A few weeks ago I finally left Aarhus. Don't get me wrong--I do love this beautiful little city--butI was starting to go a little stir-crazy here. I previously had plans to visit London and Oslo, but due to some money issues I had been unable to leave Aarhus until now. The location of my first excursion from Denmark? Gdansk, Poland. Why Poland? Why not?
Gdansk is known better to the Western World as "Danzig" as it was called following the conclusion of the first World War. It was considered a free city and was administered the doomed League of Nations, much to the future chagrin of Hitler and his Third Reich. It would also become famous in 1980 as the sight of the formation of "Solidarity," or the Polish Trade Union, which would help precipitate the fall of communism in the Warsaw Pact nation. Zac also visited the city a week before I did--not to mention he's a history major--so I'll let him correct any historical inaccuracies in my account.
The city itself was unexpectedly beautiful. It's cobblestone streets were lined with pastel colored houses and magnificent Catholic churches adorned with gargoyles and gold fixtures. The Motława river ran through the Old City which itself was lined by cafes and terraces, and highlighted by a medieval port crane, called Żuraw.
It was difficult to get a read on Polish culture in the city though. It seemed to us that Gdansk was striving to be very Western despite it's Eastern European architecture; or at the very least the city was trying very hard to cater to its foreign visitors. For example, the Old City was characterized by a large contemporary shopping mall right outside of the city's transportation hub. Ironically, our first introduction to Poland looked more like America than a country we might never get a chance to visit again. It was also interesting that we found more signs in English in Poland than we do in Denmark. The Poles we met were kind and curious, and a small group of students our age even took us along to show us the city's nightlife.
My main draw to Gdansk wasn't just the cheap flight (just $17 roundtrip) and cheap everything, but also the nearby Stutthof concentration camp. I felt an obligation not just as a Jewish person but as a human being to pay my respects to the dead. Stutthof was about a 50km bus ride away from Gdansk into the Polish countryside. The trip itself was eye-opening. While the city itself was rather modern and Westernized, the countryside was like a step behind the Iron Curtain. The beautiful architecture melted away to drab high rises, many paved roads became dirt and the economic status of the people became noticeably poorer. When we arrived at the camp it was fittingly raining. Stutthof was a smaller camp--despite being the first to be built outside the pre-war borders of Germany--but the horrors were painfully obvious. The sense of dread was palpable, like an energy emanating from all around. Simply standing in a place where 60,000 men, women and children died and countless others suffered was perhaps the most sickening yet sobering experience of my entire life--and also one that I will never forget. For this reason, I have to recommend that everyone make time in their lives for one trip to a camp. It really puts into perspective the imperfections of humanity, and acts as a votive for what can happen when these imperfections are at their darkest.
I'll check back in pretty soon to discuss academic life here at ASB.
