BEARING WITNESS TO THE PAST AND PRESENT

BEARING WITNESS TO THE PAST AND PRESENT

A CHARLOTTE COMMUNITY JOURNEY TO POLAND
October 9—18, 2025

Warsaw – Treblinka – Lublin – Tarnów –Kraków –Auschwitz-Birkenau

Led by :
Judy LaPietra & Rabbi Judith Schindler

ABOUT THE TOUR

ITINERARY

SCHOLARS

BOOK THE TOUR

ABOUT THE TOUR

Tour Highlights

Prominent tour leaders 

  • Judy La Pietra, Director, Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center, Queens University of Charlotte.
  • Rabbi Judith Schindler, the Sklut Professor of Jewish Studies and Social Justice Lead and Jewish Scholar-in-Residence of the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center at Queens University of Charlotte (which she helped build as founding Director from 2016 to 2024).

Warsaw, the Phoenix City

  • Curator-led visits to the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, (including viewing the newest gallery) recipient of the European Museum of the Year 2016 award, and the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute, repository of the UNESCO-listed Warsaw ghetto underground archives
  • A walking tour of the former Warsaw ghetto and the Okopowa Jewish Cemetery, one of the largest in Europe
  • Study visit to Treblinka Museum, the Nazi German Death and Labour Camp 
  • Briefings with representatives and prominent scholars

Lublin, the Gate to the East 

  • Visit to the Grodzka Gate, a local government cultural institution based in Lublin. In its activities, the Centre draws on the symbolic and historical significance of its residence, the Grodzka Gate, also known as the Jewish Gate. 
  • Study visit to the State Museum at Majdanek, the oldest museum institution in Europe commemorating the victims of World War II.

Tarnow, a former shtetl

  • Guided tour of Tarnow including the Jewish cemetery and the former bimah, which now serves as a memorial.

Krakow, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site 

  • Guided walks through Krakow’s royal Old Town and beautifully preserved former Jewish district, Kazimierz
  • Study visit to Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau

SCHOLARS IN RESIDENCE

Rabbi Judith Schindler

Jewish Scholar-in-Residence/Social Justice Lead

Rabbi Schindler is the Sklut Professor of Jewish Studies and Jewish Scholar-in-Residence and Social Justice Lead of the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center at Queens University of Charlotte. Rabbi Judy was the SGC’s Founding Director.

Rabbi Judy Schindler continues to work actively with the Greenspon Center as Jewish Scholar-in-Residence and leader for the Social Justice branch. Schindler is Sklut Professor of Jewish Studies at Queens University and Rabbi Emerita of Temple Beth El, after serving as Senior Rabbi from 2003 – 2016 and Associate Rabbi from 1998 – 2003. She has a bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology from Tufts University, a master’s degree from the Hebrew Union College in L.A., a rabbinic ordination at the Hebrew Union College in New York, and an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the Hebrew Union College. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Hebrew Letters from the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. Her academic focus is interfaith relations.  

Judy LaPietra

Director

Judy LaPietra brings over 30 years of impassioned experience in Holocaust education to the Director position. She has participated in an exemplary list of worldwide programs, including The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights seminar (NY), the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teacher Program (Poland), the Bearing Witness Advanced Program (Israel), and many more. She has presented at numerous Holocaust education seminars across the nation.

LaPietra’s dedication led her to volunteer at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland and the Nea Kaval refugee camp in Greece. She also traveled to the border of Ukraine at the onset of war to help those fleeing Ukraine. She has been selected by the most esteemed Holocaust educational organizations, including the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Anti-Defamation League, and the USC Shoah Foundation Institute, to facilitate teacher training and youth leadership programs.  

LaPietra served as adjunct professor at UNCC from 2010 – 2022, developing and teaching courses in Genocide & Human Rights Studies. She has extensive experience as a history classroom educator in New York City and North Carolina. She received an M.A. in Holocaust Genocide Studies from Gratz College and an M.S. in Secondary Education and History and B.A. in political science from Queens College, City University of New York. She is currently working on her dissertation in post-genocidal reconciliation.  

ITINERARY

Double Occupancy

One Person
PLN 21,200 approx. USD 5,200
  • Five-star accommodation in Warsaw & Krakow
  • Full breakfast daily
  • Private arrival and departure transfers
  • Entrance fees to all venues included in the itinerary
  • Ground transportation via deluxe air-conditioned coach
  • Pre-tour online meeting with Taube Center Staff
  • A comprehensive resource and reading list sent prior to the tour

Single Occupancy

One Person
PLN 25,430 approx. USD 6,300
  • Five-star accommodation in Warsaw & Krakow
  • Full breakfast daily
  • Private arrival and departure transfers
  • Entrance fees to all venues included in the itinerary
  • Ground transportation via deluxe air-conditioned coach
  • Pre-tour online meeting with Taube Center Staff
  • A comprehensive resource and reading list sent prior to the tour
Book your spot!

In case of any questions, please let us know:

the most important sites
in jewish poland

OnlinE genealogy consultation prior to the tour start date

space is limited

Optional family heritage journeys

private briefings

Please read the two tour policy guidelines carefully. In case of any questions, please contact Director of Operations, Aleksandra Makuch at amakuch@taubecenter.org