I
am definitely becoming more appreciative of the opportunities provided through
Erasmus. As we had some time off university and school due to national
holidays, Anna and I decided to make the most of it and started our adventure
in Krakow. I found Krakow to be quite similar to Poznan, albeit on a larger
scale and it was also a lot more touristy, something which was noticeable from
the moment we arrived. Our first day consisted of exploring the local area and
we got a private tour on a golf buggy around the Jewish Quarters and the Ghetto,
which was extremely interesting. |
| Memorial in the Ghetto |
Upon
deciding to come to Poland, I knew Auschwitz was somewhere I had to visit.
While this doesn’t fit into the idea of a ‘fun holiday’ I felt it was important
that we visit somewhere which is such an important part of recent history,
particularly for the country we have been living in for the past three months,
helping me to gain a better understanding of the history of Poland. Death camps
such as Auschwitz are something which I have always struggled to fully
comprehend and so the visits helped with this in some way, although I still
can’t quite get my head around what happened there. Being in the concentration
camps – Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II–Birkenau – and recognising
places from famous photos and movies was quite surreal and chilling. One part
which I found particularly disturbing was the section of ‘Standing Chambers’ in
which victims were forced to spend the entire night standing alongside three
other prisoners before being sent back out to work the next day. Often this
could continue for twenty nights. Our Polish tour guide was unsurprisingly
bitter about many of the stories she told us and helped me to understand why
the Polish nation is now such a proud and patriotic one. She gave us examples
of scenarios to help us understand how the Holocaust actually came about. One
example centred on explaining how people ended up in Auschwitz. She had us
think about our own countries being in economic trouble, with high rates of
unemployment. It was relatively easy to understand how ‘foreigners’ could become
targets to blame for the shortage of jobs and allow people an easy group to
direct their anger at, similar to what the Nazis did. While in no way does this
explain or justify the horrors of concentration or death camps, it helped me to
understand how many of these people ended up with no other place to go.
 |
| Auschwitz II–Birkenau |
This led me to think again about immigrants
living in Northern Ireland. It is no secret that these people are so often
treated badly. Smith (2009:45) notes that, ‘Over half of all migrant workers in
Northern Ireland reported having experienced some form of racism or racial
abuse. The PSNI recorded an increase in racial attacks from 643 in 3004-2005 to
746 in 2005-2006.’ These figures are
rather shocking and so it is unsurprising that Belfast was given the
unfortunate title of the ‘Race Hate Capital of Europe’ (Chrisafis, 2004). From my time on Erasmus and through travelling, I am
developing further understanding of the need to have tolerance and respect for
people from different communities and cultures, and the benefits that this can
bring.
References:
Chrisafis, A. (2004) Racist
war of the loyalist street gangs, Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2004/jan/10/northernireland.race
(Accessed on 29th April 2012)
Smith, M. (2009) Transnational
Ties: Cities, Migrations and Identities, New Jersey: Transaction
Publishers.
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