Shliach Escorts US Senator on Moving Visit To Auschwitz

US Senator Steve Daines and Montana’s Lubavitch Shliach Rabbi Chaim Bruk traveled to Poland together to visit the The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial in Oświęcim, where 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered.

This was the first visit to Auschwitz for both Senator Daines and Rabbi Bruk, as well as Senator Daines’ staff who joined the trip. The visit to Auschwitz is numbing, incomprehensible, and a reminder of what happens when evil and dehumanization infects a society. This trip was almost three years in the making and was extremely educational for both the rabbi and Senator. 

“Reading about it, watching documentaries, isn’t the same as walking on the blood drenched grounds, gazing at the barracks in which my relatives died of starvation and illness, and experiencing the soul crushing gas chambers”, Rabbi Bruk said, “the visit will remain etched in my heart forever and serve a catalyst to teach about love and humanity”.

Senator Daines shared that “It was very meaningful to visit Poland with my friend Rabbi Bruk as chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation. Seeing Auschwitz firsthand was a profound and sobering experience.  It was a stark reminder of the evil genocide committed by the Nazis against the Jewish people. 1.1 million innocent men, women, and children were murdered at Auschwitz alone. I thank Rabbi Bruk for his many years of friendship and for accompanying me on this visit.” 

For Rabbi Bruk the trip was especially emotional as his maternal grandfather Rabbi Shimon Goldman was born in Poland and was the sole survivor of his family. His six siblings, parents, nieces and nephews were all murdered by the nazis when he was only 15 years old.  Rabbi Bruk had an opportunity to visit some of the places connected to his grandfather in Northeast Poland.