I was so thrilled to be back in Krakow! But also bummed that this was our last full day in Poland.

We began our day in Krakow with a tour of Kazimierz, a historical district of Krakow that was home to the Jewish community from the 14th century until World War II. This is where Steven Spielberg shot the film Schindler's List, although the actual Jewish Ghetto in Krakow was located in a different place. Maciek also took us to a courtyard where one of the better-known scenes in Schindler's List was filmed, which we all found very interesting.

Our tour included several synagogues, some of which are now used as museums and such as the Museum of Judaism, which was formerly the Old Synagogue (constructed in the 15th century). We also went to the Remuh Synagogue and adjoining cemetery, which is the oldest Jewish Cemetery in Krakow. When the Nazis arrived in Poland, they completely decimated all of the Jewish cemeteries (we also saw a piece of land that used to be a Jewish cemetery). The Remuh cemetery was the only cemetery to survive the war, although most of the gravestones were destroyed and used to pave streets. The gravestones were returned to the Jewish community after the war, and those that had been broken were put together to build a wall on the cemetery.

After visiting a few more places in Kazimierz, we went to the location of the former Jewish Ghetto. First, we saw a remaining section of the ghetto's wall. Then Maciek took us through this tunnel and explained that it was really a piece of art that critiques the phenomena occurring in contemporary culture of melting Auschwitz and the salt mines into one tour. Light from sections cut out of the tunnel came threw to spell out AUSCHWITZWIELICZA (the name of the salt mines). I was so glad we had Maciek there to explain things like that to us. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed it if I had been alone, but I definitely wouldn't have understood the significance and reflection behind the art, and I definitely share the artist's opinion.

After seeing the Jewish Ghetto, we had lunch and then some down time before we heard the testimony of Mirosława Gruszczyńska, who was honored as Righteous Among the Nations. Wow. I can't even begin to explain what listening to her story did for me. After spending two days at Auschwitz and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, my faith in humanity was really shaken. Given what happened on Saturday, I was in no position to be questioning God's existence, but I sure was questioning the purpose of mankind. I couldn't understand how we could be capable of producing something so beautiful, such as The Pantheon or St. Peters in Rome, while at the same time possessing the power to create such destruction. Yet we are. Because it was the actions of normal people like myself that killed 6 million innocent Jews and countless other "undesirables." I guess looking back on it, I was kind of messed up after visiting the camps.

Mirosława's bravery was truly inspirational, and her humility about her actions was astonishing. Her, her mother, and her sister began hiding Miri in the late winter of 1943. It was originally supposed to be temporary, but Miri ended up staying with them until the end of the war. Now, keep in mind that the punishment for helping Jews in Poland at the death was death, and not just for the individual who was actually helping; whole families, including babies, were killed if caught hiding or helping Jews.

Another remarkable thing about Mirosława's story was that Miri was reunited with her father (survived in a German POW camp), her brother (was deported with their mother, removed pieces of the cattle car and escaped, but was later caught by the Nazis and was sent to a KL where he was included on Schindler's List), and her sister (saved by another Polish family) after the war. The family then moved to Israel, and Miri and Mirosława kept in contact via post cards until diplomatic relations between Poland and Israel were cut after the Six Day War in 1968. After the wall came down, Miri was able to visit Mirosława. Her first words to Mirosława were "You have to come to Israel!" A year later, Mirosława traveled to Israel to visit Miri. She was taken completely by surprise on one of her last days there when Miri told her she was to be honored as Righteous Among the Nations.

After hearing what Mirosława, her mother, and her sister risked to save Miri's life, I felt really guilty about not doing more for Darfur. I have to admit, I have deleted an email or two from the Save Darfur coalition without reading it just because I think to myself "I already know what's going on there." How can I do that? How can anyone who knows anything about the Holocaust possibly read something about genocide or threats of genocide and not do anything? And I don't mean that as an accusation, I mean it as an honest question. We can be so warped sometimes...

After saying our goodbyes to Mirosława, we had a bit more free time before our farewell dinner. It was sad that it was our last night together, but at the same time I was looking forward to getting back to Jena after such an emotionally and intellectually challenging trip. Our last official dinner together was pierogies, of course! And they were absolutely delicious! Then we all went around the table and spoke a little bit about how this trip had affected us, what we enjoyed, what we would have changed, etc. It was really interesting hearing what others said about their experiences in Krakow and at Auschwitz—some people had me pretty close to tears. For most of the students on the trip, Auschwitz is a part of their heritage, their culture. For a couple, it is forever apart of their family; their grandparents were prisoners at Auschwitz. For me, seeing Auschwitz put life into perspective and is helping me figure out the path I want to take after I graduate.

After a somewhat somber afternoon and evening, a good chunk of the group decided to head out to see what the Krakow nightlife has to offer on Mondays. We wandered to a bar Dara had recommended called Prozac (lol), and it turns out Monday nights = half off drinks! So after taking a group shot of vodka (we were in Poland, how could we not!?) I paid probably less than €2 for a mojito. Can't beat that ;]