Trip to Jerusalem

All of us have been waiting for that day. Yesterday we went to Jerusalem. There are so many words to depict what a great influence it had on us.

It was a suuny yet windy October day. Together with our Israeli friends we arrived to Jerusalem - a city of Christians, Jews and Muslims. We started with visiting Yad Vashem - The Holocaust History Museum. The main goal of Yad Vashem's founders is to find all those brave people who without any hesitation and at personal risk chose to save Jews during the Holocaust and for those who were murdered. There were two places which astonished us the most.

The first was Hall of Names - a room containing Pages of Testimony commemorating millions of Jews who were slaughtered and the second was Children's Memorial - a unique memorial which is a tribute to the approximately 1.5 million Jewish children who were murdered. Memorial candles are reflected in a dark and gloomy space, creating the impression of millions of stars shining. The names of murdered children, their ages and countries of origin are heard in the background.

After the emotional part of the trip we visited 2 markets Jehuda Camp Market and Mamila Street - highlights of Jerusalem. The places are filled with various products and souvenirs which you can purchase but remember - you must always bargain!

It was a special day for all of us. While talking about the Holocaust we should all remember Elie Wiesel (Romanian-American Jewish writer, teacher, political activist, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and Holocaust survivor) words:

'To forget a holocaust is to kill twice'

Beata Jaranowska