Dec 28, 2023

Florida Hillel Students Journey to Poland to Bear Witness

At a time when antisemitism rages across universities, 40 students from Hillels in Florida participated last week in a trip to Poland to learn firsthand the lessons of the Holocaust — and came away with a deep sense of self, a strengthened connection to Judaism and the courage to stand up for Jewish students on campus. Made possible with the support of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and a generous local donor, the week-long journey comprised students from seven Florida Hillels, who visited concentration camps, met with their peers at local JCCs and toured several cities to better understand the depths of their Jewish identity. “This program was more important now than ever,” said Briana Schwarz, Executive Director of UM Hillel, who chaperoned the trip. “We learned together and we cried together, but most importantly we left as a stronger community.”

The students bore witness to the atrocities of the Holocaust and observed the remnants of antisemitism at its most horrific levels. They viewed four concentration camps — Auschwitz, Birkenau, Majdanek and Treblinka — where the sites of dehumanization and murder impressed upon them the fragility of life for Jews in Europe 80 years ago. FIU student and participant Galya Hes said, "I felt emotional, heartbroken, angry and frustrated, but most importantly I felt inspired.” The trip also included stops in Warsaw, Krakow and Lublin. At Hillel Warsaw, the students were introduced to their Polish counterparts and at Hillel Krakow, their visit included a lesson on Jewish life in Poland today.

The Hillels had worked with Federation’s Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE) and the Leo Martin Miami March of the Living to provide participants with learning sessions in advance of their trip. But nothing could have prepared them for the actual journey or, as Hes called it, “the experience of a lifetime.” “Now more than ever, we have to come together, unite and be one,” Hes asserted. “I have never been more proud to be Jewish and nobody will ever take that away from me.”

Year-round through the Annual Greater Miami Jewish Federation/UJA Campaign, Federation supports Hillels on seven college campuses throughout Florida: Central Florida Hillel, Hillel at FIU, Hillel at FSU, Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach, Hillels of the Florida Suncoast, UF Hillel and UM Hillel.