While the following content should be seen as somber and upsetting, it is also valuable that everyone takes the time to educate themselves on the horrors of the past so that history may not repeat some of its darkest days.
One of the reasons I chose to go on this specific program was the day-trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the death camp that was the site of the deaths of well over a million people. As a Jewish student, I do not only believe that people of Jewish faith should go and walk these grounds and hear the history of them, but everyone should. The slaughter that occurred on this level is truly horrific, and I believe that it is essential, even though it may be upsetting, to learn about what occurred where it happened.
One of the many things this tour taught me was that a classroom can’t do some things justice. Growing up I have learned about the Holocaust, or the Shoah as it is also known, in Hebrew school, middle school, high school, college, and on my trip to Israel last summer. Nothing though can match the learning experience of actually visiting where a lot of it happened. Hearing words spoken and pictures shown on the board in a classroom can’t convey the atrocities that happened during World War II. I think forcing oneself to face something so upsetting is truly the most effective tool for learning, as if one can come as close as possible to grasping the gravity of what happened, he or she will become more likely to recognize injustice as it exists in the world. Not only injustice, but the atrocities that can only occur when the world turns a blind eye, or when those in power take advantage of it.
Walking around Auschwitz and Auschwitz-II/Birkenau for roughly 4 to 5 hours on a guided tour, led by a researcher at the Auschwitz museum, was an experience I’ll always be grateful to Pitt’s study abroad program for. While it certainly wasn’t a happy experience, I will always appreciate this tour for the emotional impact it had, and I believe that will resonate with me for the rest of my life. The chilling feeling as I looked through the pages of the victims names, including the times of arrival and death, that were in the part of the museum designed by Yad Vashem will always stick with me. Once we had the chance to look through these pages, I went to the later pages and saw at least 30 pages of “Rosen” or names like “Rosenberg” and “Rosenwasserman,” which almost moved me to tears. Seeing the names that were the same or so similar to mine go on and on for pages was maybe the one of the scariest parts. This was done to my people, and the fact that it could be done to any group of people in general was terrifying. It grounded me to where I was walking and that if I had been born in an earlier time and different place, I could’ve been in the camp myself.
Coming away from this experience, I oddly feel a sense of pride. Not a personal sense of pride, but rather one that comes along with being a member of one of the main groups to go through such a tragedy and survive. It makes me proud of my heritage.
I would like to generalize why I think others should be aware of this experience, and why they should make an effort to study abroad. My trip, a trip that focused on the economics of central Europe, was able to bring such an emotional impact to my life, even if it was a more somber one. While the emotional experiences may not always be happy, you will never know what significance you can discover on study abroad. For that, I encourage people to pursue these programs, as they provide a level of learning that can never be attained by sitting in a classroom.
