Natalia Krzeslowska
Educational School Trips Organiser, Rayburn Tours
I feel both emotional and proud re-telling the stories of my family’s past. My grandmother grew up in central Poland, in the large industrial city of Łódź. There was a prominent Jewish population living there and as a result, a ghetto was created. This was the second-largest ghetto in all of German-occupied Europe after Warszawa (Warsaw), but it wasn’t well known to the wider world.
My grandmother lived through these challenging times and spent her later years re-telling the tales of her past.
Living with her family in a tenement house in Łódź, they forged close friendships with their neighbours who were of both of German and Jewish origins. These friendships became more challenging and trickier to maintain with the onset of war.
It was heartbreaking to hear of how she witnessed her family’s friends being dragged out of their homes, and lived in constant fear that my great grandfather would be taken away, due to him being well known as a high-ranking firefighter.
Then came the moment when the depth of the neighbourly friendships would be tested.
While attending secret meetings as part of his role in the resistance movement, my great grandfather was caught during a raid by Nazi officers. Subsequently, he was arrested and taken to a concentration camp. It was the neighbouring German family who came to his rescue, but this was at the cost of all the money, gold and valuables they owned. In order to cushion their resulting financial burden, my family who had fled to the United States stepped in and supported them.
Polish citizens with educated backgrounds were at risk of execution, because of a perceived threat to the Nazi regime. Many of whom, my ancestors included, were forced to flee to the United States to seek asylum.
Visions of a war-torn Łódź and Warszawa (Warsaw) and squalid ghettos blighting the landscape stayed with my grandmother forever. The stories she passed on to me, continue to move me to this day. She was our last living family member, who witnessed the atrocities caused by both the Nazi and Russian forces.
There is a large part of me that feels responsible for ensuring this chapter of history is never forgotten, and never repeated. This is why I take pride in creating meaningful learning experiences for young people visiting Poland and Kraków as part of a school history trip.
By sharing stories of this part of history and travelling to their source, we aim to broaden young minds and preserve its significance.
Step inside and discover our History Trips to Kraków
