poland trip report

19th February 2016
Issue No 97
Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster
www.shebbearcollege.co.uk
POLAND TRIP REPORT
Sunday 7th February 2016
Everyone managed to make it to College for our 2.00am departure,
despite the terrible weather and local flooding. We had a good flight
from Bristol to Kraków John Paul II Aiport just outside the city and
we were met by our guide Paulina. We arrived at the Hotel Batory
in time for lunch which we enjoyed in the hotel restaurant.
After lunch we walked for miles, first taking in the beautiful Main
Square in Kraków’s Old Town, the largest main square in Europe,
vibrant with street performers, mime artists, musicians, shops and
market stalls.
After tracing the steps of the relocated Jews out of the city and
across the Vistula River, we visited the site of the Jewish ghetto
in the Podgórze district. We stood in the main ghetto square
where just over 70 years ago the Jewish community were forcibly
removed and transported to concentration camps such as Bełżec,
Płaszów and Auschwitz.
During the afternoon we visited the historic district of Kazimierz.
Since its inception in the fourteenth century to the early nineteenth
century, Kazimierz was an independent royal city of the Crown of
the Polish Kingdom, separated by a branch of the Vistula River.
For many centuries, Kazimierz was a place of coexistence of
Christian and Jewish cultures. We saw numerous locations where
Schindler’s List was filmed and visited the oldest synagogue in
Poland, where all the men had to wear a head covering.
POLAND TRIP REPORT
Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster
19th February 2016
Issue No 97
www.shebbearcollege.co.uk
The ghetto square now contains a poignant memorial to the
victims comprising 70 oversized bronze chairs. The meaning of the
memorial has been left open to interpretation, perhaps representing
the furniture that was brought there by the Jews, unaware that they
were heading towards certain death, and later abandoned. The
chairs may also represent the Jewish children who carried their
own school chairs into the ghetto.
Monday 8th February 2016
A few steps away is Oskar Schindler’s factory (above) where we
had a tour of the museum which detailed the effect of World War II
and Nazi occupation on the Polish people.
Although the vast majority of victims were Jews from all over
Europe, the Nazis also imprisoned and persecuted Polish political
prisoners and intelligensia, Russians, gypsies, homosexuals and
Jehovah’s Witnesses, among other groups.
We were all exhausted from the very early start, long walks and
very detailed information from our guide. But we still had to walk
back to the hotel! After a short rest at the hotel we walked back
into the centre of Kraków where we all enjoyed a traditional homecooked three course Polish meal at Polski Smaki Restaurant,
where we also surprised Lydia by singing ‘happy birthday’ as the
waitresses brought out a birthday cake big enough to feed us all.
‘A life changing and thought provoking trip!
Thank you.’
Olivia
The tours around both camps of Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau were
very moving, uncovering the true enormity of the crimes. The
Polish authorities have kept the camps much as they were at the
time of liberation by the Russian army. The atmosphere is quiet,
respectful and reflective and there are many moving exhibits within
the barracks which track the fate of the prisoners held in the camps.
POLAND TRIP REPORT
Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster
19th February 2016
Issue No 97
www.shebbearcollege.co.uk
‘The trip to Poland was truly a once in a lifetime experience.
My most memorable experience was undoubtedly the trip
to the extermination camps in Auschwitz. To describe it to
my family was the hardest thing because I just don’t think
it’s possible to put what we saw into words. I will truly never
forget what I saw there. I felt completely moved by it all and
it will never leave my mind. I would recommend going to see
it, as it’s part of our history and it’s only fair to teach the future
generations about the horrors of war and influence them to
never repeat it.’
Patrick
by placing two red roses and two candles on the memorial, just a
short distance from where millions perished and where Dr Mengele
performed his horrific experiments on twins.
All the pupils without exception conducted themselves with dignity
and the utmost respect during the four hour visit. Most, if not all,
had a tear or two.
Rooms full of victims’ belongings, such as suitcases, glasses,
shoes, clothing and pots and pans are a stark reminder of millions
of personal tragedies. Perhaps the most challenging part was
confronting 2000kg of human hair (from around 30,000 women)
shaved off after their murder. As a mark of respect photographs are
not permitted in this room.
