Our third stop of the day was the Taube Center for Jewish Life, the “home base” for our tour guides. This building is situated next door to the Jewish Historical Institute and is also located in the exact spot where the Great Synagogue of Warsaw once stood! We are here to watch a short film about the Warsaw Ghetto, featuring items collected by Jews living in the ghetto during the Nazi period. These are people who realized that the history of the ghetto needed to be told, especially because the erasure of Jewish history and memory was so central to Nazi ideology. They collected any historical artifacts they could find to help future Jewish generations and historians trying to piece together this dark time in history. And they did this in the midst of untold hardship. We learned from the film that a loaf of bread in the ghetto cost the equivalent of $60; families spent their life savings from 1940-1943 just trying to stay alive. It’s incredible — their lives and work are so, so inspiring. Equally inspiring, to me, is being able to see all these places alongside these 36 fantastic Weber students.
ABIPE 2024: Post 2
Our first stop of the morning is at the POLIN museum of Polish-Jewish history, and it’s here that I want to pause and recognize how lucky we are to have Dr. Rachel Rothstein as our trip leader. Rachel was actually a part of the creation of this museum when she was studying in Poland on a Fulbright scholarship in 2011-2012. She was a key part of the decision making process in how the story of Polish Jewry is conveyed - and her expertise was important, because she helped the museum’s creators see where they’d need to edit and shape the museum’s galleries so they make sense to a diverse set of visitors, including American Jews. I will also add how impressed I am with the students’ interest and attentiveness during our time here. They were spectacular! There will be more to say about the exceptionally thoughtful way that Dr. Rothstein has developed the history curriculum at Weber to lead up to this capstone 12th grade educational experience, but for now, let me just tip my hat to our resident scholar and educator. We are so lucky to be here with her!
The great thing about the POLIN museum is its self-directed quality. We each were given headphones to give us an overview of each gallery (there are 8 galleries total, arranged in chronological order, with directions on the floor showing us how to walk so we keep the history in proper order). Poland has been a global center for world Jewry for over 1000 years! In each gallery, there were so many incredible avenues to explore. The kids told me they felt very proud, as Jews, to be here.
Our afternoon activity was a detailed walking tour of the Warsaw ghetto area, right outside the museum. Everywhere you turn, there are memorials to leaders from that period. And we heard so many moving stories about leaders from that time: teachers, leaders of orphanages, Yiddish poets, and many others. When we came up on one of the only original remaining parts of the ghetto, the brick wall surrounding the area, many of our students came up to the bricks to touch them, and it was very moving to see. Last year, in spring of 11th grade, every junior watched the movie, The Pianist, which depicts life in the Warsaw ghetto during the Nazi era. Dr. Rothstein stopped and told us whenever we were passing specific scenes from the film. Of course, this is not an accidental alignment: she thought very carefully about how to structure 11th grade history, so the students would know what they are seeing, and appreciate the place’s importance.
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The great thing about the POLIN museum is its self-directed quality. We each were given headphones to give us an overview of each gallery (there are 8 galleries total, arranged in chronological order, with directions on the floor showing us how to walk so we keep the history in proper order). Poland has been a global center for world Jewry for over 1000 years! In each gallery, there were so many incredible avenues to explore. The kids told me they felt very proud, as Jews, to be here.
Our afternoon activity was a detailed walking tour of the Warsaw ghetto area, right outside the museum. Everywhere you turn, there are memorials to leaders from that period. And we heard so many moving stories about leaders from that time: teachers, leaders of orphanages, Yiddish poets, and many others. When we came up on one of the only original remaining parts of the ghetto, the brick wall surrounding the area, many of our students came up to the bricks to touch them, and it was very moving to see. Last year, in spring of 11th grade, every junior watched the movie, The Pianist, which depicts life in the Warsaw ghetto during the Nazi era. Dr. Rothstein stopped and told us whenever we were passing specific scenes from the film. Of course, this is not an accidental alignment: she thought very carefully about how to structure 11th grade history, so the students would know what they are seeing, and appreciate the place’s importance.
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The Weber School
The Weber School, a Jewish Community high school serving students from all Jewish backgrounds, prepares students for success in college and in life with comprehensive academic and co-curricular programs that inspire student exploration, leadership, and Jewish social consciousness. Many of our programs and academies are unique to Weber and can't be found at any other Atlanta-area high schools.
The Felicia Penzell Weber Jewish Community High School admits students of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin.
The Felicia Penzell Weber Jewish Community High School admits students of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin.
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