The 2005 Albion group poses before the World War I monument in
the "new" Jewish cemetery in Wroclaw.

Jaime, Kayla, and Nic enjoy their tour of Krakow in 2005.

Albion College's Holocaust Studies Program Service-Learning Project in Poland will take place from May 12 to May 20, 2007. The students and four faculty and staff members will spend nine days in Poland working, learning, and visiting sites related to the Holocaust and Polish Jewry.

The group will spend four days in Wroclaw, mostly doing hard physical work restoring a Jewish cemetery with a group of students and faculty from Alma College. In the evening, the group will meet to discuss readings and their experiences.

The group will travel to Krakow, where they will visit Kazimierz, the city's historic Jewish quarter. The group will visit Oskar Schindler’s former factory at 4 Lipowa Street, where in 2001 Albion College students dedicated a large historical plaque which adorns the building. Visits to other historically and culturally important Jewish sites in Krakow are planned, as well. Finally, the group will make an excursion to nearby Auschwitz-Birkenau. There will be some free time for independent exploration.

During the spring semester students going on the trip met for a mandatory 1/2 unit proseminar that covered the history of Poland, the Holocaust, Jews in Poland both before and after World War II, and the transformation of Poland since the fall of communism.

Participants in the 2007 Poland trip are:

Faculty/Staff

Morris Arvoy, Communications
Daniel McQuown, Chaplain
Jocelyn McWhirter, Religious Studies
Mark Walter, Psychology
Larry Lloyd, Alumni office

Students

Matthew Baciak (native speaker)
Stephanie Brabant
Ryan Burtka
Kristin Butler
Kristin Doty
Brenda Errichiello
Sara Fifield
Rachel Freedman-Doan
Stephanie Hajek
Lillian Hergott
Danielle Joseph
Matt Kalmus
Dianne Marshall
Jayne Mitchell
David Nelson
Simona Shuboni
Jessica Smith
Hannah Trager
Brittany Westbrook
Laura Willobee

For complete details about the trip and the project, read the application page.
 

Joel Pier-Fitzgerald works at the Wroclaw cemetery.