AMI Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies & Research Educational Tour to Poland August 2-8, 2015

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1 AMI Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies & Research Educational Tour to Poland August 2-8, 2015 Jewish Poland: Key to Understanding European History of the 20th Century Led by Shlomo Hizak and Monika Krawczyk Itinerary and Tour Information Sunday, August 2nd - arrival to Warsaw 6:30 pm - Welcome dinner & socializing Monday, August 3rd 8.00 am - Departure from Hotel 11:30 am - 1:00 pm - Kazimierz Dolny Once a typical Jewish small town (shtletl), Kazimierz Dolny is a picturesque and today a popular tourist destination located on the Wisła river. 1

2 Records suggest that the Jewish presence dates as far back as early medieval times. A Jewish district called Na Tyłach developed around a separate trading square in the town (called the Mały Rynek) and along Lubelska St., stretching to the south-east from the main square. The buildings here, unlike those in the Christian part of town, were for the most part made of wood. The first synagogue, also wooden, was probably built in the mid-16th century, but was destroyed by fire in This was later replaced by a synagogue built of brick which functioned until World War II. Over the centuries there were severe conflicts between the Kazimierz Jews and the Christians, mostly involving economic matters. In 1656, for example, the town and the castle were burned down and nearly all the Jewish inhabitants killed. Records reveal that in 1661 there were only 7 Jewish homes in the town. The Jewish community began to recover in the latter part of the 17th century under King Jan III Sobieski who granted the Jews a number of rights and protections. By the close of the 18th century, Jewish life was again well settled: 29 of the 31 of the most impressive houses in Kazimierz Dolny were owned by Jews! The 19th century saw the birth and establishment of a strong Chassidic movement in Kazimierz Dolny when a number of famous leaders and followers emigrated to the town, practiced, and died there. Between the First and Second World Wars, the Jewish population of Kazimierz Dolny was about 1,400, or roughly half (50%) the total town population. The inter-war period was a time of rapid social and cultural development of Kazimierz's Jews. It was on the initiative of Jewish political parties and social organizations that a Jewish library was opened in the town, along with a Jewish sports club, a relief fund, and private Jewish schools. On the eve of World War II, Jews comprised 64% of the town s population. During the Holocaust, the German Nazis established a ghetto in Kazimierz Dolny, forcing the Jews from the town and the surrounding region to re-settle within the restrictive and repressive confines of the ghetto. These Jews were deported in 1942 to Bełżec and murdered. The town was officially declared "free of Jews" at the end of that year. Under Nazi occupation, the Jewish cemetery in Kazimierz Dolny was devastated and the headstones used to pave roads and walkways. After the War, a memorial wall was erected using recovered headstone fragments. It is one of the most dramatic - and iconic - Jewish cemetery memorials in Poland today. 2

3 2:30 pm - Lublin - Visit to "Yeshiva Chachmei Lublin" The Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva on ul. Lubartowska 85 was at one time Poland's largest pre-war Jewish academy. Today it is a hotel. The synagogue, built in the 1930s and located on the side of the building, is a lovely restored piece of Lublin history which was not destroyed during WWII. Used during the War by the Nazis as a storage center, then to house wounded German soldiers, the synagogue's interior retains its original stairwell and metal balustrade, women's balcony (originally with exterior entrance, separated from the Yeshiva), and columns. The synagogue today receives between 10,000-15,000 visitors per year and has an impressive collection of historic photographs of the site, the Jewish families that once attended the synagogue (before and after WWII), and the synagogue's personalities and rabbis, including Rabbi Shapiro, the synagogue's first rabbi, originally from Bukovina, later in Piotrków Trybunalski. More information can be found on the official website of the Lublin Jewish Community: 3:00-5:30 pm - Museum at Majdanek (former Nazi German concentration camp) Majdanek was a Nazi German concentration and extermination camp established on the outskirts of the city of Lublin during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. Although initially purposed for forced labor rather than extermination, the camp was used to kill people on an industrial scale during Operation Reinhard, the German plan to murder all Jews within the General Government territory of Poland. Due to the camp's proximity to Lublin, prisoners were able to communicate with the outside world through letters smuggled out by civilian workers who entered the camp. Many of these surviving letters have been donated by their recipients to the Museum at Majdanek. The camp operated from October 1, 1941 until July 22, 1944 when it was captured nearly intact by the Soviet Red Army before it could be destroyed by the retreating Nazis. There is no consensus as to the number of deaths: Raul Hilberg estimated in 1961 the number of Jewish victims at 50,000; in 1992, Dr. Czesław Rajca published his own estimate of 235,000; 2005 research by the Head of Scientific Department at the Majdanek Museum estimated 79,000 victims, 59,000 of whom were Jews. The Museum was established in the fall of Majdanek is considered the best preserved Nazi concentration camp of the Holocaust. 3

