‘This experience made me aware of the responsibility that we young people have for the future and made me realize that by exploring the past you can create a better future by learning from the mistakes of the past. I learned that by changing the perspective on the past you can change the perspective on the future and that each of us can bring added value to society. I learned that empathy is a key element in creating a society with healthy principles. The fact that we had the opportunity to explore the past with specialized teachers made us understand the historical context, know where we place ourselves on the axis of time and let us be free to experience what each place conveyed to us. The visit to Auschwitz marked me deeply because there I felt a deep connection with the past, beyond the huge place well organized to lead to the elimination of millions of people, the old buildings over which time has passed, many other instruments of torture, death from the physical side to the psychological side I felt a smell of death in the atmosphere that enveloped the place, the photos placed and taken in certain places made you feel that you entered the place from which you will not be able to escape unharmed or maybe even alive ( just as it happened to the lives of millions of people), to feel that you hold on your shoulders the responsibility to change something so that such tragedies never happen again.’ – Cășeriu Bianca
‘It was an amazing experience that added new information to the base that we already had by visiting places with extremely powerful backgroud of the lowest point in mankind and by interacting with amazing new people with the same passion for history. Beside the amazing and shocking images and information the study tour connects the people, including the staff into a family and creates friendships that that will last a lifetime in some cases. I can’t thank everyone enough for this opportunity !’ Cepcenco Robert
‘This experience was conceived to disturb, to open minds, to throw you out of your head. It did (in a good way). Everything spoke to me, from the depths of history itself.’ Cardasim Filip
‘This group study opened dors for my mind to expand and get a deeper and more meaningful understanding of this tragedy. I was able to get to know amazing people from all over the country, to discover their passions and drive for what they do and get inspired. Visiting all these places and getting in touch with my heritage strated a spark in me to be more vocal about the things that actually matter, and to get more informed. All in all i think this is one of the best way to experience auscwitz, because you don’t only visiy the museum you get a full cultural and political point of view of the whole historical event.’ Vanessa Bretea
‘It is definitely hard to sum up the experience, but the first word that comes to mind is “overwhelming”. These 12 days were extremely intense and packed with all kinds of emotions and it is this emotional mix that created a very strong bond between the participants. We were able to see where both the worst and the best of mankind can exist, how from sinister and monstrous sufferings the Jewish community managed to flourish and thrive again and why it is our responsibility to keep the memory of the victims alive.’ – Daniel Ienculescu-Popovici
“The Holocaust was a crime against humanity that was so heinous that the international world promised to never forget it in case similar horrors occurred in the future.
As a participant in the fifth Elie Wiesel Study Tour, I am privileged to learn not only about the history of the Holocaust and its victims but also about the value of awareness. The Elie Wiesel Study Tour gives participants the chance to comprehend the political, social, and cultural causes that led to and sustained the Holocaust, gives them the chance to witness the horrors of Auschwitz firsthand, and aims to improve their understanding of authoritarian regimes.” – Marius Geți
“Not only that EW Study Tour connects you with people from other fields of study and still interested in the history of the Holocaust, but it demonstrates that you have not seen it all even if you had the impression. History is more beyond the surface – it does not fully stay in words, pictures taken in black&white. It means the stale, damp smell, it means to step by mistake on the edgy bricks (demolished, from the crematoria) that makes your feet slip, or on the beaten path seeing clearly the dent in the concrete knowing that stairs were stepped on by more than a million victims – and you, you stepping with the same foot, but not being chased… yet. The study tour is like a 4D version of an innocent 2D experience only by reading or hearing it briefly from someone. It gives you gives depth, vision, time, chills. Not only knowing the Holocaust, but sensing its sadistic, vicious and inhumane motifs.” – Amalia Bodac
“Elie Wiesel Study Tour is a landmark effort dedicated to preserving and enhancing the collective memory of the most traumatic chapter of contemporary history. From its academic polyvalence to its spiritual meaning, this experience defines the premise of further action that us, the participants, are enabled to pursue. Jewish history is highly embedded in our societal architecture and celebrating its value is of utmost importance. The tragedy of the Holocaust has to be remembered consistently, so that no such act of huge horror is repeated.” – Răzvan Foncea