Yesterday, we started our morning by going to the Galicia museum. Galicia was a massive district located in Government General. To keep it short, before Hitler could invade Poland on September 1st, 1939, he needed Stalin and the Soviet Union to understand that he would not attack them. Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression pact, and the pact also states that the Soviet Union could have the eastern portion of Poland. On September 1st, Hitler invades Poland and quickly takes it over. The western part of Poland becomes lebensraum, or living space, for people of the German Reich. The central part of Poland belongs to neither Germany or Soviet Union; however, it will be called the Government General and will become the area where Jews will be relocated. Within Government General, there are several of the killing centers and many ghettos. Galicia is a district within Government General that has several cities.
I was very impressed with the Galicia Museum. I enjoyed the pictures that spoke volumes. Basically, two men went around and took contemporary pictures of Galicia today. For instance, there is a very moving picture of the only tombstone left in Plaszow. Remember how I mentioned that Amon Goeth built the camp on the site of two Jewish cemeteries? Well the only tombstone left is of one man - so by looking at that picture, one could see that the Nazis tried to destroy Jewish heritage. I enjoyed looking at the pictures and would love to implement a lesson like that in my classroom.
After the Galicia Museum, we went to the Schindler Museum. This was probably my most favorite museum of the trip so far. It is very elaborate and focuses on both Polish Jews and non-Jewish Poles that were targeted by the Nazis. I loved that the whole museum told a story as you walked through. They made it interesting because each room would be decorated based on the theme discussed. We were able to walk into Schindler's office, which I thought was pretty cool. Our guide actually told us some controversial information regarding Schindler. It was good to hear the information - especially since I had never heard that side before. First and foremost, Schindler was very high in the Nazi party. He used his influence for cheap labor so he could make millions. At the end of the movie, when he rescued over 1,000 Jews, Spielberg makes it out like Schindler is a bit too emotional over not saving more. Our guide told us that Schindler lost the ring that the Jews gave him, and then later, says that he sold the ring so that he could buy some Schnapps. She even told us the book that we should get to read the true story of Oskar Schindler - I will most likely get it to read.
Today, we visited another killing center - Belzec. In November 1941, SS and police authorities in the Lublin district decided to build a killing center that would be close to railroad centers and have a great proximity to the Jewish communities in the Galicia district. Between March and December of 1942, the SS deported around 435,000 Jews, Poles, and Gypsies to their death. The 20 cars on the cattle car could have anywhere from 80-100 victims - each car would be cleared out, and the members walked directly to the chambers. Within the chambers, there was an exhaust hose attached to the chamber and carbon monoxide would be pumped into the chambers for 20 minutes. By October 1942, the SS received word that bodies were to be exhumed and burned, and the chambers were to be burned. Using Jewish laborers, the job was completed in Spring of 1943. When completed, the Jewish laborers were either shot or sent to the Sobibor killing center. Then, the whole area was turned into a farm to hide the evidence.
The hardest part of seeing Belzec is knowing that the camp was made strictly for killing and nothing else. The moment people were unloaded from the cattle cars, they were taken directly to the chambers. There were no barracks - they only selected Sonderkommando units, or victims forced to help lead the people to the gas chambers. Even the Sonderkommando was killed within three months and a new group came in. The Germans feared they knew too much information. There are only two known survivors of Belzec - one being Rudolf Reder. He was in the Sonderkommando unit and successfully escaped. Because of him, we know what happened at Belzec. The other survivor was Chaim Hirzman, and the day he opened up about his experience, he was killed. It is an unknown mystery as to what happened...interesting...
Another interesting aspect about Belzec is that it was fully operated by Ukrainians and Lithuanians who collaborated with the Nazis. It is quite scary that the SS were able to train the Ukrainians and Lithuanians to perform their dirty work - yet they willingly collaborated. The same will happen in Sobibor and Treblinka - also other killing centers.
