We all have seen many movies/documentaries and read books on this black spot of modern history, but going there and looking at those actual places puts things in a completely different perspective. You are moved and somehow feel the entire humanity to be collectively responsible for this.

There were some last minute changes in our plans and we had few days to spare. Since we were at Bratislava, we decided to visit Poland. There is a fair bit to see at both Krakow and Warsaw. We decided to keep the medieval tour for Krakow and the Jewish history for Warsaw. It ended up to be a wise decision. All medieval buildings of Warsaw were completely destroyed during the war and what you will see there is reconstructed work.

The attack on Warsaw marked the beginning of world war II in the year 1939. The main motive for the attack was the large Jewish population staying there. This was the second largest Jewish settlement after New York. And the Jewish history in Warsaw goes long back. The king of Poland Casimir the great who ruled around 14^th century was the one who welcomed Jews with open arms. Anti-Semitism was not something that Hitler started, but it was prevalent for ages in Europe. In England Jews were accused of Bloodlivel. Which meant that they were stealing Christian children for black magic. There were many other false propaganda that was spread against them which forced this race to see multiple Exodus throughout the history. But Casimir had built big cities and he needed smart people to flourish them. He gave the Jews charter for worship, space within the city center to stay and they had all the basic freedom that is required to lead a decent human life. They created the language Edish which is a mix of German and Hebrew. It was one of the biggest languages in Medieval Poland.

Now we will see how this smart race, which was a big part of the Medieval population, vanished into near oblivion here by looking at the different traces that is left in the city.

Things to do:

• Old Town: The old town used to have nearly 150 Jews in the Medieval times. The king was tolerant and they were given the freedom to build houses at the heart of the city. But the Catholics did not share the same view. They lobbied and put some restrictions on what profession they can follow. They were not allowed to take up any traditional jobs like craftsmanship. So they chose to become merchants, doctors etc. They earned good money and became rich compared to the other Polish population. So now the natives had neighbours who looked different, worshipped different, came from outside and to top it all they made more money as well. This jealousy fuelled their hate and Anti-Semitism grew in the heart of Warsaw. The first legal push of Jews from old town happened in 1527 and an official document was released for it.

• Krasinski Palace: It was one of the most beautiful residences in Europe. Krasinski was a very wealthy aristocrat. Many others like him migrated to this city 400 years back when the capital was moved from Krakow to Warsaw. To influence the king and to lobby for their interests, many such people moved to this neighbourhood. These rich people wanted big homes with huge gardens. There was not much space within the old town so they started building these palaces right outside of it. They also built some houses near the boundary of their palaces to rent out. Most of it was occupied by the Jews who were evicted from the old town. The Jews settled there and the local population complained to Krasinski that there are Jewish workshops next to the boundary of his home. He made it clear that this place was outside of the then boundary of Warsaw. Hence their laws were not applicable. The Jews also proved to be very efficient managers and doctors for the aristocrats. The restriction on Jews got lifted in 1850 and they could live anywhere. Warsaw was the paradise for Jews compared to what was happening in their western neighbours. The hatred that existed here at that time was purely for economic reasons.

• Pre-War Jewish District: This Noriski street is right outside the gardens of Krasinski palace. Our tour guide showed us some photographs of what the busy street looked with its occupants. This also became the center of the ghetto during Nazi occupation. It was completely destroyed in the war. The handful of surviving Jews could not recognise anything when they came back after the war.

• The Ghetto: There are some walls of the ghetto boundary that are still standing. The Nazis spread the same propaganda that was used in medieval times. They told that the Jews spread diseases and they have to contain them inside the walls. They also spread anti-semitism among the polish people by holding the Jews responsible for the death of Jesus. And to the Jews they told that it is for their own safety from the growing Anti-Semitism among the Polish population. There were 400 thousand people inside the ghetto. In winters the water pipes froze and there was nothing to flush the toilets. It spread a lot of diseases. The able bodied people were allowed a ration of 200 calories a day (a standard adult diet is 10 times of that one).  The initial plan of Hitler was to concentrate Jews into a small confined space and let them die naturally. After few months 100K people died but it was not a high number for Hitler.

