Reflective Post 2

I was incredibly excited for today. Today we explored the old Jewish areas of Warsaw and I was incredibly excited to see this section because I had not seen any of these things on my previous visit to Warsaw. We started the day in the center of the old Jewish ghetto, so called "Mushroom Square." We got off our bus and the first thing I noticed was the enormous and beautiful catholic church that dominated the square with the statue of John Paul II in front. As our tour guide regaled us with a story of a priest that saved Jewish children from the Nazis, I stood at the base and marveled at the church and the beautiful stone work on the facade. I stood there and couldn't help but find the irony that the Nazis allowed this church to be located there. If the Nazis truly wanted the jews to be isolated and dehumanized, why would they allow another faith to be located there? We then went to a synagogue, the first synagogue I had ever been in and I was taken aback at how gorgeous the inside was and how ornate everything was and how the Jewish community had rallied together to restore this synagogue after Warsaw had been leveled by the Nazis. Then, the most interesting part of the day, we visited the Jewish cemetery. As an american I expect a cemetery to be neat and pristine, however this cemetery had been allowed to fall into disrepair and there were trees overgrowing the entire area.