Operations at Fountain of Tears in Brzezinka (Auschwitz)

Review

A few years ago, Rick Wienicke, artist and creator of the unique exhibition "Fountain of Tears", had the vision that Christians would come from all four corners of the earth to support him and his wife Dafna.
This summer we made a modest start. We decided to travel to Oswiecim/Poland for three weeks and help with "Fountain of Tears". We were a small group from our "Gate to Zion" association and friends. My husband Torsten and I made the start and travelled to Poland for a week at the end of August. Rick and Dafna were already waiting for us. First of all, we met for dinner and tried to make a rough plan for the week. Torsten was given the task of building a small shed under the stairs. That provided him with work for the week. I had a variety of tasks. Firstly, I planted flowers and plants in various containers, cleared weeds from some beds, mowed the lawn, painted and cleaned windows and cleared out a storeroom together with Dafna.... In between, we always had nice conversations with Wieneckes, with visitors and with Dorota, a wonderful Polish woman who is on site every day and guides groups through the exhibition. During our week, two women also came from England. One of them played an ancient violin that changed hands several times. The violinist gave me a book describing the history of this violin and its owners. The violinist played on the "old Jewish ramp" and in the exhibition. We had a special time of worship together. It was a privilege for us to be there.
We said goodbye after the week, somewhat exhausted but full of intensive encounters and conversations. Of course we will be back next year!!!

Kerstin Kluge

Then we continued from 8 September with a strong group of craftsmen from the Ore Mountains and myself. The aim was to extend a studio to create space for 1-2 volunteers. A bricklayer (Steffen Theumer), a plumber (Hermann Frey), an electrician (Matthias Krones) and I set to work. First of all, we had to plan and then make a bulk purchase of materials. We made rapid progress as everyone had their own tools with them. The timber frame and drywall construction was largely completed. Now the windows, a staircase and of course painting work are still missing. That will be the task next time.
In the last few days, we (Dorothea von Below, my wife Maria and I) were able to accompany a man to the camps who had discovered his Jewish roots. His grandparents were deported from the island of Rhodes (!) from Greece in 1944 in a week-long transport with a cattle freighter and cattle wagons to Auschwitz. As soon as they arrived, they were gassed in Birkenau. This crime against Jews and other people remains a low point in human history. A ray of hope and an encouragement for his faith in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, was the visit to Fountain of Tears and the meeting with the artist couple Rick and Dafna Wienecke and the visit to Mark and Cathy Warewick's "House of Life" in Brzezinka.
Manfred Hoffmann