During our tour we visited the infamous Block 11 where fake trials,
torture, punishments and executions took place. We also walked
through the first gas chamber and crematorium, still intact.
We were privileged to be allowed to observe a one minute silence
for all the victims on behalf of Shebbear College. This took place
at the memorial between the two destroyed gas chambers at the
end of the railway track in Birkenau. We were all emotional as twins
Olivia and Mathew, along with Ross and Bella, ended the silence
After a thought-provoking, perhaps harrowing day, the evening
found us heading off to the impressive Galaria Krakowska shopping
centre, with four floors of fashion, food and just about everything
else. McDonalds was the eatery of choice for many whilst others
were more adventurous. The number of carrier bags that were
hauled back to the hotel meant that there wasn’t much spending
money returning to the UK but we certainly bolstered the Polish
economy. The walk back to the hotel resembled a fashion parade!
POLAND TRIP REPORT
Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster
19th February 2016
Issue No 97
www.shebbearcollege.co.uk
‘Going to Poland was one of the best experiences of my life so
far! A very well organized trip, full of adventure, entertainment
and education ... I wish I had applied to the Jagiellonian
University there now!
Mr and Mrs Charman, Mr and Mrs Bee and Mrs Blundell
made sure the trip was well organised and that everyone
was happy and healthy, even during our harrowing visit to
Auschwitz and the Birkenau camp, the most moving trip I’m
sure most of us had ever been on.
Tuesday 9th February 2016
This was to be a day full of extremes. In glorious sunshine we
headed to the Jagiellonian University where we had a guided
tour of the museum and university rooms, including the room of
philosopher Nicolaus Copernicus with his scientific equipment still
in place, and the lecture room where the future Pope John Paul II
once studied (below).
Poland was a great cultural education in many ways. We
visited Nowa Huta, a ‘Communist Paradise’ and learnt what
the Cold War truly meant on the continent, as well as our
exploration of the city of Kraków, eating traditional Polish food
and dancing traditional Polish dances.
We finished our trip with a visit to the Salt Mines where we
enjoyed licking many walls, and singing our school song in
the tiny lift on the way back up, where we were greeted by
snow, which literally was the icing on the cake. Thanks so
much!’
Jennie
Later that afternoon, at the Galacia Jewish Museum, in a private
conference room, we met holocaust survivor Monika Goldwasser.
The room was silent as, through an interpreter, she told her
heartbreaking story about how her parents were executed by the
Nazis when she was just two years old.
Next we walked to Wawel Royal Castle and Palace, overlooking
the Vistula River. We saw the original Royal state rooms of the
Polish kings and queens, decorated with enormous Flemish wall
tapestries recounting Biblical events.
Although the Nazis had a list of all Jews living in her village, her
mother saved her life by wrapping up a doll and carrying it with her
to the meeting point. The Nazis didn’t notice the doll and assumed
it was Monika. This was an incredible act of courage on behalf of
her parents as they would have known they would never see her
again. It wasn’t until much later in her life that Monika learned that
her parents, along with other villagers, were forced to dig a pit in
the local woods before being shot and buried in a mass grave.
Monika survived in a Krakow orphanage, protected by nuns despite
numerous investigations by Nazi soldiers, until she was adopted by
a Polish couple.
POLAND TRIP REPORT
19th February 2016
Issue No 97
Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster
www.shebbearcollege.co.uk
Once again, a few quiet tears as we listened. Ella read aloud a
moving poem written by Monika’s father, then the pupils asked her
numerous searching questions. She expounded the importance of
love and explained that she could not live with hate. Monika left
them with this though-provoking message; ‘you are young and your
whole life is ahead of you and you will have many decisions to
make - remember, your decisions will reflect upon other people.’
Morskie Oko Restaurant in the centre of Kraków is built in the
traditional style of a highlander’s wooden lodge from the Tatra
Mountain region, south of the city. A delicious three course
meal was accompanied by rousing Polish mountain folk music.
Traditional dancers soon had everyone up on the floor for some
very noisy and energetic dancing (the video clips can be seen on
our YouTube channel - search Shebbeartube).