4 More detailed information, documents, and photographs can be found on the Museum's website: 6:30-7:00 pm - Izbica From the very beginning, the town of Izbica was considered a Jewish town. Records indicate that Jews were already living there in the18th century. By 1827, all 407 residents of the town were Jewish, and by 1860, all 1450 residents! Even by 1921, Jews comprised 92% of the total population of Izbica, and at the outbreak of WWII, 84%. During the Nazi occupation, Izbica became the largest transition ghetto "in the East". The first mass deportation of ghetto inmates to the Bełżec extermination camp took place in mid-march Only 14 Jews of the town of Izbica survived the Holocaust Izbica is located along the Chassidic Route, a map created by the Foundation tracing the historically important sites of Jewish religious pilgrimages. There are 28 cities and towns currently participating in the Chassidic Route project, several of which will be visited over the the next few days! A brochure of Izbica - its Jewish history and its surviving sites of Jewish heritage - can be downloaded from the Foundation's website: 4

5 7:30 pm - Arrival in Zamość, hotel check-in 8:00 pm - Dinner 9:00 pm - Socializing and schmoozing at the Zamość Synagogue Center The Renaissance synagogue in the Old Town of Zamość is one of the most spectacular monuments of Jewish heritage in Poland and the only surviving Renaissance-style synagogue in the country. The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage has been the owner of the building since Over the next seven years, the Foundation conducted extensive repairs and renovations with the support of the Polish government and private donations, as well as the governments of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Today, the 'Synagogue' Center serves as a multi-cultural and education center as well as the Multimedia Museum of the History of the Jews of Zamość and the Surrounding Area. In addition, a number of exhibits and events sponsored by partners of the Foundation are housed, including those by the Zamość Gallery, the Bernardo Morando Fine Arts High School, the Karol Namysłowski Symphonic Orchestra and the Zamość University of Management and Administration. The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin and the Jewish Community of Trondheim are also involved in the Center s activities. Within the lovely and historic walls of this unique and precious survivor, visitors can learn about the long history of the Zamość Jewish community which greatly influenced the region s intellectual, religious, and cultural identity. The Zamość synagogue is located along the Chassidic Route, a map created by the Foundation tracing the historically important sites of Jewish religious pilgrimages. There are 28 cities and towns currently participating in the Chassidic Route project, several of which will be visited over the next few days! You are invited to download a brochure (.pdf) about the Zamość Synagogue Center from the Foundation's website: 5

6 Tuesday, August 4th 9:00 am - Visit to Old City in Zamość (UNESCO World Heritage Site), followed by lecture and discussions at the Zamość "Synagogue" Center about I.L. Perec, R. Luxembourg, and Jewish contribution to European culture The historic and unique city of Zamość was founded in the late 16th century. Jews from Spain, Turkey, and Italy began settling in the City shortly thereafter where they traded in diamonds, precious fabrics, oriental spices, and decorative arts products. At the time, the community of Sephardic Jews of Zamość was unique in the Republic of Poland. Together with settlers of Ashkenazi Jews, Zamość had one of the largest Jewish populations in Poland, and it soon gained status as an important center for religious studies. In the 18th century, many well-known rabbis worked there, contributing to Zamość becoming the center of the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) movement. Zamość today remains a stunning example of a Renaissance town which retains its original layout and fortifications and a large number of buildings blending Italian and central European architectural traditions. Between 1772 and 1809, Zamość briefly belonged to the historic territory of the Austrian Empire known as Galicia. On the eve of WWII, more than 12,500 Jews lived in Zamość, accounting for 43 percent of its population. The Nazis established a Jewish ghetto in the town which was liquidated before the end of November Deportations began in April 1943 with 3,000 Jews sent to Bełżec. In October, the Nazis shot 500 Jews in the streets of Zamość and deported 4,000 Jewish prisoners via the transfer point in Izbica to Bełżec for gassing. 1:00 pm - Departure to Museum at Bełżec (former Nazi German extermination camp) 1:30 pm - Arrival at Bełżec extermination camp 6

