“Students were also able to walk through the one gas chamber at this camp, where fingernail marks are still clearly visible on walls.”
Students then moved to Auschwitz II (Birkenau) ‘death camp’, where they saw the iconic watch tower and railway lines, frequently seen in films and documentaries about The Holocaust. Although its several gas chambers are no longer intact after being destroyed by the Nazis who blew them up in an attempt to hide the true horrors of Auschwitz one they realised the war was lost, students were able to soberly reflect on its tragic and brutal history as they walked the 1km length of railway track to the memorial now in place for the many innocent men, women and children who died.
It is estimated that the SS and police deported at least 1.3 million people to the Auschwitz camp complex between 1940 and 1945. Of these deportees, approximately 1.1 million people were murdered there.
Miss Tappenden added: “What struck me and the students most was that this is the largest cemetery in the world, yet there is not one single grave.”
Later in the day, students were given some free time to explore and visit the famous Salt Mines to show that there is more to the history of Krakow than just the Holocaust.
On the final day of the trip, staff led students on a walking tour of Krakow, including to Kazimierz, the 'Jewish Quarter' of the city. Back in 1939 when the Nazis invaded Poland, the Jewish population of Kazimierz was 70,000. Of those, 50,000 were ‘resettled’ within the first 12 months of occupation. In 1941, when the Nazis established the Podgorze Ghetto on the other side of the river, the remaining 20,000 Jews were forced to pack up all of their belongings and cross that river into the walls of the ghetto.
Miss Tappenden said: “We made this journey ourselves, pausing to reflect on the significance of the bridge as we crossed. Almost immediately, we entered what is now named Ghetto Heroes Square, where a memorial featuring scattered chairs has been created.
“The chairs symbolise the many possessions the Jews took into the ghetto with them, many of which were thrown from buildings overlooking this square as the Nazis liquidated the ghetto between June 1942 and March 1943.
“Students were also able to see the 'Eagle Pharmacy', where Tadeusz Pankiewicz - the only non-Jewish citizen to remain within the ghetto wall - lived and worked. His first-hand accounts of what happened within the ghetto were used to help Steven Speilberg film the iconic 'Schindler's List’.
“From here we made the short walk to Oskar Schindler's enamel factory. Between this site and a further factory in Czechoslovakia, Schindler was able to save the lives of 1,100 Krakow Jews. We visited one of two remaining sections of the ghetto wall just around the corner from here and then crossed back into Kazimierz, where we stopped our tour outside Poland's oldest surviving synagogue. The Nazis used this as a warehouse during the war, causing much damage as they left. Now restored and a museum dedicated to Jewish life in Krakow, we learned here that only 2,000 of the 20,000 Jews forced into the Podgorze Ghetto survived The Holocaust.”
Students finished the trip with some free time in Krakow's Old Square before heading home.
Miss Tappenden said: “Our students were exceptionally grateful to have been given this experience. I know they were moved in so many ways, and each of them individually has taken so much from the experience, witnessing evidence from the past that is just so important.
“At Highfields, embracing diversity, promoting tolerance and challenging discrimination is at the very heart of our history curriculum. This visit offers students a wealth of opportunity to see for themselves the potentially tragic consequences of overlooking those values.”
Plans are already in place for the next visit to Berlin and Krakow in July 2021. The trip will be available to all students who are studying in Years 10-13 on that date.
