Emotional journey (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Emotional journey

12:10pm Wednesday 8th June 2005

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Francine Miller visits Poland, the land of her ancestors, where so many met a tragic end under German occupation in World War Two.

WHEN I decided to embark upon a trip to Poland, I was caught between a myriad of different emotions. On the one hand, the country conjured up images of what had at one time been a beloved heimland to a bustling community of millions of Yiddish-speaking Jews, my ancestors among them. On the other, it instilled in me an overwhelming sense of loss the ravages of war and Nazi persecution had dissolved the country into a mere skeleton of what it once was.

I felt it was a necessary pilgrimage, particularly in the 60 years since the liberation of Auschwitz and the surrender of Germany to Allied forces, which was commemorated at the beginning of May, 2005.

The first stop on my itinerary of Jewish Poland was Warsaw, birthplace of my great-grandparents. Unlike other capital cities in Europe, there are no aesthetic glories, a legacy of Communist rule.

But unlike many other cities in Poland, which were virtually decimated during the war years, Warsaw has risen from the ashes and now boasts a modern business centre and a vibrant city life. And, although in a much smaller number, Warsaw still has a semblance of Jewish life.

I first visited the Nozyk Synagogue, the only surviving synagogue from the Warsaw ghetto. It was renovated in 1983 after being plundered during the war.

The majestic Great Synagogue, which once held up to three thousand people, was destroyed by the Nazis and has now, somewhat insensitively, been replaced by a towering skyscraper.

However, the neighbouring Jewish Historical Institute has an extensive exhibition detailing Jewish life in the city before and during the war.

Also worth visiting is the Ghetto Hero Monument, dedicated to those who resisted the Nazi occupation, as well as the memorials at Mila 18, a former resistance bunker and the Umschlagsplatz, or deportation point, from where an estimated 300,000 Jews were taken to the death camps.

The final day of my trip was dedicated to visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, where it is believed between one and a half and two million people died, about 90 per cent of whom were Jews, together with Gypsies, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, and others persecuted by the Nazis.

Little can prepare visitors for what will prove an emotionally harrowing experience. Entering through the wrought iron gates, I noted the cynical inscription, "Arbeit Macht Frei", or "work makes one free" before looking at the vast array of camp buildings, barracks, barbed-wired fences and watchtowers and, finally, gas chambers and crematoria.

Upon entering the barracks, you see rooms filled with the possessions of murdered inmates clothes, suitcases, toothbrushes, glasses, cooking pots, shoes and perhaps, most harrowing of all, 70 tonnes of women's hair.

Further on, Block 11 stands as testimony to the first Zyklon B gas experiments carried out on Soviet POWs.

Other barracks serve as memorials to various ethnic groups and nationalities persecuted by the Nazis.

A few kilometres away lies the Birkenau camp which, although less visited than Auschwitz, remains as the site where the majority of captives were murdered.

At its height, the camp was responsible for the gassing and cremation of 60,000 people a day. The original rail tracks, ramp and sidings are intact, while the huge gas chambers at the far end of the camp are damaged, but not destroyed.

The atmosphere at Birkenau almost defies description. Eerie is perhaps the best word, if only for the notable lack of wildlife and unnatural silence filling the complex.

Added to that, I was somewhat taken aback when I noticed an unusual texture to the soil covering the vast fields of the camp only to then discover it was thickly laden with the dusty grey remains of human ash.

I sought some solace at the far northern corner of the camp, where an international memorial offers visitors a place for quiet reflection.

My visit to Auschwitz impressed all the more upon me the devestation wrought upon Polish Jewish life by the Holocaust.

But 60 years on, while Jewish culture has virtually gone, it is by no means forgotten, as evidenced at my final stop, the nearby western city of Krakow.

The ancient capital and royal residence of Poland, Krakow once boasted a large Jewish community, particularly around the old ghetto area of Kazimierz. Walking around the streets of the district, I came across buildings sprinkled with hebrew and yiddish inscriptions, tiny synagogues such as the Remu'h Synagogue, which still functions, a ruined theatre, orphanages and old pharmacies.

There was something unsettling about seeing the remains of a culture that once flourished here, but at the same time comforting that the Jewish life that once existed has not been completely confined to a distant history.

Getting there

Direct flights from London airports are available to Warsaw and Krakow. Visit www.easyjet.com and www.british-airways.co.uk

Where to stay

Most accommodation is reasonably priced, irrelevant of standard.

Radisson SAS Centrum Hotel Warsaw, rating: five stars.

Westin Warsaw Hotel, rating: five stars.

Hostel Ester, Krakow, rating: three stars.

Getting around

Taxis are plentiful and ensure a safer mode of transport for visitors. Travellers can also use buses and trains but should be aware that pickpocketing is common.

Must do

Visit Lodz, Poland's second city and once home to a burgeoning Jewish community, as well as the south-eastern city of Lublin for a greater understanding of Polish-Jewish heritage.

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