Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center's annual  'Compassion toAction' mission to Poland, Germany and Israel landed in Europe yesterday andhit the ground running. Powered by Canadian sponsors, we are joined on thiseducational journey by top Canadian leaders, including high levelrepresentatives of law enforcement agencies from across the country, as well asschool board superintendents and trustees from numerous Canadian school boards.On the first day of the mission the group learned about the Jewish community ofKraków and Poland, and visited a 16th century synagogue as well as OscarSchindler's factory. We had an in-depth discussion about the origins ofantisemitism and heard from children of Holocaust survivors who are alsoparticipating on the program. 

The sombre and reflective nature of our journey intensifiedtoday as we toured the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp with Holocaustsurvivor Max Eisen. Many members of our the group found the size andmagnitude of the camp grounds (a zone covering 40 square km) overwhelming. Maxgave moving testimony about his arrival at Auschwitz and of being separatedfrom his mother and siblings, who were immediately taken to the gas chambers;Dr Fred Leitner spoke of the sadness he felt growing up as a child of Holocaustsurvivors. The deep sorrow was echoed in the cloudy skies above and the chillssent by the soft wind below. 

There is no doubt today this is one of the most difficult daysin our mission. It will likely be one of the most hauntingly memorable as well.

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InAuschwitz

In Kraków

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