TRICIA STEVENS
PERSPECTIVES
POLAND
Poland is a country in Central Europe with a rich history and strong traditions. It has old cities, castles, forests, rivers, and mountains. The country has faced many hard times but has always rebuilt and moved forward. Polish people value family, culture, and national pride. Food is filling and comforting, with soups, dumplings, bread, and meat being common. Poland has changed a lot in recent years and is now modern and fast-growing. Even so, it remembers its past and takes pride in its traditions, language, and identity.
ABSOLUTE MUSTS
Warsaw
Old Town
During World War II, Warsaw was devastated, and after the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, the Old Town was deliberately destroyed by Nazi forces. After the war, it was painstakingly reconstructed using old paintings, photographs, maps, and residents’ memories.
Because of this extraordinary effort, Old Town is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized as a symbol of resilience and restoration.
Krakow
Old Town
Kraków’s Main Market Square (Rynek Główny) is the heart of the city and one of Europe’s largest medieval squares. Surrounded by historic townhouses, churches, and cafés, it has been a center of trade, culture, and public life for centuries. St. Mary’s Basilica towers nearby, famous for its wooden altarpiece and hourly trumpet call. Street performers, musicians, and horse-drawn carriages bring the square to life.
Kazimierz
Kazimierz is a historic neighborhood in Kraków, once the center of Jewish life in the city. For centuries, Jewish and Polish cultures lived side by side here. During World War II, the Jewish community was destroyed, and the area fell into decline.
Today, Kazimierz is lively again. Be sure to visit Szeroka Street which is the main square of Kazimierz, lined with cafés, restaurants, and bars. Stop by the Eagle Pharmacy (Apteka pod Orłem) – a museum and memorial honoring the Polish resistance and those who helped Jews during WWII and visit the Ghetto Heroes Square which commemorates the Jewish residents deported from the Kraków Ghetto.
Auschwitz-Birkenau
Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp during World War II, located near Kraków in southern Poland. It operated from 1940 to 1945. Over 1.1 million people were murdered there, most of them Jews.
The site includes two main camps: Auschwitz I, with prison blocks and executions, and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, where mass killings took place in gas chambers. Today it is a memorial and museum, preserved to remember the victims and warn future generations about the dangers of hatred and genocide.
