STUDENTS from Shebbear College have recently returned from a ‘life changing’ visit to Poland which saw them visit Auschwitz and enjoy lighter moments too.

The group of 32 boys and girls from the fifth and sixth forms spent a week in Kraków in Poland earlier this month.

One of the main excursions on the trip was a visit to the two Nazi death camps at Auschwitz, which proved a sobering experience.

‘All of our young people conducted themselves with the utmost respect and dignity as we walked silently around the buildings and displays in the bitter cold, glorious sunshine and surrounded by snow,’ said a school spokesman. ‘There were times when we were unable to look at each other, for fear of setting off what we were all trying to hold back.’

Tram rides took the group to other destinations in the city, including Oskar Schindler’s factory, now a museum dedicated to Kraków under Nazi occupation. Schindler was the German industrialist who saved the lives of his Jewish workers during the Second World War, by bribing Nazi officials. His story was told in the film Schindler’s List.

The Shebbear group then visited the site of the former Jewish ghetto with fragments of the original wall still in place. Then they went to the modern Galicia Jewish Museum where they waited patiently for the arrival of their special guest. In a small private room beside the main museum area, Monika Goldwasser told the group her amazing and moving story of how she survived the Holocaust.

The group also enjoyed traditional Polish meals in wonderful restaurants, a highlight being a mountain region folk band with dancers, all dressed in traditional Polish costumes. Very soon the rousing music had everyone singing along and clapping. Then there was no refusing the dancers who came out and invited everyone to get up and dance.

Of great educational value was a visit to the Collegium Maius, part of the Jagiellonian University of Science and Medicine.

Founded in the 13th century, this is the oldest university in Poland and the second oldest in Europe. The university’s alumni includes Nicolaus Copernicus and Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyla. Later in the week, the students were privileged to see Leonardo Da Vinci’s original painting ‘Lady with an Ermine’ at the National Gallery in Kraków. A visit to the magnificent Unesco World Heritage salt mines at Wieliczka rounded off the week in elegant fashion.

‘We were delighted to have plenty of snow on our trip and the inevitable snowball fights broke out quite regularly,’ said the school spokesman.

See more about the trip at www.polandtrip.co.uk.