In partnership with the Department for Education and Culture of the Jewish Museum in Prague and the Terezín Initiative, we organized the third educational trip to Auschwitz, where we spent three days exploring not only the sites related to the Holocaust, but also the history of Auschwitz’s Jewish inhabitants who lived there before World War II.
The educational trip to Auschwitz brought together several generations — children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and even great-great-grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. This unique gathering allowed us to explore and discuss a wide range of topics from diverse perspectives, enriching the experience for everyone involved. Despite a challenging journey of nearly seven hours, with the gloomy weather seemingly following us all the way, we arrived at the Youth Centre in Auschwitz. We are deeply grateful to the Centre for their warm hospitality and the facilities provided. On our first evening, we took the time to connect, share our personal stories, and reflect on our individual motivations for joining this meaningful journey.
The following morning, we had the privilege of speaking online with Holocaust survivor Mrs. Hanna Sternlicht, who joined us from Israel. She shared her harrowing story, recounting how in December 1942 she and her parents were deported to Terezín, where she lived in the girls’ home L410. Two years later, her father was sent on a transport to Auschwitz, and shortly after, Hana and her mother followed. After the selection process, the 14-year-old Hana found herself completely alone in the extermination camp, separated from her family.
After this deeply moving meeting, which could have easily continued for hours, we made our way to the former Auschwitz I camp. There, we visited several exhibitions, including those of Israel and the Czech Republic. At the so-called Wall of Death, part of the infamous Block 11 where countless prisoners were executed, we paused to recite the El Male Rachamim prayer in remembrance of the victims. In the afternoon, we explored the local Jewish heritage sites, including the only surviving synagogue, a Jewish cemetery, and the Museum of Jewish Culture. It’s a little-known fact that a Jewish community had been established in Auschwitz and its surroundings as early as the second half of the 16th century. Over time, this community grew so significantly that, by the eve of World War II, there were 30 prayer houses, and Jews made up nearly half of the town’s population.
Her great-grandfather, Pavel, was part of the Ak2 transport, which took young men to build the Terezín ghetto. His planned marriage to his girlfriend, Věra, was only realized in Terezín, on the eve of their deportation to Auschwitz. The couple was placed in the so-called Terezín family camp, but soon after, they were separated. Miraculously, both survived the war, reunited, and went on to share over 50 years together. Jindra shared his father’s post-war testimony about surviving Auschwitz-Birkenau, along with his great-uncle’s final letter from Majdanek. Zuzana spoke about her family’s history and showed us a touching family album filled with photographs of relatives who tragically did not survive the Holocaust. We concluded the evening by watching a film about Felix Kolmer. Together with his daughter-in-law, Vera, we paid tribute to his memory, sparking a heartfelt and lengthy discussion that followed.
On the final day, the sun shone for the first time during our trip, but even its warmth could not dispel the horror of certain places. This was especially true at the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, our next and most solemn stop. Standing on the very grounds where so many, including Hanka’s great-grandparents, were once held in the so-called Terezín family camp, we took a moment to remember their fates and the countless others who perished there.
Foto: Arje Polakovič
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