiments were done; I saw the rooms where people were starved to death; I saw the spaces where up to four people would be bricked in together for days, it couldn't have been more than 4 feet across.
Walking in some of these rooms, I felt like I couldn't breathe, like there was this overwhelming weight constricting my lungs. There was such an atmosphere in all of the buildings, like the walls will never let go of what happened, like it just happened yesterday.
At the end, we saw what a gas chamber looked like, and then saw some of the ovens in the next room, with their doors still open.
Afterwards, we drove the short distance to Birkenau. Birkenau was where some of the more physically fit were sent to work. We climbed the watchtower and looked out over the massive field with chimneys jutting up at regular intervals from where the dormitories used to be before the Nazis burned them to the ground in an attempt to hide their crimes. There were so many, so many buildings. And this was only about 25% of the people who came in on the trains; the other 75% were sent straight to Auschwitz.
On the way to Warsaw, we stopped at Czechtochowa to see the Black Madonna. There was a line of people all the way outside of the cathedral just to go in and walk by the Black Madonna. The woman behind me was frantically whispering the rosary on the way past, and people were pushing and trying to get ahead as quickily as possible. It was quite an adjustment, to come from a place of such suffering and despair and then to go to a place of such hope and faith that has such religious significance to so many.

Reflections on Krakow

Poland: August 14 - August 16, 2006

We arrive in Krakow late and don't spend much time in the city that first day. The next morning, we visit Wawel Castle Compound which has several buildings, the royal apartments, and a cathedral. We spend a good part of the day there. One thing that sticks out in my mind was the ceiling we saw in the throne room of the royal apartments. It was like a checkerboard with squares bordered by wood paneling, and in every square there were all these different carved faces sticking out with all these different expressions. There were people of all ages and all walks of life, peasants to nobility, some afraid, some angry, some with no expression. But there was one face in particular of a peasant woman with a scared expression on her face and a cloth covering her mouth. We were told how this face became the symbol of one of the revolts, of how the people were silenced and oppressed. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside. In the cathedral, we saw monuments and sarcophagi of important figures in Polish history, such as the famous and revered king Jan Sobieski.
Later that day, we go to the Old Town Square and hear the daily trumpet blast, commemorating the soldier who sounded the signal of an attack in that very spot and was shot in the neck while playing. The contemporary player even stops playing in mid-note, as the original player would have. The Old Town is quite cool, and everything is original as Krakow is one of the few cities that was not destroyed during WWII. Its geographic position made it too hard to reach by foot or by plane, and thus it was spared.
Next, we saw remnants of the original fortress wall of Krakow and the ditch where the moat used to be.
We buy a lot of souveneirs as Krakow is very cheap and there is a wonderful central market selling every possible Polish souveneir one can imagine.
On our last day in Krakow, we visit the National Gallery, whose only interesting facet, in my opinion, was the sheer size of the paintings. Some of them were as tall and as wide as entire walls. I'm very bad at judging measurements, but I would guess some of them were 15-20 feet high and maybe 20-30 feet across. We had seen paintings that big in other places, but not quite so many so close together, and as the gallery is not very large, the size of the paintings was that much more impressive.
We also visited the oldest building of the Jageillonian (I hope I spelled that right) University, where we toured the former apartments of famous professors, but the most interesting thing we saw was the very elaborate glockenspiel in the building's courtyard.
The last seminar event that day was a lecture by Professor Andre Brycke, who was so intelligent and well-spoken that I could not really tell you anything that he talked about.
The highlight of my day, however, was seeing cotton candy made for the first time in the Old Town Square. And not just any cotton candy, WHITE cotton candy. Not some artificial fluorescent color like neon blue or neon pink, but white. Fascinating.