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Travel to Poland and Austria with Jewish Buffalo BY BRIAN SNYDER The search for family roots can stem from so many places. For some, their family trees can be traced back for generations and generations, while for others their roots are limited or unknown. For many Jews the quest for where and who we came from is complicated, mysterious, and seemingly unknowable. While we will never discover all the family secrets that lie in faraway places, I believe that in 2023 we are able to know far more than at any time in our past. My personal journey to discover my family history began many years ago. My mother always wanted to know more about her ancestors, but her parents and siblings were unwilling to discuss much. My mother has a small collection of mysterious old black and white photos. She recognized a few individuals in a few photos, and even I recognized some as well. On the backside of some of these photos there was handwritten Yiddish which seemed indecipherable. I knew that these photos were saved by my grandparents because they were important people to them, but who were they? In many ways, these photos became the seeds for my lifelong journey to uncover my heritage and for remembrance of a rich Jewish world that existed before the Holocaust. This became the inspiration for the Buffalo Jewish Federation’s newest Immersive Experience: Jewish Buffalo Exploring Our Roots. In April 2024, I hope you will join me and my wife Pam as we travel to Poland and Austria to explore common heritage, learn about genealogy, remember the Holocaust, and meet young
Brian and Pam Snyder
Poles and Austrians who are committed to and have taken great strides toward commemorating Jewish Life in their towns. The trip will surely have countless meaningful moments of learning, but we also hope it will include many moments of fun and friendship as well. The itinerary will focus on education, remembrance, and hope as we visit five cities: Warsaw, Wolomin, Krakow, Brno (Czech Republic) and Vienna. Trip highlights will include a guided tour of the Warsaw Ghetto within the 80th anniversary year of the uprising, visiting the Jewish Genealogy & Family Center in Warsaw, which assists people in discovering their roots, and visits to Treblinka and Auschwitz-Birkenau. We will also enjoy a Shabbat dinner with the local Jewish community and experience the revival of Jewish life in the stunning cities. There will be far too many other experiences to detail here, but we hope you are enticed by this brief introduction to this upcoming Federation immersive experience to Poland and Austria. For more information contact Stacey Block, Senior Director of Operations and Donor Experience at Buffalo Jewish Federation stacey@ buffalojewishfederation.org or 716-463-5053.
Buffalo Jewish Federation Immersive Experiences When we travel, we discover new things about ourselves, our Judaism, and about the world around us. Buffalo Jewish Federation Immersive Experiences allows you to dive headfirst into meaningful experiences alongside fellow Buffalonians who will often become dear friends. An immersive experience with the Buffalo Jewish Federation is unlike any other; you will gain access to exclusive opportunities, learn with incredible educators, facilitators and guides, while getting to know adventurous and bright travel companions – retuning home with new friends and deeper connections to Jewish Buffalo. May/June 2023 | buffalojewishfederation.org
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