We arrived in Krakow on the evening of Saturday 27th October. We were greeted with a beautiful view of the city at 
night and, after arrival at our hotel and our first Polish meal, we set off to enjoy an evening of bowling in the city’s main entertainment centre-Galeria Kazimierz.
Well rested and wanting to explore the city we had admired the previous night, the group woke bright and early on Sunday only to find, when opening the curtains, that Krakow had been enveloped in snow during the night. It was a positively magical sight and only served to increase the group’s excitement of the day ahead.
We enjoyed a guided tour of Krakow Old Town in the snow including sights such as Europe’s largest market square, Wawel castle, St Mary’s Basilica Church, the previous residence of Pope John Paul II and the Jewish district of Kazimierz- home to a substantial Jewish community from the 14th century until the Holocaust and the filming of Schindler’s List.
After this tour we arrived at the Galicia Jewish Museum and after a guide through various interpretations, expressed through artwork, of the Jewish lifestyle prior, during and after the Holocaust, we met a Holocaust survivor who had spent almost a year in a concentration camp as a young boy of around fifteen.
He told us of the atrocities and injustice he experienced whilst in the camp as he handed around documents and drawings of the sights he saw there.
The most memorable part of his speech, for many of us, was his end comment about the importance of education, smiling and living our lives to their full extent which really made us think about the wide range of opportunities available to us in our own lives. Maintaining our look into Semitic culture, we had our evening meal at a traditional Jewish restaurant with a live band, which was an evening greatly enjoyed by all.
On Sunday morning we arrived at Auschwitz, just as the snow was beginning to fall again. We were split into two groups, each with our own informative tour guide.
The tour began at the infamous Auschwitz gateway that read “Arbeit Macht Frei” meaning “Work Will Set Us Free” and continued into various buildings, all holding their own, unique memories of the Holocaust. Perhaps the most poignant of these, for many of us, were the rooms filled with the human hair of victims and the clothes of small children who lost their lives in the Holocaust.
We then entered the gas chamber and crematorium which, of course, was a harrowing experience for us all. We later travelled 3km to Auschwitz Birkenhau, which, despite the destruction of much of the infrastructure by Nazi officials, still covers an immensely vast area.
Here, we spent the remainder of the Time viewing the ruins of gas chambers, barracks and the notorious train track used to transport victims.
It was particularly moving witnessing the memorial sites at the concentration camp and taking the time to remember all those who lost their lives during this terrible period.
Not only did this experience resonate, but also allowed us to fully understand the importance of love for humanity, despite race, religion or political views.
The trip was immensely enjoyable, interesting and educational for all. It allowed us to visualise and consolidate our studies into the subject and see further into the pensive events of the Holocaust. It was undoubtedly a moving and inspiring experience that we will remember for a very long time.