A short tram ride took us back to the Main Square where we had
time for some gift and souvenir shopping in the beautiful Sukiennice
(Cloth Hall), the impressive building in the centre of the square,
before heading to the Morskie Oko Restaurant.
So, once again we had walked miles and experienced a ‘rollercoaster’ of emotions. The excellent behaviour and respect shown
by all the pupils again in some challenging situations is a credit to
their parents and the College.
‘I would just like to say a huge thank you to Mr Bee, Mrs Bee,
Mrs Blundell and of course Mr and Mrs Charman. Poland
was such an amazing experiance, I truly believe everybody
should go.
The architecture was beautiful. Some sights were harrowing,
however, completely relevant and necessary. The salt mines
were unforgettable and the food was fantastic!
Thank you again.’
Ella
POLAND TRIP REPORT
Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster
Wednesday 10th February 2016
In the first of two excursions our guide Ania took us to Nowa Huta,
a large suburb of Kraków designed and built from scratch, postwar, to Stalin’s communist ideology. Huge buildings inspired by
Leonardo DaVinci and in Baroque style housed workers from the
Lenin Steelworks. We learned about the Cold War, Lech Walesa,
Solidarity and the fall of communism.
19th February 2016
Issue No 97
www.shebbearcollege.co.uk
Then a surprise; Dorota had arranged for us all to take a tour of
the city in a convoy of six carriages each pulled by two horses. This
was a lovely, unexpected experience on our last day and it gave us
all time to relax and chat in the carriages for an hour as we moved
slowly through the most picturesque parts of the city.
We were told how the post-war communists were still concerned
about potential attacks from the west, and shown evidence of this
in the architecture. At the top of the buildings were gun placements
and they had also built vast underground bunkers, thus planning for
traditional methods of warfare as well as a nuclear attack.
‘The Poland trip was a real eye opening experience and one
of the best trips I’ve had the fortune to go on with Sheb. The
highlight had to be the traditional folk evening where, not
only was the music and food incredible, but we all ended up
dancing and singing around a tiny restaurant and no one left
without a smile.
Stalin’s ideology allowed no churches to be built in Nowa Huta,
but the Polish workers, deeply religious, fought to build a church
of their own, one of the first victories for the workers. We visited
the impressive Kościół Arka Pana (The Lord’s Ark), a vast church
built for free by volunteer workers with no assistance from the
communist authorities, designed with the appearance of Noah’s
Ark coming to rest on the roof (above). We went inside to find
thousands attending mass on the first day of Lent. The pupils were
silent and very respectful.
You can learn a lot from a textbook about all the places
we visited, from Schindler’s factory to Auschwitz and the
Jagiellonian University, but when you visit those places you
learn so much more. You can’t exactly lick walls of salt 135
metres underground in a classroom or eerily sing the school
song in a tiny lift with 8 other people on the way back up.
Next we headed back to Kraków Main Square for lunch, shopping
and a city game, solving clues around various historic venues.
Nadia
In all, it was a fantastic trip and I wholeheartedly thank
everyone that went and made it so enjoyable and memorable.
Thank you again for a wonderful week.’
POLAND TRIP REPORT
Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster
19th February 2016
Issue No 97
www.shebbearcollege.co.uk
In the afternoon we went to the Wieliczka Salt Mines. We saw
the most beautiful statues and wall carvings that the miners have
created over the centuries. Most stunning was a huge chapel
carved and decorated completely out of salt.
through the snow to the Galeria Krakowska for a meal and another
round of retail therapy.
We ascended 1200m in 40 seconds in small lifts used by the
miners. To settle some nerves the school song was sung at full
volume as we ascended.
We stepped out of the salt mines to find everything white and a
heavy flurry of snow led to great excitement and a fairly vigorous
snowball fight. Then in the evening, by popular request, we walked
This trip provided a wonderful, thought-provoking experience which
I’m sure will stay with all of us for a long time. Many thanks to
Simon and Mandy Bee, Eve Blundell and Dorota Charman for all
their help with making the trip a success. Thanks also to all the
parents who supported the trip and to all the pupils who made
it such a memorable time, and especially for the wonderful gifts
which we will treasure.
Mark Charman