WJU Students and Classrooms without Borders: Majdanek

 The following post was written by Marque Marry, class of '15.

The Monument at Majdanek

   The acts implemented by the Nazi SS in the creation of both concentration and death camps caused the degradation, humiliation, and deaths of millions of innocent people. Throughout the years of the Holocaust, the Germans attempted to turn individuals into numbers, shipping them off to camps never to be seen or heard from again, except for their ashes rising to the heavens or their screams heard bellowing from the gas chambers. One camp in particular saw the needless deaths of 18,400 in one day: Majdanek.
This first concentration and later extermination camp located in Lublin was a site for the intended destruction of a population by the Nazis. Unlike Treblinka, this camp was not hidden away from

Majdanek

the eyes of bystanders; rather it was present for everyone to witness the true evil of mankind. While at this camp, however, I witnessed several events that proved  the Nazis were in fact unsuccessful in their aims at the complete and total destruction of a peoples' mind, body, and spirit and erasing them from history completely.

WJU Students and Classrooms without Borders: Lublin

Our third installment was written by Jason Totty, class of '14.

Old Town Lublin

  On the second leg of the Classrooms without Border’s Holocaust study seminar, the group visited Lublin, Poland's ninth largest city. Lublin possessed the city center of a traditional medieval city, as evidenced by the two city gates that surrounded the square. The age of this city was evidenced in its Baroque architecture. Unlike most cities, which suffered heavily at the hands of Blitzkrieg and the subsequent Nazi occupation, the old town of Lublin remained relatively unscathed. The medieval flare and its unique Holocaust history made for a worthwhile experience and attraction.

WJU Students and Classrooms without Borders: Treblinka

Map of Treblinka Camp

Our second post on WJU's trip to Poland with Classroom without Borders is writtem by Si Gammache, class of '15.

Situated in a remote location, Treblinka, part of Operation Reinhard, oversaw the deaths of some 870,000 to 925,000 European Jews between its opening in November 1941 (July 1942 for the death camp) and its closure in July 1944. The camp was staffed by 25-30 German SS officers and 90-150 auxiliary guards, who were mostly former Soviet POWs or Ukrainian and Polish civilians. The prisoners came primarily from the Warsaw ghetto (265,000), the Radom District (346,000), and the Bialystock District (110,000). After the task of killing of these Jews and those from other areas was completed, the Nazis dismantled the camp before the advance of the Soviet Army, who were pushing their way westward, reached it.

WJU Students and Classrooms without Borders: Warsaw

Over the next few days, we will be taking a break from our series on Berlin and posting some observations from our trip to Poland with Classrooms without Borders. Our first stop on the trip was Warsaw and here we examined pre-war Jewish life before examining the fate of the city's Jews under Nazi rule. This segment of the study seminar ended in Treblinka, the Nazi death camp that murdered the overwhelming majority of the city's Jews. The following post was written by Jake Zirkle, class of '14.

The contrasting architecture of Warsaw

When we arrived at our hotel in Warsaw, we were greeted by a section of the city that consisted of sparkling modern buildings and drab post-war architecture. On our second night in Warsaw, we decided to go to a sports bar and watch the United States play Belgium in the World Cup. With fans of both countries in attendance, we had a great time watching the game. Once the game was over, we enjoyed conversation with some of the Polish and Belgian football fans who were happy to speak with us.

As it turns out, this beautiful section of the city that we were having a great time exploring was actually, at one time, the Warsaw Ghetto. It was unbelievable that the area we were having such a fantastic time in was once an area of tremendous suffering.

WJU Students, Berlin, & its History: An Appraisal, Part IV

Soviet Memorial in Tiergarten

Our fourth installment in our students' look at Berlin and its presentation of German history is written by Emily Teachout, class of '14.


While in Germany, I noticed that the Germans seem to face their past head on. There is no denial of any events from the past, especially of Germany’s participation in World War II. Even though it would obviously be hard for Germany to deny anything that happened during World War II, they certainly did not ignore it or make their actions more opaque. I felt like this was the most discussed part of Berlin’s history. At numerous museums were Nazi uniforms, pictures, and propaganda posters.