By: Matthew Marraway
Today we visited Howard’s hometown of Wierzbnik. This was a very surreal experience. First, we met with students from the local school and completed ice breaking exercises. I was quite surprised by the students understanding of English. It was exciting for both teachers and students to have the opportunity to interact with each other. The students had completed a project on the town’s experiences during the Holocaust, and one thing that I did notice was that the students had gaps within their knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust. All in all, I think this was very positive experience those for the teachers and for the students.
The next experience was probably one of the most inspiring moments of the trip. Howard took us on a walking tour of the Jewish quarter of the town. This was where he lived prior to his horrifying Holocaust experience. During the story, Howard seems to have new life. Steve suggested it seemed as if he had been transported back to his pre-war life, before the Holocaust had ever happened. Howard seemed to really enjoy pointing out building after building, informing us who lived where and what happened during his childhood. However that is not to say that it was all positive. One moment that greatly affected me was when Howard described the loss of his friends and family. “Everytime I come back here I look at these houses. ‘This person lived here, and this person lived there, and that person lived there.’ It’s like these people never existed.” Howard’s positive outlook on life after suffering through such horrible consequences has truly inspired me.
Our second visit of the day was to the town of Kielce. It was here that 42 Jews were killed a year after the war by Polish civilians. This was only one of many murders by Polish citizens against their fellow countrymen. Something I noticed in both Wierzbnik and Kielce is what seems like Poles’ sorrowful wish to ignore their past and a refusal to acknowledge the prejudice within their towns. I hope that over time, programs like Classrooms Without Borders can help the people of the town to accept their past and teach tolerance to their children.