Trip Journal Part 2: Remembering Krakow

This is a long post, as it journals of my time in Krakow, Poland. If you are not interested in my personal thoughts on the city and are looking for a recipe, scroll down to the bottom where there is a Polish recipe for Golabki, Cabbage Rolls - my dish for WHB. Enjoy/Cieszyć Się!

(I apologize for the font change - I cannot get the Auschwitz section to match up with the rest....as it automatically shifts to all caps...hmmmmm)

________

Friday, June 15^th, marked the beginning of our journey to Krakow, Poland. We had our lunch at the Blue Viking Restaurant in Czestochowa, an industrial town of 250,000, as well as paper and steel mills. Czestochowa is also the location of the Jasna Gora Monastery. The Pauline monks, whose Patron Saint is Paul the Hermit, reside at Jasna Gora, which is also the home of the Black Madonna. It is with this that Czestochowa has been a spiritual center for six centuries. In fact, millions make a pilgrimage every year to pray before the extraordinary picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa (the Black Madonna).

Father Roman, our guide, first showed us the famous painting during our tour of the monastery. The Black Madonna was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist and it is said that, while painting the picture, Mary told St. Luke about the life of Jesus - which he later incorporated into his gospel. The painting is known as the Black Madonna because of the centuries of candles burning in front of the painting causing soot residue that discolored the painting.

After viewing the Black Madonna, we observed an ongoing mass from the balcony, while Father Roman played the trumpet during mass.

Thereafter, the tour continued and we saw multiple rooms that housed papal gifts and artifacts (where cameras were not allowed).

View from Jasna Gora

Krakow… Like Warsaw, Krakow runs along the Vistula River. However, Krakow differs from the capital because it was not bombed during the war. Krakow was not high on the Nazis list, since they viewed the residents as “German”.

Considered the holiest city in Poland, Krakow is about 30% industry and 60% services. A “young” city, many call it the “New Prague”. The University, the oldest on Poland, has about 700,000 students and costs about 1000 Euro/year. Interestingly, even with the city’s holiness and strong sense of community, 5% of Krakow’s young people leave after university to work outside the country. The salaries in Poland are very low compared to the rest of Europe with the average monthly income being about $600, and one can make more money doing a less qualified job.

When mom and I checked out the sights from our hotel window, we had a spot-on view of the Wawel Castle, the focus of our walking tour Saturday morning. Wawel Castle, built in the 14^th century by Kazimierz the Great, is a Gothic fortress. For the public, only the cathedral and castle complex are available. The palace has a Renaissance courtyard that was once destroyed, and then rebuilt by the Florentines. While in the courtyard, visitors can see the three levels of the castle, (1) the ground floor which served as apartments for the nobility, (2) the private apartment of the King, and (3) the public state rooms of the King. One of the wings, covered in ivory, served as the residence of Nazi Hans Frank during WWII. (Hans Frank was later tried and convicted as a result of the Nuremburg Trials.)

Mom at Wawel Castle

After a lovely lunch at Szara, in Old Town Square...

... it was back to the hotel for our trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Having taught the Holocaust through literature for several years, this excursion was truly powerful.

Auschwitz-Birkenau, about 70 km from Krakow, remain as a memorial, a cemetery, and a reminder of what happened during WWII….and what can never occur again. And, even with the sobering remains of the camp, one can still not fully grasp the cruelty that occurred, since floors are cleaned, exhibitions are neatly & respectfully presented, and guard towers are empty.

We first visited Auschwitz I, the first and oldest "main camp”, then Birkenau.

During its time, the number of Auschwitz prisoners fluctuated between 15,000 to sometimes over 20,000. With only 28 barracks (which held 700 before ’42 and over 1000 thereafter, only provided 22 toilets per barrack), and one crematorium, Auschwitz had expanded to 40 sub camps. Pictures were not allowed inside the barracks or the crematorium, but the groups silence spoke volumes, as the thoughts of more than 70,000 human beings murdered and sent to the Auschwitz I crematorium.

This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog

With Auschwitz designed originally as a men’s camp before 1942, all women were sent directly to the Birkenau, the Death Camp, during that time. (Birkenau had 4 crematoriums, in addition to oven pits, in which more than 20,000 people were burned a day. Ashes were then put into the rivers, or used as fertilizer).

The gas chambers took 15 minutes to kill/suffocate the 2000 persons within its walls, thanks to the tons (literally) of Cyclone B used in 6 years.

Cyclone B

It was the job of working prisoners to transfer the bodies to the crematorium, and then those prisoners would be liquidated after three months of work, replaced by fresh workers.

