Warsaw - July 10, 2010

Candle Memorial to Polish President Lech Kaczynski

"lody" means ice cream in Polish

Old Town - Warsaw, Poland

Presidential Palace - Warsaw, Poland

The last time that I was in Poland was in the summer of 1996, accompanied by my two sons, David and Jason, who at the time were teenagers, my father-in-law Myron and my father, Louis. We had gone to Poland to return to the small town that my father was born and grew up in before WWII. During the war, he was in hiding and was the only one of his family to survive. It was an incredibly emotional and moving trip for me. This time, I am returning to Poland for two reasons: 1) I am on a tour of Jewish Poland with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum - - a very in-depth study of the history of Jews in Poland before the war and 2) a personal mission to connect with two Polish Catholic families who were responsible for hiding my father during the war and, as such, saving his life. I am hoping to place their names in Yad Vashem in Israel as "Righteous Gentiles" -- those non-Jews who risked their lives for saving Jews during WWII I knew that it would be a difficult, emotional trip but it was something that my heart told me I had to pursue.
Flying into Warsaw and seeing it from the sky, it was hard to imagine the horrible scenes that took place here several decades ago. From my seat in the plane, the skies were blue, the land was green and lush. How could such evil have existed here?
I was met by our greeter from the museum and we began a half hour car ride to our hotel, the Sheraton Warsaw. After checking in, I went upstairs to meet my fellow tour members. Everyone had a different reason for attending the Mission to Poland and it was interesting to hear how varied those reasons were. Many people had relatives who had lost their lives during WWII and others were curious about the plight of Jews during the war. After a brief lunch, we took a short bus ride to the center of Warsaw. Just a few weeks before, the President of Poland, his wife, and many government dignitaries had lost their lives in a plane crash in Russia, and our first stop was to the Presidential Palace where a large memorial to the victims had been erected . Flowers and candles were everywhere and clearly the people of Poland were mourning their loss. As we continued our walk, we were soon in the Old Town. Typical of European old towns, the cobblestone streets, colorful buildings and quaint ambiance were a throwback to previous times. Restaurants, horse drawn carriages, people strolling on a beautiful day made the scene quite idyllic. After seeing the word "lody" at many ice cream shops, I realized that "lody" meant ice cream. As a child, my mother used the Polish word "Lalka" meaning doll. As we passed by a shop selling dolls, I realized that the store name was, in fact, "Lalka". Our tour led us to the former home of Mme. Curie. She was born in Warsaw and lived there until her twenties. Her full name was Marie Sklodowska Curie.
Our tour ended at a lovely, typically Polish restaurant in the area, called "AleGloria" where we were treated to a wonderful Polish meal. This was the beginning to a full week of sights and sounds -- some of which would be difficult to bear.