Aushwitz-Birkineau July 29

A very hot day , over 100 F, and we began at 8 am and it ended after 10 pm.  Again I will be posting out of order.  I apologize for this but will try to edit this blog later on adding more information.
My friend, Media director, Pawel Sawicki- surprised me by being our actual guide for the day. Maude Dahme arranged it and l did not know.. Pawel and I met several years ago at the JFR fellowship. I am so fortunate to have him as a friend who has skyped with my classes, and now has inspired 22 teachers. He took us to places, which is off limits to the public such as the actual, not renovated building Block 10 where women were unfortunately subjected to horrific experiments. The dissection table stands where it was along with actual drawings on the walls by the women who died there.
He also took us the the private garden of commandant Hoss in the back of te home he occupied

outside the camp gates.  Pawel explained so much to us and did it from an educators point of view to other educators, He said that the three most important things teachers much remember is that the point of education  is to "remembrance, awareness, and RESPONSIBILITY.
In the 100 degree heat, and in the open pounding sun we all learned so much today and became even more inspired by Pawel's passion in this continuing quest of education.  His last project is a book ( which many of us purchased) where he had painstakingly used the photos of the "Auschwitz album" and found the actual locations of the photos, his book "The Place Where You Are Standing" and juxtaposed the original next to the spot as it looks today.

After we left the camps after 7 hours, we went changed the mood by visiting the home town of Pope John Paul the II.  A very quiet hamlet that has become a famous town Wadowic.
We ended the evening with dinner and several guests of Maud who discussed their experiences in teaching Holocaust to students.