Entries by Ula Klobuszewska

Ponary Forest Massacre

By: Jake “Andy” Fabrizio Imagine the shock and outrage if a cohort of eleven students was ruthlessly slaughtered as the result of a sick ideological platform. The public would not be silenced. Now imagine this happening about two hundred thirty six times over to similarly innocent people with no one to stop it. There you […]

The Borderlands Foundation and the Town of Sejny

By: Samantha Avalos Our two-week intensive travelling seminar through Lithuania and the eastern Polish border was filled with eye-opening experiences, moving discussions, and heart-rending visits of sites of great tragedy. We met with numerous people, those a part of state institutions or NGO’s, and even some individuals who are exactly that, individuals, working with the […]

Remnants of the Past

By: Katelyn Olsen Perhaps one of the saddest sights to see is a place that was clearly once so full of life and culture falling into a state of disrepair. Krynki, a city with a population of 9,000 (70% of which were Jews) in its prime, now has only 2,000 residents (without a single Jew […]

The Berlin Wall

On our excursion to Berlin, Germany, the Berlin Wall memorial was the first place we visited.  We pulled up to a grassy park where people were walking with their families, their pets, and enjoying the sunshine.  As we entered the park, our tour guide pointed to a concrete wall with scribbles of graffiti all over […]

The Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall served as a barrier between East and West Germany, separating East and West Berlin. The construction of the Wall began suddenly on August 13, 1961 under the Communist government of GDR (German Democratic Republic, East Germany) in response to the vast number of East Germans fleeing to the democratic West. It was […]

The Roma and Sinti Memorial

Tucked away, hidden, unimposing, quaint; these are words that have been used to describe the memorial to the murdered Roma and Sinti of Europe.  It is a small memorial enclosed in the trees of the Tiergarten.  It sits across the street from the Bundestag and a stone’s throw from the Brandenburg gate.  One might think […]

The Polish Soldiers’ Monument

Within the first week of being in Wroclaw, we climbed a hill on the edges of the city which is topped by an imposing concrete structure and grave stones – the Polish Soldiers’ Monument. The place is symbolic of the history of Poland, a country that has been destroyed many a times.  From disappearing off […]

Memorial to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism

Often times, when the word “Holocaust” is mentioned we only think of one group of people, the Jews. There were several other minority groups that suffered through a tragic genocide as well during World War II. The Sinti and the Roma people, also known as “Gypsies” have long faced persecution in Europe. The peak of […]

Kazimierz

Kazimierz, a district of Poland’s southern city of Krakow, has historically been a sector of the city rich in Jewish culture. The Vistula River marks as a natural boundary, separating Kazimierz and Krakow’s center. In the year 1494, a large fire destroyed most of Krakow and consequently the Jewish townsfolk were scapegoated for this incident. […]

The New Jewish Cemetery in Wroclaw

Wroclaw’s New Jewish Cemetery was founded in 1902 when Wroclaw’s Old Jewish Cemetery which, due to its central location near the center of Wroclaw, had no more room for expansion. The New Jewish Cemetery occupies roughly 27 acres, although most of the cemetery is closed off due to safety concerns and ongoing restoration projects. The […]