The Search to Find what was once Lost

Today is our second day of working in the cemetery. The clearing we have made is pretty impressive for spending so few hours (today was a three hour day). I got to work cutting out larger plants with the hatchet and also got to teach a few of my peers how to properly swing one. I was amazed, and still am, by the persistent determination of everyone on the trip. Samantha managed to dig out a tree stump, practically on her own. Mallory and Chelsea managed to find and then assemble the broken face of one of the tombstones, and subsequently discovered a new person with a full name and birth and death dates. Having cleared the area I was working on, I decided to help clear brush and carry it to the nearest fire. Already I see the enormous amount of brush we've cleared, something which is sure to increase. After our work, we headed back to the Hostel to quickly freshen up, and the set out on our tour of Wrocław. I am very grateful for the chance to go on the tour as I am a big history/museum fan. It was incredibly heart breaking to see so many beautiful churches in Wrocław and no synagogues, and then know the reason why.
There is a lot on the tour that I hope to be able to revisit, but I doubt I'll have time for all of it on this trip. Maybe I was expecting there to be more recognition of the old Jewish population than there really is, but I feel as though our tour guide both left out a lot of information about Jewish life and had to be prompted for the information we did get. I know for a fact that he left out the memorial for the synagogue that burned down during the Krystal Nact. After meeting with the Hope Hatikvah group, Mallory and I decided we would try to find the memorial. The meeting with Hope Hatikvah was interesting, but the conversation regarding the connection between our two groups was short lived, at least where I was sitting. The conversation was more about learning Polish and American culture.
Our search for the monument was unsuccessful. Eventually we decided we should head back and get ready for bed. Today has been incredibly busy and the rest will be welcomed. Tomorrow is our long work day, one which I look forward to. A part of me still wonders how different this city, this community would be without the Holocaust, without the senseless death of so many.