Second Gentleman Pool Reports of January 27, 2023

SGOTUS travel pool report #1 - Checking in

Good morning from Krakow.

Pool has been swept and is waiting in the press vans before we depart for Auschwitz for a tour and ceremonies to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Later, the Second Gentleman will attend a Shabbat dinner hosted by the Jewish Community Center with members of the Krakow Jewish community. I've copied the schedule below. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.

At 8:30 AM CET, the Second Gentleman will visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Memorial and Museum and receive a tour. As part of that tour, he will participate in candle-lighting and wreath-laying ceremonies. Later, to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, he will attend the commemoration of the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz. Portions of this visit will be covered by an expanded pool.

At 7:30 PM CET, the Second Gentleman will attend a Shabbat dinner hosted by the Jewish Community Center with members of the Krakow Jewish community. This dinner at the Jewish Community Center in Krakow will be closed press.

SGOTUS' office shared this op-Ed from Emhoff and Amb. Lipstadt this morning:

Jewish Telegraphic Agency: The fight against antisemitism didn't end with liberation
Douglas Emhoff and Ambassador Lipstadt
(JTA) — Today, we will visit Auschwitz-Birkenau to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. We will represent the United States and honor the lives of 6 million Jews and millions of others murdered. While at Auschwitz, we will also express gratitude to the survivors and speak of the lessons learned in that era of terror.

As we reflect on history, we know that the bigotry that fueled the Holocaust did not end when the camps were liberated. Antisemitism may be considered one of the oldest forms of hatred, but its insidious impact and its deep dangers are not relegated to the past.

Antisemitism is increasing at home and abroad. Hatred of Jewish people simply for being Jews is real and rising. We can only stop this scourge if governments and community leaders declare it unacceptable and inconsistent with our values.

With that in mind, we will convene community leaders in Poland to discuss efforts underway to combat antisemitism. Then, we will travel to Berlin, where we will meet with foreign government officials, who are also dedicated to turning the tide of hate. Our goal is to deepen our relationships with European partners — in and out of government — to combat the rise in antisemitism.

We can learn from each other and share our best practices. We can lead through our shared values of equality, diversity, and human rights. This moment calls on us to take action, together, based on these values.

It's too often that we hear stories about attacks on Jewish communities. We see vandalism, threats, and violent, hateful rhetoric. People used to be afraid to say the ugly epithets and lies out loud. Now they are literally screaming them.

In 2018, a horrific antisemitic assault stole the lives of 11 innocent people at the Tree of Life synagogue. In 2019, a gunman opened fire at California's Chabad of Poway, killing one and wounding three more people in an attack motivated by antisemitism. And just last year, in Los Angeles, we saw antisemitic banners hung over a freeway.

Heinous and senseless acts of violence bring pain to the Jewish community. We're heard from parents who are worried about sending their children to preschool at their Jewish community center because they fear for their safety. They must explain to their children why the synagogue they attend has an armed guard at the entrance while the church across the street has none.

In December, we both attended a roundtable at the White House convening Jewish leaders in the United States. We spoke about the impact antisemitism is having on their communities including issues of safety, education, and accountability. Under the leadership of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, we have increased funding for physical security of nonprofits and synagogues, and appointed leaders to focus on hate crimes and track and fight antisemitism.

Through a whole-of-government approach, the Biden-Harris Administration is crafting a broad-based national plan to address antisemitism. The first mandate of the interagency is to create a U.S. National Action Plan on Antisemitism.

But we know there is more work to be done. We each need to do our part to educate those around us and instill knowledge in the next generation of leaders to help fight antisemitism. We cannot and will not allow this to be normalized and politicized. We all have a responsibility to speak out and make clear that antisemitism is wrong, just like every other prejudice. We must all condemn antisemites as dangerous and also call out those who don't. In the face of evil, there is no neutrality. Standing silent is not an option. Indeed, silence is what allows vile oppressors to thrive and this malicious virus of hate to grow.

It is time — yet again — for us to replace the silence, of the past and present, with a chorus of voices making antisemitism a relic and this horrific hatred a thing of the past.

SGOTUS travel pool report #2- Auschwitz arrival

The motorcade arrived at Auschwitz -Birkenau State Museum at 10:40am am CET after an uneventful hourlong ride.

Some background, per WH:

The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum will host its annual event under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda commemorating the anniversary of the liberation of extermination camps at Auschwitz and Birkenau. The main theme of the 78th anniversary draws from the words of survivor Marian Turski, "Auschwitz did not fall from the sky" to highlight the process of planning, creating, and expanding the system of dehumanization and genocide at Auschwitz and Birkenau. After a private walking tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau grounds, the main memorial event will take place in the historic building of the so-called sauna in the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

PARTICIPANTS:

Douglas Emhoff, Second Gentleman

Mark Brzezinski, U.S. Ambassador to Poland

Deborah Lipstadt, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism

Erin Nickerson, U.S. Consul General Krakow, Poland

Delegation will follow close behind in a second tour of Auschwitz only.

SGOTUS travel pool report #3 - Auschwitz tour

SGOTUS arrived at the entrance at 8:50am CET. He was joined by Mark Brzezinski, US ambassador to Poland, and a tour guide (list of those on the tour with him copied below). It's 30 degrees and overcast with flurries of snow.

SGOTUS looked solemn as he gazed up at the notorious entrance gate, bearing the German phrase "Arbeits Macht Frei" (work makes you free), and listened intently to the tour guide. He paused before entering, shaking his head as he listened.