The barracks that housed exhibitions were chilling. Through glass that spanned entire walls of the room, one could see recovered items from after the liberation. One room had 1950 kg. of woman’s hair, from those killed in the gas chambers. At that time, the hair was used as raw material for the German textile industry. Behind other glass casings – eyewear, artificial limbs, brushes, prayer shawls, and suitcases. The suitcases had markings written by the owners, name and birthday. Some cases were marked by the Germans with words like Waisenkind – orphan. Items confiscated by the soldiers upon entry to the camps were culled in warehouses called the House of Canada, named because it was the best work assignment to have. The best items were sent to Germany.

Until Spring ’43, every prisoner was photographed – many of which were hung on the walls of one of the exhibition barracks. Later, only German prisoners and occasionally other nationalities. Those who entered in mass transports were not photographed after ’43. Tattoos were placed on the left forearm of prisoners, as well as a marking on the uniform for the prisoner’s reason for arrest. Although most transported to Auschwitz died within a month or two after arriving, 200,000 survived. Prisoners who worked under roofs and shelter had a better chance of survival.

As we passed Block 10, the barrack where Dr. Clauberg conducted medical experiments on women, we turned right into the alley between Block’s 10 & 11. At the end of the alley, the Death Wall stood, remembered by visitors with stones, flowers, and candles. The Death Wall was the location of prisoner executions, civilian prisoners who were “tried” by the Gestapo and almost always sentenced to death, a sentence carried out at the Wall. Before the trial, these prisoners were kept in Block 11, and forced to endure different tortures depending on the cell in which they were placed – starvation, suffocation, or standing (4 prisoners forced to stand in one cell, after a day of work, in a 90X90 cm area).

Often times, my students would question during our unit – Why didn’t anyone fight back? Well, many tried. But, for every attempt, numerous others were punished and/or executed. There were times that presented tempting opportunities, such as times when soldiers entered individual bunkers when issues arose with the local nuclear power plants. Prisoners were able to catch guards off-guard, but again – the repercussions were tremendous. In total, about 800 prisoners organized an escape and about 200 succeeded.

After Auschwitz I, we headed to Birkenau. The slide show below are just a few of the pictures from the visit. The first red sign marks the Auschwitz pictures and the second begins the Birkenau pictures.

This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog

Following the somber trip to the camps, we headed to the Bida Inn (which in Polish means House of Poverty) for an authentic Polish meal – and lots of wine, beer, and vodka. After a very busy day and emotionally draining afternoon, glasses were emptied faster than normal. The meal, served in traditional style, was interesting. While not my favorite of the trip, the efforts put forth by the restaurant was truly appreciated.

This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog (I am not sure where my restaurant labels went, but I am tired now....the pictures cover three meals in the following order - The Blue Viking, The Bida Inn, & The Sheraton Kracow. Differences can be seen.)

Since this post has gotten really long, I will chat about the Wieliczka Salt Mine, Remu Synagogue, and Schindler’s Factory tomorrow.

Check out my other trip posts! Warsaw, Kracow (2), Budapest, Vienna, Prague, and my final thoughts...Café Demel.

_________________________

Here are Polish Cabbage Rolls - my dish for Kalyn's weekly WHB. For some cabbage food facts, check out my Cabbage Bake I made some time ago....

Golabki

For 3 Rolls

3 large leaves of cabbage, center core removed
1/8 lb. (each) of ground beef, ground pork & ground veal
¾ cup cooked white rice
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup ketchup
¾ can tomato soup
1 & ½ cans water
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
¼ tsp. each of salt, pepper
¼ tsp. each of celery salt, sweet basil, nutmeg and Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. stick of butter

For a Family

1 large head of cabbage, center core removed

1 lb. each of ground beef, ground pork & ground veal

2 cups cooked white rice

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup ketchup

2 cans tomato soup

1 ½ cans water

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

½ tsp. each of salt, pepper

¼ tsp. each of celery salt, sweet basil, nutmeg and Worcestershire sauce
½ stick of butter

Boil cabbage leaves in a large pot, removing when they are tender – about 15 minutes. (If boiling the whole cabbage, the leaves will being to fall off.) Run under cold water and drain. Cut the thick membrane from each leaf.

While cabbage is cooking, sauté onion in butter until lightly browned. In a large mixing bowl, place all the uncooked meat, the sautéed onions. In same pan, brown the salt pork, then using a slotted spoon, add salt pork to meat. Next add dry seasonings, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and cooked rice. Mix thoroughly (using hands work very well). Lay out leaves and depending upon their size, place 2-3 Tbsp.-1/4 cup of meat mixture on the wider side. Roll leaf up and over meat, tuck in sides of leaf, and continue to roll. Place rolls, seam down into a greased pan. Continue rolling remainder cabbage rolls.

Mix together the tomato soup, water, and brown sugar. Pour over all the rolls. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 2 – 2 ½ hours, with a check after 1 hour - making sure there's enough liquid. If not, add water.

When ready to serve, spoon any extra cooked sauce over the rolls.

This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog