FIDF Mission to Auschwitz & Israel

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: innabakker . <innabakker@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, May 4, 2019 at 5:18 PM
Subject: Fwd: Shabbat in Krakow , Poland May 4/19
To: 




My dear family and friends around the world

What a day.!!!!!!!!!!

Please look at the photos and video and read the text 
1-  our Friday prayer book 

2- our schedule for today May 4

3– text about life  of 2 Holocaust survivors and look at the photos of  this beautiful older ladies in 90 Th

Full of life,  love and dancing, life energy ,
One is Sofia like my wonderful mom, came with  her daughter - in law who became a docent in  Holocaust museum  in Detroit  suburb  on behave of her mother in -law for whom it is difficult to repeat every day her story.


Another is Gita like my wonderful grandma—papa’s mom came with her son from Israel.

We went to Kazimir synagogue for  Shabbat service which was overcrowded mostly with Jews from different countries, than we had a Tour of Krakow ‘s old Jewish town  where

60 000 Jews lived before the war-25% of Krakow, now about 1000 mostly from other countries.

Family of Helena Rubinstein who created a cosmetic empire in US but started in the kitchen here.

Another - family of Bagel who had a bakery and did a bread with the hole and than  it 
spread all over the world.

We had lunch in Galicia Museum- photo of the wall and than had a tour of Gheto,
Photos of Apteca- pharmacy own by Polish man who did not want to abandon his business and stayed there and helped Jews in the ghetto .

Schindler’s factory was in Krakow but we did not go there.

It was uprising in Krakow ghetto by young people but not known at all.
Photos of empty chairs on the Plaza of ghetto.
Symbols of whatever comes to the person’s 
mind and heart.

Photos of Havdalah- celebration of ending of Shabbat and beginning of new week with IDF chorus, cantor , musicians, a lot of dancing together, happiness,  joy of life, miracles of Israel and IDF.

We had group discussions,
One of the question

Why European Jews did not  fight?

The answer is 

We always lived in somebody’s country  and never had feeling of protection and the goal  of every person was to survive and this create a certain personality and behavior, not to fight  but to go around to be alive.

That is why now is different types of Jews in Israel, fighters for their own tiny country  and not  being in mercy  of any other country.

It was such an emotional day to learn about all atrocities and extermination of Jews  and

Why, why?

Tomorrow we go to concentration camps Birkenau and March to Aushwitz with our Israeli officers and survivors.

Everybody should see it to understand and feel for Jewish people.—unique history of Holocaust to exterminate the whole nation,
Never happened in human history.

A lot of tears, crying and heart palpitations.

Love to all


Inna