Pool broke off from SGOTUS, who continued his tour of the ground before he rejoined press near block 10 and 11 for a wreath laying ceremony in a courtyard between the two brick buildings. Ornate wreaths were displayed before the Death Wall, where SS men shot and killed thousands of prisoners between 1941-1943 (the wall was dismantled in 1944 on orders of camp authorities but the museum partially reconstructed it).

SGOTUS, wearing a yarmulke, entered the courtyard with three policemen carrying a wreath in front of him at 9:37am. He slowly walked down toward the Death Wall, at the end of the courtyard, where four large wreaths (including the one brought in) and two smaller ones were displayed with red and white ribbons. It was an emotional moment for Emhoff, who wiped his eye as he approached and touched the wreath that he brought, tugging at the ribbons (which said, "from the people of the United States"). He backed away and paused again before wiping his eye once more. He turned around and made the slow walk down the uneven path back out.

Pool was escorted to a gas chamber and crematorium where we waited for SGOTUS. He emerged from the gas chamber and crematorium at 10:06am and sat down at a desk displayed outside the doorway. He signed a guestbook, writing what appeared to be a long message, with Amb. Lipstadt and Amb. Brzezinski standing behind him.

Joining him:

Director Cywinski, Auschwitz Museum

Ambassador Brzezinski

Tomasz Michaldo, tour guide

Magdelena Tabak, Assistant Museum director Maria Zalewska, Auschwitz Museum Foundation
SGOTUS stood up and nodded toward the press as he stood, hands folded in front of him, with the group standing behind him. Pool was escorted back to the vans to head to the Birkenau death camp grounds.

SGOTUS travel pool report #4 - Birkenau tour

The motorcade arrived at Birkenau at 10:21am CET. Pool hustled through the main entrance down a gravel road with a railroad track on our right and ruins of barracks behind barbed wire fences on our left. We watched as SGOTUS entered with the tour guide, again shaking his head in disbelief as he listened. The snow began to fall faster, and the temperature continued to drop. It's a biting 28 degrees.

SGOTUS and the tour guide walked up the other side of the railroad tracks and stood near a single, wooden rail car displayed in front of more ruins of barracks. His face was heavy with emotion as the tour continued across the tracks. He stood in front a gas chamber. A nearby sign explained this was where a selection process took place as prisoners were lined up after arriving by train. An SS doctor would select able-bodied prisoners to work in the camps and all others were immediately sent to their deaths in the gas chambers.

Pool broke off again and continued down the gravel road to destroyed remains of a larger gas chamber and crematorium that operated from March 1943 to November 1944. The SS dismantled it in 1944 to remove evidence of atrocities and dynamite was used to destroy what remained in January 1945.

A somber SGOTUS, again wearing a yarmulke, walked toward the ruins with his tour guide, facing the pool. He approached the ruins and pulled a stone from his pocket and placed it on moss-covered bricks at his feet. He backed away, lowered his head, folded his hands and idled for a moment. He took one last look around the vast ruins before him before continuing the tour.

Pool again was escorted further down the road, which ran into a large stone memorial against the backdrop of blue and white striped death camp flags.
SGOTUS walked over at 11:04am to a nearby table displaying six clay candle pots that flickered in the wind. He joined Lipstadt, Brzezinski and Ellen Germain, US special envoy for Holocaust issues - the four stood side by side as they approached the memorial and placed candles on a large stone platform before it. He bowed his head in reverence.

Pool was moved to the back of the memorial as Emhoff finished his tour and got back into the motorcade at 11:07.

SGOTUS travel pool report #5 - Memorial service

Press vans moved to another part of Auschwitz-Birkenau grounds for the main memorial service commemorating the 78th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

The motorcade pulled up at 11:17am and pool was moved inside a building known as the sauna to a makeshift media center for the first part of the service. Pool was not allowed inside the service and did not see SGOTUS arrive, but the service was livestreamed on a television inside the media center. Two Auschwitz survivors spoke during the commemoration event: Dr. Eva Umlauf and Zdzisława Włodarczyk. You can watch the service here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1R3aYraKa4&feature=youtu.be

The second part of the service took place outside at the ruins of nearby Crematorium IV at 1pm CET. A group of 18 Auschwitz and Holocaust survivors -- some wearing the blue and white Auschwitz death camp flags tied around their necks and some in blue and white prisoner caps – were escorted down to the memorial service area in golf carts. They were seated in folding chairs positioned in front of the ruins. The snow had subsided, but they were given wool blankets to keep warm in the bitter cold. Dozens of people huddled behind the survivors for a brief service.

Rabbis and clergymen of various Christian denominations said prayers. The survivors were then invited to place candles by the ruins in memory of all the victims of Auschwitz. SGOTUS, Lipstadt and Germain were also asked to place candles by the ruins. SGOTUS placed the small lantern on top of bricks and bowed his head. He turned and gestured toward the survivors before he moved back into the crowd. More participants were asked to place candles along the ruins.

Also in attendance, per the Auschwitz museum: Minister Wojciech Kolarski from the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland and other representatives of state authorities from Poland, the Minister of Culture of Slovenia Asta Vre?ko, the Secretary of State for Veterans' affairs and Memory from France Patricia Mirallès, ambassadors and diplomats, representatives of the clergy, regional authorities, local governments, employees of museums and memorial sites.

The service ended at 1:30 and pool was escorted back to the press vans. We broke off with SGOTUS, who is scheduled to attend a Shabbat dinner later this evening.