• Concentration Camp departure points: Since the original plan of Hitler of starving Jews to death did not work out, the Nazis came up with what they call as the “Final Solution”. Extermination camps were built at several places to kill people by the use of gas. There were trains leaving from this place full of Jews with proper schedules. We also saw the original time table which had mentioned “return empty”. The destination from here was Treblinka extermination camp. Some of the original buildings from that time are still standing. These buildings of education were converted into waiting halls for the Jews before the departure. On 22^nd July 1942 the first train left the ghetto. It ran for two months and finally only 50,000 Jews were left here whom Nazis had selected to work in the factories and were supposed to be killed later. They were made to work 18 hours a day. The Nazis increased the frequency of train from once a day to twice a day just because of competition with other camps. The Jews were falsely promised that they were being moved to labor camps and were lured by extra food. Some people escaped and came to the ghetto to tell that they are in fact being sent to death camps. They also noticed that no food is going with these trains. This sparked the armed resistance movement which concluded at Mila 18. Treblinka camp was shut down in 1943. Nazis planted bushes over there and when the Russian forces arrived, this area looked like a young forest

• Mila 18: This building inside the ghetto is the place used for the novel by the same name written by Leon Uris. The reports of the extermination camps sparked a lot of anger within the Jews and they knew that they have to put up the last fight. The 50,000 people who were staying in the ghetto got a total of 1000 revolvers with 8 bullets each and started fighting. They knew they will never win but they did not give up. The fighters knew the ghetto very well and they further connected them with tunnels. The Nazis went inside to fight them but they came back defeated. So they changed the strategy and systematically started burning the houses. They dog trained dogs to smell for human beings and then poisonous gas was released followed by a total destruction of the house. Mila 18 was the place where they put up the last fight. Their bodies are still under the debris and they have built a memorial on top of it. This was the first armed resistance against the Nazis and this Mila 18 is one of the most sacred places for the Jews.

• Monument to the Ghetto Heroes: This is another monument built for these Ghetto heroes. Built in 1948, this is probably one of the oldest structures of Warsaw. When the German chancellor visited Poland in 1970, there was still anger among the Polish population for the Germans. The chancellor Willy Brandt visited this monument and he automatically bowed down to the heroes and remained in that position for some time. This changed the perception of the people and they started changing their hostile nature against the Germans. There is also a Plaque in Warsaw commemorating this gesture.

• Museum of the History of Polish Jews: This is right opposite to the Ghetto Heroes monument and is made of glass. There used to be a Polish military prison here from 17^th century. This building was not destroyed as the Nazis used it as a concentration camp. The Jews who escaped the ghetto were kept here. Jews from Hungary and Greece were also brought here.  It was liberated by the Polish home army during the second uprising. After Russian occupation it was used as a war prison. This is also a great place to learn about the thousand year old history of Jews in Poland.  

• Memorial for Anti-Nazi uprising: There were two uprisings that happened in Warsaw. First one in 1943 and second in 1944. No Jews took part in the second one as 99% of them were already dead. The home army of Poland did not allow the remaining 1% Jews to join ranks with them. So the Jews joined hands with the communist army in the fight. The Nazi army won and 90% of the old town was destroyed. Two hundred thousand people died and 95% were civilians.

We took this tour from Orange Umbrella. Our guide Gawel was an expert in history. His narration was excellent and he was able to put entire story into one flow. We will highly recommend him.

Quick tips:

• It was very hot even for Poland. Carry an umbrella and lot of water.
• The tour might be a bit disturbing so be mentally prepared for it. For us this much was heavy so we did not go to the extermination camp visit of Aushwitz.
• Plan your days carefully between Krakow and Warsaw depending on what you would like to learn.