We gathered as a multi-faith assembly of practitioners of many cultures in Oswiecim, Poland, on the grounds of Auschwitz - Birkenau, the place of personal and universal human tragedy during World War II. There, we offered many opportunities to bear witness to the diverse aspects of ourselves and others.

The retreat was guided by Bernie Glassman, Eve Marko and an experienced group of international leaders representing diverse cultures and religious traditions. We spent most of the daylight hours each day at the Birkenau camp, practicing periods of silence and meditation, offering prayers, chanting the names of the dead, offering Kaddish (the Jewish Memorial Prayer) and religious services in many traditions. In the mornings there were facilitated small group Listening Circles, and special programs in the evenings for the whole group.

In Krakow, retreat check-in began on Sunday afternoon. The Retreat officially started Monday morning with a guided tour of the Kazimierz district - the old Jewish ghetto of Krakow - once the home of close to 70,000 inhabitants. Charted buses brought Retreat participants to Oswiecim, where Auschwitz is located and where we spent the rest of the week. Oswiecim is located 55 km from Krakow and 30 km from the airport.

During the Retreat, housing accommodations were located within walking distance of Auschwitz-Birkenau and had meeting and dining rooms. While walking together to and from Birkenau was encouraged, bus transportation was provided each morning, each afternoon and for all evening programs.

Following is a list of related links:
      PC-Poland Auschwitz Retreat Website
      Marian Kolodziej at Norah's vision site
      Photo Album of Auscwitz Retreats by Peter Cunningham
      Christa Rachel's - Noah's vision site
      Dialog Center
      Jewish Culture Center
      Franciscan Monastery
      The International Youth Meeting Center
      Aleksandra's gallery
      Bearing Witness Journal
      Auschwitz Wikipedia entry
      Holocaust Web Ring

Many, many books have been published concerning the Holocaust. Those listed below are particularly recommended because they are very powerful personal accounts of bearing witness and/or raise complex moral and spiritual issues.

Amery, Jean. At the Mind's Limits: Contemplations by a Survivor on Auschwitz and its Realities. Schocken (New York: 1986).

Borowski, Tadeusz. This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen. Penguin Books (New York: 1976)

Delbo, Charlotte. Auschwitz and After (includes None of Us Will Return, Useless Knowledge, and The Measure of Our Days). Yale University Press (New Haven: 1995).

Eliach, Yaffa. Hassidic Tales of the Holocaust. Vintage Books (New York: 1988)

Epstein, Helen. Children of the Holocaust: Conversations with Sons and Daughters of Survivors. Penguin Books (New York: 1979).

Hillesum, Etty. An Interrupted Life: The Diaries of Etty Hillesum 1941- 1943. Washington Square Press (New York: 1983).

Hoess, Rudolf, Commandant of Auschwitz. Phoenix Press.

Ka-Tzetnik 135633. Shivitti: A Vision. Gateways/IDHHB (Canada: 1998).

Ka-Tzetnik 135633. Kaddish. Algemeiner Associates (New York: 1998)

Langer, Lawrence L. Admitting the Holocaust. Oxford Univ. Press (New York: 1995).

Langer, Lawrence L. Holocaust Testimonies: The Ruins of Memory. Yale Univ. Press (New Haven: 1991).

Lanzmann, Claude. Shoah: An Oral History of the Holocaust. Pantheon (New York: 1985).

Levi, Primo. The Drowned and the Saved. Vintage International (New York, 1989)

Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz. Simon & Schuster (New York: 1996).

Schlink, Bernhard. The Reader. Vintage Books (New York: 1998).

Steiner, Jean-Francois. Treblinka. The New American Library (New York 1967).

Szpilman, Wladyslaw, The Pianist: the extraordinary story of one man's Survival in Warsaw 1939-1945, Victor Golancz (London, 1999)

Wiesel, Elie. Night. Bantam Books (New York: 1982).

Wiesenthal, Simon. The Sunflower. Schocken Books (New York: 1997).

Wilkomirski, Binjamin. Fragments. Schocken Books (New York: '1997). Please note that this book is probably fiction and the author was involved in legal proceedings.