A Couple of Days in Warsaw

A request was made for more pictures, so here you are:

This is the market square in Old Warsaw
I am standing in the public fountain with all the
other little kids.














This is the whole group at Milo 18, the site of a
bunker in the Jewish Ghetto. Many people were
buried alive here when the Germans burned the
entire ghetto. The Polish have never excavated
the site. In the center, speaking, is our tour guide
Shalmi.















This is the monument of the Jewish Uprising in
Warsaw. After 3 three years of starvation and
hopelessness in the ghetto, the Jews finally rebelled
against the Nazi Germans. Their rebellion,
however, was unsucessful and the Germans burned
the entire ghetto to the ground.


























Our tour began in earnest yesterday. After breakfast we headed out- I was a little late, much to the chagrin of our Colonel Krys. We traveled to the only remaining prewar synagouge. Just as we were leaving, a busload of New York Jews came in a told us to sit down. Their rabbi gave a brief talk on Jewish history and such, but was especially interesting was to see all these New Yorkers running around the synagouge in their Mets hats and accents. Then we headed to the Jewish Cemetary and explored that for a while. Then came lunch and a trip to the Jewish Historical Society Museum, where we really got a feel for what life was like in the Jewish Ghetto. There was unbelievable suffering, obviously. It was a little tough to swallow. And that concluded our second day. We went to a Jewish restarant and enjoyed kebobs and then wearily headed back to our rooms for sleep.

And it all started over this morning. We really toured the Ghetto today, heading to the place where the Jews were herded to in order to be processed and then shipped to the concentration camp in Treblinka. 6,000 people were shipped out a day in this way. Then we went to the above bunker, the center of the Jewish Resistance. From there we moved on to the Polish Resistance, which occured shortly after the Jews had been completely wiped out. Just as the Russians were marching to kick the Germans out and retake Warsaw, the population rebelled in order to try and start a independent government. The Russians stood just outside the city for 2 months while the Germans anhillated 200,000 of the Warsaw population. And then they marched in and established Communism. Finally, we travelled to the south of Warsaw this afternoon to visit a Reform Jewish synagouge (actually a well-furnished modern house) and then enjoy Shabbat (sabbath) dinner.

From Grandma/Theresa

Some of you may have read Leon Uris's MILA 8, and we were there. As you can see from Charlie's story, we have had full days with wonderful weather but some difficult sites and stories. The mystery of how so many people could be killed and caused to suffer is beyond imagination. The courage of the resisters in the face of Nazi Germany and Communist Soviets - I have a new idea about Poland. The good news is that this country is now a part of the EU and is building rapidly into one of the most productive countries in the east of Europe with a firm economy and stable leadership. Warsaw is a beautiful mixture of old and new, as you can see from Charlie's pictures. Well, I have to go and guard my jellybeans from Charlie!!
We are seeing some of the Olympics on cable TV but are too bushed to stay awake for much.
More tomorrow when we move out of the Novotel in downtown Warsaw to the town of Bialystok. Stay tuned!