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The Stopfordian 2011–2012
RS TRIP TO POLAND
At 4:00am on 7th December a group of Fifth Year pupils,
along with Miss Flaherty, Mr Clarke and Mr Swann departed
the school car park to Liverpool airport. Many of the pupils
were tired due to the early start but also excited about the
upcoming trip. In no time we were checking in at Liverpool
airport, readying for our flight. We had time to grab
something to eat quickly before we got onto the plane. Many
people had a sleep on the flight, waking up in Poland.
The weather was cold, but nothing like what we had prepared
for. We were ready for near Arctic weather: cold winds, deep
snow and white landscapes. We were surprised to be greeted
by weather similar to England.
Our tour guide took the bus with us from the airport and gave
us an insight into the culture of Poland and some of its history.
She then went on to explain more about Krakow. I began to
understand that it is steeped in history and is the centre of
culture in Poland. Armed with this knowledge, we arrived in
Krakow for some free time and for lunch.
Krakow has a central market place which consisted of an
outside Christmas market and an indoor one too. The town
centre looked beautiful, with fantastic architecture. We were
sad to leave it, however we had to as we were to journey into
the Kazimierz district. This was the place where the majority
of the Jews in Krakow had stayed.
We learned from our excellent guide that nearly all the Jews
either moved away from or did not return to this district, nor
any other area of Krakow. The quarter entrance and the
synagogue still remain, however. We looked around the
various remaining places, understanding more about Jewish
culture and its place within Krakow. Something which was
apparent and emphasised was that the Jews had nothing to do
with the war and only discrimination against them brought
them into it. This tied with our lessons as we have been
learning about prejudice and discrimination. This part of the
trip made us realise how innocent the Jews were in this
conflict and how they hadn't done anything to provoke it.
We next stopped outside the ghettos, seeing a chemist where
people risked their lives to provide Jews with valuable items to
survive. After this, we went to The Schindler Museum. This
was a fascinating place as it made us realise just how hard it
was to support the Jews and how one man, Schindler, did. Not
everyone supported the Nazis’ plan but most were too scared
to do anything about it. This museum was situated at the
factory where Schindler hired the Jews to work for him, saving
their lives. The museum also contained artefacts from the
invasion of Poland during the war and made us understand the
poor quality of life that everyone in Poland had to endure.
After a tiring day, we all reached our final destination for the
day, the Hotel Krakow. We had time to relax in our rooms
before dinner. Everyone was grateful for a warm place to stay,
a meal and some time to wind down. On the first evening,
the majority of the people watched one of the two
Manchester Champions’ League games. After a disappointing
night for both sides, we all went to bed, longing for a rest after
a long, educational and thought-provoking day.
In the morning, straight after breakfast, we departed for
Auschwitz. The mood was nervous. People were not sure
how they were going to react to a place such as this. We were
split into two different groups, each with a guide. The tour
took us firstly round Auschwitz, showing us displays explaining
how many people were killed, where they were from and
how the camp worked. The guides revealed a genuine feeling
for the people who had suffered here. It made me realise that
the textbooks can only teach you so much. The people who
suffered in Auschwitz are not just a figure to learn for a test.
Each and every person had a valued life and should be
respected that way. I think for everyone, it allowed them to
reflect on the gravity of what had happened there. We were
showed displays containing belongings of the people staying
there, including their shaved hair.
On the bus trip to Birkenau, we all reflected on what we had
just seen, before visiting the infamous death camp. It was
bitterly cold and further allowed us to imagine the terrible
conditions in which the Jews had to survive, wearing only thin
pyjamas. We were shown the huts where they stayed and
also the train tracks. However the most thought-provoking
part of the trip had to be the remains of the gas chambers and
the memorial next to it. This was the point which made me
realise just how many people were killed. Each chamber killed
2000 people in 15 minutes.
We had time to discuss what we had just seen over lunch at a
nearby restaurant before going back to Krakow for some free
time. When we were picked up again we were in a much less
melancholy mood for returning back to the hotel and for our
evening meal. Everyone was excited for the trip to the
bowling at Fantasy Park, where we had a great time. We
returned to the hotel with engrained memories of our trip to
Poland, ready for the journey home.
The plane home took much longer than the plane to Poland
due to a strong headwind but we were all glad to be back on
English soil. I recommend that everyone goes to Auschwitz at
some point in their life.
Joe Brook (5R)
Trips 53