Day 6: Yad Vashem

Day 6

We got up early and went to Yad Vashem. First, we went to see a Holocaust speaker. Her name was Hannah Peck. She told us about her friendship with Ann Frank and the rest of the Frank family. She also told us of her father’s role in the German government, how they moved to Holland, and their time in the Ghetto. It was a great opportunity for us to hear her speak. The tour guide took us to the children’s memorial. The memorial itself was a dark hallway that looked like it was filled with endless amounts of candles. In fact, it was only five candles and their reflections in several mirrors. There were many different interpretations of this memorial and its meaning. Outside the memorial, there was a statue of Yanus Korchek hugging children. We discussed how he was a hero who wanted to protect the children or die trying. While walking toward the main museum there was a fork in the road. One side contained many trees which represented the people who helped the Jews during the Holocaust. One tree was separated from the rest because she snuck into the Ghetto and saved over 2,000 children and placed them into orphanages. We then entered the main museum where we had a personal guided tour through headphones and tour guide. The museum shared many individual stories as well as facts about the history. It was an emotional and fascinating experience. We were hungry so we stopped at the mall to grab a quick lunch. We then headed off to learn about Israel’s nature. There we got the privilege of planting our very own trees in Israel. We each got a shovel and an acorn and started digging. It is important to try and make Israel greener. The guide then showed us some of Israel’s unique plants and spices. Our next stop was Tel-Aviv. We had dinner at the hotel and toured around the city.