Post by QPR Report on Sept 10, 2009 16:50:42 GMT
[Interetsting to me..And not the usual "Fans Overseas Cause Chaos" type story]
'Eye-opening' Trip For Northern Ireland Fans
by Fay Strang/Totally Jewish - Thursday 10th September 2009
Around 100 Northern Ireland football fans paid an emotional visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau last Sunday whilst in Poland to support their team.
After the World Cup qualifier match on Saturday, when the two countries drew 1-1, the supporters staying in Krakow had a three-hour visit to the camps.
Top storiesCondemnation Of New Construction
Natural Causes
At Auschwitz, they had a full tour of the original buildings that housed inmates, including the first incinerator the Nazis used to test the poison gas later employed at Birkenau on a mass scale.
They then made their way to the second, larger site where they viewed the infamous railway track leading to the 'gate of death'.
Visiting the huts where the inmates were housed, they heard a talk from a survivor who related her experiences in the camp where she spent three years as a teenager. As she described how she had survived and how she was separated from her family as soon as she arrived and never saw them again, many of the supporters broke down in tears.
One of the fans, Gareth England, said: "It was a very harrowing experience indeed but, nonetheless, worthwhile and eye-opening as to the consequences of hatred, xenophobia and racism."
Chairman of the North Coast, Northern Ireland Supporters Club, Philip Hernberg who helped organise the trip along with other supporter clubs told the Jewish News: "Everyone who went was deeply moved and remember they are not your average shrinking violets.
"I think it is important for people to remember such recent history. We are just coming out of 30 years of conflict ourselves so we can empathise with it and we know about ethnic cleansing."
In 2005, former Northern Ireland football manager, Lawrie Sanchez took the team to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau when they were playing Poland. The side was staying within walking distance of the Memorial to the Jewish fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto. Sanchez said it was important to teach his team that there are more important things in life than football.
www.totallyjewish.com/news/world/c-12411/eye-opening-trip-for-northern-ireland-fans/
'Eye-opening' Trip For Northern Ireland Fans
by Fay Strang/Totally Jewish - Thursday 10th September 2009
Around 100 Northern Ireland football fans paid an emotional visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau last Sunday whilst in Poland to support their team.
After the World Cup qualifier match on Saturday, when the two countries drew 1-1, the supporters staying in Krakow had a three-hour visit to the camps.
Top storiesCondemnation Of New Construction
Natural Causes
At Auschwitz, they had a full tour of the original buildings that housed inmates, including the first incinerator the Nazis used to test the poison gas later employed at Birkenau on a mass scale.
They then made their way to the second, larger site where they viewed the infamous railway track leading to the 'gate of death'.
Visiting the huts where the inmates were housed, they heard a talk from a survivor who related her experiences in the camp where she spent three years as a teenager. As she described how she had survived and how she was separated from her family as soon as she arrived and never saw them again, many of the supporters broke down in tears.
One of the fans, Gareth England, said: "It was a very harrowing experience indeed but, nonetheless, worthwhile and eye-opening as to the consequences of hatred, xenophobia and racism."
Chairman of the North Coast, Northern Ireland Supporters Club, Philip Hernberg who helped organise the trip along with other supporter clubs told the Jewish News: "Everyone who went was deeply moved and remember they are not your average shrinking violets.
"I think it is important for people to remember such recent history. We are just coming out of 30 years of conflict ourselves so we can empathise with it and we know about ethnic cleansing."
In 2005, former Northern Ireland football manager, Lawrie Sanchez took the team to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau when they were playing Poland. The side was staying within walking distance of the Memorial to the Jewish fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto. Sanchez said it was important to teach his team that there are more important things in life than football.
www.totallyjewish.com/news/world/c-12411/eye-opening-trip-for-northern-ireland-fans/
