By Jen Koss, HERC’s Education Coordinator, August 19, 2026
HERC’s Education Coordinator, Jen Koss, participated in a 10-day educational study tour to Poland with the Spungen Foundation in July. The trip brought together high school students and teachers from Montana alongside Holocaust educators from across the country for an intensive exploration of Poland’s dynamic and multifaceted prewar Jewish life, the history of the Holocaust in Poland, and personal stories of Holocaust survivors.
The group visited the sites of former ghettos in Warsaw, Lublin, Kraków, and Łódź, as well as the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz I, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Płaszów, Bełżec, and Majdanek. Experiencing these sites in person was a powerful way to better understand the geography and history behind the stories that Jen teaches Wisconsin students every day. Moreover, it served as a warning about the dangers of unchecked antisemitism.
Jen contributed to the group’s education by sharing stories of Wisconsin Holocaust survivors that connected to the sites visited. This helped participants better understand the personal impact of the Holocaust on individuals, families, and communities whose stories continue to resonate in classrooms today.
One of the most meaningful experiences of the trip took place in Łódź, which was home to the second-largest prewar Jewish community in Poland.
During a visit to the Museum of Independence Traditions in Łódź, Jen had access to historical records that have not yet been digitized. These records included information about Jews imprisoned in the Łódź Ghetto. That opened a door to family histories and unanswered questions.
Local Holocaust survivor Edie Pump had family members from Łódź: her cousin Zanvel Hammer, his wife Hinda, and their daughter Lola. The family was last heard from in 1939, leaving Edie and her family with very little information about their fate during the Holocaust.
With the assistance of museum staff, Jen found the family’s address in the Łódź Ghetto. She then traveled to the location with a local guide and was able to see the site where Edie’s relatives had lived during the Holocaust.
Sharing the address and details with Edie and the Pump family provided them with new information and a tangible connection to a place that had existed only in their family’s memory.
Jen also located addresses connected to other local Holocaust survivors, both prewar and during the Holocaust. The ability to see these locations firsthand and document what stands there today adds another layer to the stories of Wisconsin Holocaust survivors and their prewar communities.
The value of this journey extends far beyond the trip itself. The firsthand experiences, historical discoveries, photographs, and stories Jen brought home will help strengthen HERC’s educational programming for Wisconsin students and teachers. Her experience in Poland will allow her to incorporate these discoveries and the stories of Wisconsin’s own Holocaust survivors into future lessons, presentations, and educational programs.
Photo: Zanve, Lola, and Hinda (left to right), relatives of Holocaust survivor, Edie Pump.