The cohort then visited an archaeological site of a former underground bunker, where excavators uncovered the remains of tenement cellars and more than 3,000 items belonging to their inhabitants.

The cohort of 20 OUWB medical students who are part of the school’s 2026 Study Trip to Auschwitz spent the first full day of its journey in the Poland capital city of Warsaw.

This year marked the first time the study trip has included a stop in Warsaw.

“One way of engaging in professional and ethical formation is to study history, narrative, and moral exemplars,” said Abram Brummett, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Foundational Medical Studies.

“By adding Warsaw, we hope to expose the students to more stories, heroes, and sources of inspiration to incorporate into their reflections throughout the trip,” he added.

The first half of the beautiful clear and warm day consisted of a walking/bus tour of the area where the Warsaw Ghetto was located during World War II and the Holocaust.

Not only was the area the largest ghetto set up by Nazis, but it was the site of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Tour guide Karolina Paczynska, who has provided tours of Warsaw for about 30 years, led the group.

Overall, she provided a historical overview of the Warsaw Ghetto (size, population, overcrowding, evolution), and the lead‑up to its liquidation and uprising.

The tour included stops at several historical sites.

One of the locations was where part of the ghetto wall still stands at 62 Złota Street. The preserved wall marked the area of what is commonly referred to as the “small ghetto”, i.e. the original area of the Jewish quarter between 1940 and 1941. It contains, among other things, a commemorative plaque, as well as a plan of the Warsaw Ghetto, unveiled in 2022 in connection with the 82nd anniversary of the closing of the ghetto gates.

The group then walked about a block to the future location of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum, which is being built at the site of the former Bersohn and Bauman Children’s Hospital. Hannah Kurncz and Nicolette Patsarikas were teamed to read a testimonial and prepare a reflection of Dr. Adina Blady-Szwajger. The doctor worked at Bersohn and Bauman and treated young patients suffering from conditions like starvation, typhus, and tuberculosis. As deportations intensified in 1942–43, Blady-Szwajger described giving fatal doses of morphine to terminally ill children to spare them from deportation to extermination camps. Ultimately, she escaped and joined the Polish resistance movement.

Kurncz (center) recounted Blady-Szwajger’s experiences mere feet from where they took place as Quinn Abate (left) and Karolina Paczynska listen.

Kurncz recounted Blady-Szwajger’s experiences mere feet from where they took place.

“It was so special,” she said afterwards. “I feel so lucky to have this experience to continue to learn about history and incorporate that with our bioethics class all year.”

“There’s just another aspect when you’re staring at the site of the former children’s hospital, reading a reflection of the actions that doctors had to take during that time.”

Patsarikas provided a reflection as a current medical student considering pediatrics as a specialty.

“Reflecting on the testimonial with people around me who are here to learn about this experience and historical event made me feel a lot more connected to this person,” she said.

The group next stopped at the Umschlagplatz Memorial, the spot at which hundreds of thousands of Jews were deported from the ghetto to concentration camps. The cohort then visited an archaeological site of a former underground bunker, where excavators uncovered the remains of tenement cellars and more than 3,000 items belonging to their inhabitants.

They also spent time at the Anielewicz Mound, which is a memorial site located at the former headquarters of the Jewish resistance group during the war and Holocaust.

The day concluded with a two-hour guided tour of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which provided a deep dive into Jewish life in Poland throughout history.

Katie Chaka Parks, Ph.D., director, Education, The Zekelman Holocaust Center, and trip co-leader, explained the importance of visiting Warsaw before the group heads to Krakow tomorrow and then Oswiecim, where the former Auschwitz concentration camps are located.

“We’re not starting with a bunch of graphic imagery or starting in the middle of the Auschwitz Memorial,” she said. “We’re starting in a place that’s very must still lived in by Polish people today and yet you see marks of history all around you of what used to be here.”

Students who attend the Study Trip to Auschwitz complete a project following the trip to share their experiences and insight with our community, thereby expanding the impact of the program. These projects involve papers, poems, presentations, and videos. This section includes some of the videos students have produced. 

When I returned from Poland after the OUWB Holocaust and Medicine program, I struggled to find the words to explain the profound impact the experience had on me to my family, friends, and classmates. Instead, I found myself sharing the photographs I had taken throughout the trip. Putting some of my pictures together into this video allowed me to process my experience, and hopefully offers others a glimpse into the incredible responsibility that comes with a career in medicine, and the depth of moral courage required to uphold our oath as physicians.
- Emily Tenniswood, M2

This project highlights the evolution of medical language and the moral responsibility behind changing eponyms associated with the Holocaust. 
- Gabrielle Abdelmessih, M2