Belzec differs from Auschwitz in many ways - we have testimonies and survivors from Auschwitz; however, in Belzec, we only have the testimony of one survivor...Belzec was made into a memorial site with a small museum. Pictures can be seen below.
Tomorrow, we go to Majdanek. This is another camp that served as a killing center, but will also serve as a labor camp as well. I hope to update my blog after tomorrow's experience.
I was very impressed with the Galicia Museum. I enjoyed the pictures that spoke volumes. Basically, two men went around and took contemporary pictures of Galicia today. For instance, there is a very moving picture of the only tombstone left in Plaszow. Remember how I mentioned that Amon Goeth built the camp on the site of two Jewish cemeteries? Well the only tombstone left is of one man - so by looking at that picture, one could see that the Nazis tried to destroy Jewish heritage. I enjoyed looking at the pictures and would love to implement a lesson like that in my classroom.
After the Galicia Museum, we went to the Schindler Museum. This was probably my most favorite museum of the trip so far. It is very elaborate and focuses on both Polish Jews and non-Jewish Poles that were targeted by the Nazis. I loved that the whole museum told a story as you walked through. They made it interesting because each room would be decorated based on the theme discussed. We were able to walk into Schindler's office, which I thought was pretty cool. Our guide actually told us some controversial information regarding Schindler. It was good to hear the information - especially since I had never heard that side before. First and foremost, Schindler was very high in the Nazi party. He used his influence for cheap labor so he could make millions. At the end of the movie, when he rescued over 1,000 Jews, Spielberg makes it out like Schindler is a bit too emotional over not saving more. Our guide told us that Schindler lost the ring that the Jews gave him, and then later, says that he sold the ring so that he could buy some Schnapps. She even told us the book that we should get to read the true story of Oskar Schindler - I will most likely get it to read.
Today, we visited another killing center - Belzec. In November 1941, SS and police authorities in the Lublin district decided to build a killing center that would be close to railroad centers and have a great proximity to the Jewish communities in the Galicia district. Between March and December of 1942, the SS deported around 435,000 Jews, Poles, and Gypsies to their death. The 20 cars on the cattle car could have anywhere from 80-100 victims - each car would be cleared out, and the members walked directly to the chambers. Within the chambers, there was an exhaust hose attached to the chamber and carbon monoxide would be pumped into the chambers for 20 minutes. By October 1942, the SS received word that bodies were to be exhumed and burned, and the chambers were to be burned. Using Jewish laborers, the job was completed in Spring of 1943. When completed, the Jewish laborers were either shot or sent to the Sobibor killing center. Then, the whole area was turned into a farm to hide the evidence.
The hardest part of seeing Belzec is knowing that the camp was made strictly for killing and nothing else. The moment people were unloaded from the cattle cars, they were taken directly to the chambers. There were no barracks - they only selected Sonderkommando units, or victims forced to help lead the people to the gas chambers. Even the Sonderkommando was killed within three months and a new group came in. The Germans feared they knew too much information. There are only two known survivors of Belzec - one being Rudolf Reder. He was in the Sonderkommando unit and successfully escaped. Because of him, we know what happened at Belzec. The other survivor was Chaim Hirzman, and the day he opened up about his experience, he was killed. It is an unknown mystery as to what happened...interesting...
Another interesting aspect about Belzec is that it was fully operated by Ukrainians and Lithuanians who collaborated with the Nazis. It is quite scary that the SS were able to train the Ukrainians and Lithuanians to perform their dirty work - yet they willingly collaborated. The same will happen in Sobibor and Treblinka - also other killing centers.
Belzec differs from Auschwitz in many ways - we have testimonies and survivors from Auschwitz; however, in Belzec, we only have the testimony of one survivor...Belzec was made into a memorial site with a small museum. Pictures can be seen below.
Tomorrow, we go to Majdanek. This is another camp that served as a killing center, but will also serve as a labor camp as well. I hope to update my blog after tomorrow's experience.