Group trip to Poland in September 2023

Now it was time again. A year had passed since our last group trip to Oswiecim (Auschwitz). On Thursday, September 7th, we set out very early in the morning with two minibuses and a car on the long journey to Poland. We were 16 people aged 25 to 80. “Hopefully it will go well,” I thought in advance. “Hopefully we all fit under one roof!” As it turned out, this concern was completely unfounded. In the early afternoon we reached our destination. This time we were housed in three small wooden houses. This proved to be an absolute stroke of luck, or even mercy from our Lord. In each of these houses there was a kitchen and enough space to meet. In the afternoon, we made our way to the center of Oswiecim. There we visited the only synagogue that was not destroyed during the war. It includes a small exhibition of photos and letters from Jews of Oswiecim before and after the Holocaust. Afterwards, we sat with coffee and cake in the cozy cafe “Bergson” and gradually got to know the people in our group. In the evening there was a first big sharing session. After a song and a blessing for the night, we all fell into our beds, dead tired. The second day began with prayer and Holy Communion. After a delicious breakfast, we set off for Krakow. Our tour began in the Jewish quarter, Kazmierz. After a walk around the Jewish market square, which is actually just one big street, we visited the Remuh Synagogue. Behind it is one of the oldest cemeteries in Europe. There we had interesting encounters with ultra-Orthodox Jews from Brooklyn, New York, in their black robes, and with an elderly lady from Israel who immediately invited me to contact her when I next visited Israel. A younger man in our group had lived in Krakow for some time and therefore knew his way around very well. He led us through small hidden alleys away from the tourist crowds. At noon, we had a breather on the banks of the Vistula and ate our provisions. In the afternoon, the “Oskar Schindler Museum” was on the program. After that, we were all pretty exhausted and ended our “Krakow Day” in a nice restaurant on the Jewish market with klezmer music. The next day we met with our Polish guide Jacek, who led us through Oswiecim, Birkenau and the main camp of Auschwitz 1. We were all deeply affected by the extent of the horror and the unimaginable suffering. In the evening we sat together again and shared our experiences. In a time of prayer, we brought all our thoughts, questions and emotions to our Heavenly Father. That night was very “mixed” for some of our group because we were still so disturbed by what we had seen and heard. On Sunday morning, we packed up and went to the “Fountain of Tears” exhibit. There we were greeted at the door by the artist and creator of the exhibit, Rick Wienecke, and his wife Dafna. “Fountain of Tears” presents a dialogue of suffering between the Holocaust and the crucifixion. We listened to the artist's explanations with deep emotion and had time to let the exhibition sink in. Comforted in our hearts and with the certainty that our Lord brings forth life from death, we got into our cars and set out on the long drive home. We arrived home on Sunday evening, completely exhausted but inwardly fulfilled and enriched. Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful time!!! Kerstin Kluge