Log in and download the free e-publication of the latest A&B The printed version is available for sale online in our store and press salons throughout Poland unique e-mail [will also be used as login in the portal] Only name - check the correctness of the data Only the last name - check the correctness of the data password must be at least 8 characters long * fields required for registration; data can be completed in account settings after logging in ** establishment of a student account follows verification of the validity of the student ID card Please try later or let us know: contact Technology: aitnet.pl Ⓒ AiB Publishing House 2025 You will also start receiving the Star's free morning newsletter where the writer’s grandparents were held before being transported to the Chelmno camp that I was seeking on this trip,’ writes Chana Widawski A view along the Trail of the Eagle’s Nest inspired her recent bicycling trip through Poland and Germany I merely hoped to breathe in the space of my dad’s youth history came alive and the landscape of his childhood revealed itself Daunting and haunting as I knew it might be I wanted to bicycle through Poland and Germany For many with direct ties to the Holocaust the atrocities of history make these lands feel unapproachable But as the daughter of Max (Meyer) Widawski I also inherited a sense of resilience and hope I had felt a calling to my roots and to the trees that bore witness to more than we can imagine I craved mutual connection and healing with nature descendants of this terrible chapter in time I felt propelled by an indescribable momentum enthralled by the cobblestone streets with Yiddish signs and the delicious bar mleczny (milk bars) serving pierogies borscht and other foods that tasted like home used waterproof panniers and a route to Lodz (the Polish city closest to my father’s town) I also met new local friends eager to help me They embraced my father’s story and shared their own I packed up everything I needed and set out in the rain I stopped at a piekarnia (bakery) to fuel up on jagodzianki Each bite of the heavenly blueberry buns reminded me of my father and our shared love of similar buns in Toronto’s Jewish bakeries I first pedalled for four days, beginning with a section of the Trail of the Eagle’s Nest treated myself to nourishing meals with the same Eastern European flavours that sustained my childhood and shared stories with locals despite immense language barriers who stood by and who helped in my thoughts I listened to the trees and felt both their gifts and their helplessness but when a local researcher I contacted found his actual address old marriage documents and his mother’s childhood home savoring this information (and perfectly brined homemade pickles) in the comfort of a new friend’s apartment walked the cobblestone streets where my dad played and watched the river flow where he splashed with friends I stood in the church where my grandparents and all others from the town’s ghetto were held before being transported to Chelmno I walked those ash-filled grounds and saw the mass graves and the place where the notorious gas vans delivered their death fumes I made my way to the lakeside town of Feldafing regained life in a displaced persons’ camp picked wild berries and swam in the shimmering lake animated by thoughts of my father and other survivors finally eating proper meals and living vibrantly here in what was once a Nazi school (now an army base) Poddebice and Feldafing were two places where I had wanted to camp breathing fresh night air and slumbering to the sound of nightingales I had the good fortune of meeting more new friends whose families have been here for generations brought me to places I would have never known and told me their own stories connected to our collective Holocaust trauma staying up late sharing laughter and tears the most important thing I had with me was openness Connecting physically and emotionally with my father’s story allowing room for powerful memories of this trip: rich conversations new friendships that will be with me forever I left with a strengthened vision for a peaceful future where we all cherish our interconnectedness and shared humanity Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account