Pre-Departure

Over the past year I have told anyone that would listen about my journey in July to intern at Auschwitz. I came to enjoy announcing my incredible co-op opportunity to all those I met or was reunited with. My enjoyment stemmed partly from my own excitement, but mostly from the fact that every single person gave me the same reaction to this job news:

You: Any exciting summer plans?

Me: Yeah! I’m actually going to Poland for 3 months!

You: Cool! Study abroad?

Me: No, I’m cooping at Auschwitz.

You: ….

Me: You know, the former concentration camp. 

You: …

Me: I’m very excited for the opportunity, I have been studying the Holocaust for the 

majority of my college career.

You: …that sounds fun. No, fun isn’t the right word…interesting? Cool? I don’t know, I 

hope you enjoy it! No, wait don't do that….ahh I'm just glad you're going and not me.

With the exception of my nerdy Political Science friends (you know who you are), this was the encounter I had every time I brought up my upcoming internship. I was concerned at first, that maybe this opportunity was not as incredible as I thought it was. Turns out having an overwhelming interest in the largest genocide in modern history is not a something everyone has. But this shouldn’t make me crazy or disconcerting just because the topic is a sensitive one. Part of our problem as a society is how we have sensitized the Holocaust into a largely unique experience. I will not diminish the experiences endured by millions of innocent Jews, homosexuals, Sinti and Roma, persons with disabilities or countless other groups, but mass atrocities have occurred since the Holocaust seemingly every decade.
I went on a summer study abroad in 2015 to Germany and Poland where 20 classmates and I followed Hitler’s rise to power while visiting the most important Holocaust sites in these countries. This trip landed me at Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum where I was able to make a connection that later offered me and a classmate, with the help of multiple co-op advisors and tens of emails, internship positions. For three months I will be working in the Archives Department at this extraordinary institution. I don’t know what my daily life will entail nor what struggles I will face with this subject matter. I don’t know how it’s going to feel to work and live in a concentration camp for months, as so many did and died from doing over 70 years ago. I don’t even know if I’m emotionally and physically prepared to do this. I do know that I will carry this experience for the rest of my life and I hope you will enjoy following along with me. Although “enjoy” may not be the right word