JCC Teens Embrace the Past on the March Of The Living

Warsaw, Poland:

The Warsaw cemetery was a site of mixed feelings for me.  Being the largest Jewish cemetery in Poland, it automatically carries an incomparable history.  

Interestingly enough, the cemetery did not cause me to feel the sadness I had anticipated.  I found the atmosphere to be peaceful. 

What did get to me though were the countless lives and stories within the cemetery.  Maybe they went to school, had a job, or cared for a family.  Maybe they worked hard to earn a living. Maybe they lived through or during the Holocaust. If the cemetery could talk, what would it have said? How many empowering and fascinating stories would it have been able to share with us?

We were given time to help clean the cemetery grounds.  We raked leaves and pulled weeds. I asked one of my friends on the trip if they too did not feel that anticipated sadness. The response that they gave is one that I won't soon forget, "cemeteries are not here to remind us that all of these people are dead, but to remind us that at one point, they were alive."

– Caitlin

To read more from Caitlin and the other teens, visit www.jcc.org/motlblog