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OVERVIEW
Explore the complex history of the last few centuries on a Jewish heritage tours to Poland. Before the outbreak of World War II, Poland was home to the largest Jewish population of Europe and second largest Jewish community in the world. It was the center for Jewish culture and life, but barely 11% of Poland’s Jews survived the war.
Visiting Poland for a Jewish heritage tour is an opportunity to explore its complicated post-war history and to meet the people who are trying to recover its long Jewish legacy. Visit Klezmer-Hois (The House of the Klezmer), meet with the JCC of Krakow Executive Director to learn about the current Polish Jewish community, and pay tribute to the lives lost during World War II at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
One of the most interesting places to go on Jewish Poland trips, tour the “Oneg Shabbat” archive documenting the reality of life under Nazi occupation. Poland is the site of years of Jewish history, Jewish joy, and Jewish suffering. Jewish tours to Poland are emotional, enlightening, and unforgettable. It is a trip about acknowledging a difficult past and learning about a place that was home to Jews for centuries.
Highlights*
*Some experiences are subject to minimum group size
Individual Arrivals
Transfer to the hotel for check in.
Depart for a walking tour of Warsaw.
Visit to Heroism Way, including the Umshlagplatz – a term used during the Holocaust to denote the holding areas adjacent to railway stations where Jews from ghettos were assembled for deportation to Nazi death camps – and Mila 18, the headquarters “bunker” of the Jewish resistance group in the Warsaw Ghetto.
Dinner on our own
Overnight in Warsaw
Breakfast at the hotel.
Travel north to Poland’s best-preserved 17th-century synagogues. In nearby Lopuchowo Forest, we pay tribute to the 2,000 a “Fiddler on the Roof” village, site of one of Tykocin Jews marched and murdered by Einsatzkommando in 1941, then continue to the location of the horrific Treblinka death camp, today a powerful artistic evocation of the loss of 17,000 communities destroyed by the Nazis.
Return to Warsaw for a late lunch at Beshamim, the restaurant in POLIN museum.
Privately guided tour of the new Jewish Museum (Polin) documenting 800 years of Polish Jewish history, followed by a debriefing of the Poland experience.
Return to the hotel to refresh for dinner.
Shabbat dinner with the Jewish community
Overnight in Warsaw
Breakfast is at the hotel
Visit Majdanek, a Nazi concentration and extermination camp built on the outskirts of the city of Lublin during World War II. It was among the largest concentration camps and most intact since the retreating Germans did not have time to destroy the facility.
Lunch at Hotel Ilan, once the ‘Chachamei Lublin Yeshiva.’ When the German Army seized Lublin during WWII, they stripped the interior of the Yeshiva and burned its library in the town square. An officer who witnessed the event reported that a brass band played while the books burned and the Jewish community wept.
Visit the Warsaw Zoo where Jan and Antonia Zabinski rescued hundreds of Polish Jews from the Germans by hiding them in the Warsaw Zoo. Take a private tour of the villa from the movie “The Zookeeper’s Wife.”
Return to the hotel to refresh for dinner
Overnight in Warsaw
Breakfast at the hotel.
The group departs for Lodz
Follow the Trail of Jewish Monuments and learn about the lives of Polish Jews.
See the area of Litzmannstadt ghetto and learn about the history of the Holocaust.
Visit the Jewish cemetery, the largest Jewish necropolis in Poland.
Discover the former factory that belonged to a Jewish businessman Israel Poznanski
Walk along Piotrkowska street, Poland’s longest promenade.
Visit the Museum of Modern Art
Visit to the Herbst Palace and Museum
Manufaktura
Dinner in Lodz followed by a performance at the Lodz Grand Theater
Overnight in Warsaw
Breakfast at the hotel
Check out of Warsaw and take the fast train to Krakow.
Lunch at the Klezmer-Hois (The House of the Klezmer) in the heart of the Jewish district Kazimierz. Situated in a 14th century building, once a Mikveh (ritual bathhouse), the Klezmer-Hois is a café with a unique décor and artistic atmosphere which evoke the ambience of the pre-war Jewish Kazimierz – the perfect venue to begin our Jewish Journey back in time.
Jewish Krakow walking tour to experience the perplexity of Kazimierz in Kraków, the historical Jewish district. During the tour, we may feel contradictory emotions all at once: joy at discovering the rich history, culture, and traditions of Polish Jewry; sadness and nostalgia for all that was lost; and perhaps excitement at witnessing the rebirth of Jewish life. Visit Ramah, Tempel, the Old Synagogue and end at the Ghetto Heroes Square.
Check into the hotel and refresh before dinner
Overnight in Krakow
Pay tribute to the lives lost during the atrocities of World War II on a Jewish concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau tour. See a documentary film, participate in a private guided tour of the concentration camps, and – perhaps most important – take time to commemorate the victims and bear witness with ‘we shall never forget.’
Understand the impact of Auschwitz through the sheer size, scope, and solitude of Birkenau – often referred to as Auschwitz II. Walk along the train tracks leading directly into the camp and climb the tower of the main gate for a full impression of the complex’s size. At the far end of Birkenau lie the mangled remains of the crematoria and a bleak monument where we will take a few moments to commemorate the victims – ‘we shall never forget.’
Return to Krakow for dinner on own
Overnight in Krakow
Breakfast at the hotel
Tour the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Wieliczka Salt Mine and uncover the highlights of this massive salt mining complex on a guided tour. Starting with a descent down the stairs to a depth of 64 meters, we’re led through several chambers and see underground lakes, shrines, and monuments carved from salt. Pass through numerous drifts and galleries where evidence of mining activity has been preserved. See examples of sacred art and themed compositions relating to the history of the mine and legends surrounding it. The tour ends at a level that’s 135 meters below the surface. Return to the surface by elevator.
Explore the “Podgórze ” district which was the Jewish ghetto from 1941 to 1943. Visit the famous “Eagle Pharmacy” which now houses the museum that tells of the tragic story of the Kraków ghetto.
Visit Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory – the place where more than 1,200 Jews in Krakow were saved thanks to the efforts of one man.
Refresh back at the hotel before dinner
Overnight in Krakow
Breakfast at the hotel
Visit some of historic Krakow’s main attractions. Start at Rynek, the central market square of the Old Town and visit its underground Dungeon Market to walk at the same level as the cobbled roads of 12-13th century Krakow.
Explore the residence of Polish Kings at the Royal Wawel Castle. See its collections of art, lavish fabrics, military items, and priceless furniture up close. Marvel at the famous tapestries of Zygmunt August and Renaissance paintings from the Lanckoronski collection in the Royal chambers.
Grab a quick bite before the departure for the airport for our flight departing at 4:35pm.
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