Page 32 - Herioter 2020

Pupils make to remember all those who lost their
lives in this horrific way. Mrs Beilby gave
eye-opening a memorable speech about how people
are still hated for being different and that
the Holocaust should be a reminder of
Auschwitz trip what hate does. This was followed by two
poems read out by pupils and candles
We arrived at the airport in the early were lit to remember those Jews who
hours of the morning and despite all being were killed. We sat in silence on the bus
half asleep, excitement was in the air. This ride back.
was the beginning of our long weekend The next day was a happier day. We went
to Poland. Once we stepped off the to the Wieliczka salt mines where we
plane into a pleasantly warmer climate, and rows of artwork hung up for sale met our comical tour guide, Sebastian.
we met our lovely guide, Alexandra, who stood out for us as it was so different The way down was not as expected. It
took us on a walking tour of Krakow, from what we know our city centre to seemed like endless amounts of stairs
showing us the parts of town where Jews be. In the afternoon, we embarked on as we couldn’t see the bottom. Once
used to thrive. We went into a couple of an hour-long journey to Auschwitz. we finally got there, we were taken on a
synagogues where we learnt more about Everyone was chatty and chipper on three-hour walk of the mines. We saw
the Jewish faith. the way there. We knew where we were salt growing like ‘cauliflower’ on the walls
going, but we didn’t want to think about and like ‘spaghetti’ from the ceiling. After
We then went to the Galicja museum
where we saw pictures showing the it. Once we arrived, we were given our
horrific pain and suffering caused by the headphones and radio, and our tour
Nazis in World War II. It was there we guide took us in. We walked through the
met Lydia, a Holocaust survivor – an infamous gate which reads ‘Arbeit macht
frei’ which translates to ‘work will set
unforgettable experience for everyone. you free’. Walking in, the atmosphere
She told us of her time in Auschwitz. She instantly shifted. Everyone was quiet. All
told us of the time she and thousands of you could here was the wind and the faint
other children were stripped away from whispering of the tourists as they stared
their mothers, how the weak were sent in disbelief. It was strange how perfect
straight to gas chambers and the strong things looked on the outside. It felt like
were forced to work long hard hours with a suburban street. All the buildings were
little to no food. She told us about how exactly the same width apart, all identical.
their arms were tattooed with a number Then we went inside. We saw the rooms
which the Nazis used to identify them. where people slept, where they were
She showed us her tattoo – something stripped before being killed, where the
which is also imprinted into our minds. It prisoners were kept, the gas chambers,
was a moment of reality. We hear about the crematoriums, all hidden in these
these stories of the concentration camps. seemingly ordinary looking buildings.
We see pictures, we watch videos, we After that we headed over to the second we travelled in mine shafts back to the
read books, but seeing the tattoo in the camp, Birkenau, or the ‘death camp’ as it top. Some would say being put into a
flesh reminded us that this happened was more commonly known. We walked tiny four-person shaft with nine people,
right here to someone right in front of us.
up the train tracks where people were shaking all the way up, with nothing to
Our last stop for that day was Schindler’s pulled off the trains. The men would have hold onto, was the scariest experience of
factory. This is where we learnt about the been taken from the women and children. their lives! Once we were up and grateful
great Oskar Schindler, a member of the The weak were sent to be killed, the for being on the ground, we spent our last
Nazi Party who saved the lives of 1,200 strong were stripped and given striped few hours on a walking tour of the old
Jews during the Holocaust by employing pyjamas and had their hair shaved off. We town visiting the castle and cathedrals.
them to work in his factories in Poland. visited the building where the children Sadly, this was our last night in Poland.
We saw all the names of the people he were kept, a building Lydia would have On Monday, we travelled back to the
saved on the wall and it reminded us of been kept in. The building was full of drizzly place that is Edinburgh. This was a
the good amongst the evil. bunk ‘beds’ like the ones in the first camp. memorable trip that taught us so much in
On our second day, we spent the morning There was writing on the walls from the such a short space of time that we would
with free time to roam around the centre children; the most common word carved recommend to all future year groups.
of the city. The niche markets and rows was ‘RIP’. We held a beautiful ceremony Rosie Mackay and Karmen Law (S5)

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