7 Bełżec was the site of the first of the Nazi German extermination camps created expressly for the purpose of implementing the secretive Operation Reinhard, the codename given to the secret Nazi plan to mass murder of European Jewry. The operation marked the deadliest phase of the Holocaust. The camp operated from 17 March 1942 until the end of December 1942, though the burning of exhumed corpses continued until March The wooden gas chambers were disguised as barracks and showers so that the victims would not realize the true purpose of the site. The process was conducted as quickly as possible: people were forced to run from the trains to the gas chambers, leaving them no time to absorb where they were or to plan a revolt. Only a handful of Jews were selected by the Nazis to perform the manual work involved with extermination (removing the bodies from the gas chambers, burying them, sorting and repairing the victims' clothing, etc.). These workers were periodically killed and replaced by new arrivals, another method of undermining organized revolt and the survival of witnesses. Between 430,000 and 500,000 Jews are believed to have been murdered at Bełżec, along with an unknown number of Poles and Gypsies. Only seven Jews imprisoned at the camp are known to have survived. The small number of survivors who could testify about it is the primary reason why so little is known about Bełżec despite the enormous number of victims. Bełżec Museum's website: Yad Vashem: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: 2:30 pm - Departure to Jarosław and Łańcut The towns of Jarosław and Łańcut provide the backdrop to tell the history of the Chassidic movement in Poland. "Tzadik" in Hebrew means righteous. Briefly, the Chassidic movement is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality through the popularization and internalization of Jewish mysticism. It was founded in the 18th century in what was then considered Eastern Europe. By the 1830s, the majority of Jews in Ukraine, Galicia, and central Poland were Chassidic. Chassidic Judaism began coming to Western Europe and then to the United States during the large waves of Jewish emigration in the 1880s. The movement peaked in popularity during the 19th century at a time when leadership succession became dynastic rather than inherited by the greatest or most charismatic student. Chassidic courts established themselves across Eastern Europe and adopted names, often in yiddish, reflecting their particular approach (branch) to Chassidic thought and life and the towns in which they were established. The movement - one of the imost important and influential in Judaisim - served to reinvigorate traditional Jewish society by charismatic example and teaching. The Holocaust brought total destruction to the historic Chassidic centers of Eastern Europe. 7

8 Jews settled in Jarosław relatively late; the first reference to their presence dates back to 1464; even as recent as 1901, Jews constituted 25% of the population. Due to its favorable geographic location and its economic importance, in the beginning of 17th century, Jarosław was appointed the seat of the Council of Four Lands, the supreme authority of the Jewish self-government in Poland. Jewish religious thought in Jarosław reached its peak at the turn of the 19th century when Jakub Ornstein and Szymon Maryles, two outstanding representatives of the Jewish community, were active there. Ornstein established in Jarosław a significant center of Talmudic studies, while Maryles created a Chassidic center. At the same time, the Haskalah movement, which called for the assimilation of Jews, started to spread its ideas in Jarosław, but it did not gain many supporters. By the end of the 17th century, the Jews of Jarosław had both a synagogue and Jewish cemetery. The large and imposing synagogue built near the market square (rynek) still stands today as does a smaller synagogue of the Yad Charuzim Society, along with a handful of other sites of Jarosław Jewish heritage. During WWII, the Nazis devastated the Jewish cemetery and shot and killed a number of local Jews at the cemetery. The majority of the Jews of Jarosław were deported and killed in Bełżec. By the beginning of the 17th century there was already a well-established Jewish community in Łańcut. 8

9 Beginning in the middle of the 18th century, the Chassidic movement became very popular in the town and eventually the dominant force in Jewish religious life in the town. The graves of several famous rebbes associated with the movement can be found at the local cemeteries, including Rabbi Zvi Naftali Horowitz, the Grand Rabbi of Ropshitz (Ropczyce) and Rabbi Ahron Moshe Leifer, the Grand Rabbi of Żołynia. Every year, large numbers of devoted followers of Chassidic Judaism make pilgrimages to Łańcut to pray at their graves. The baroque-style synagogue in Łańcut (built between ) was not only a place for religious services and teaching the torah but the administrative and legal center of the Jewish community. At that time, the Jewish community already also had its own school, bathhouse, prayer hall, hospital and Jewish cemetery. The synagogue, which still stands today, has a splendidly colored bimah and densely detailed walls with scenes of animals and mythical figures from the torah, zodiac, and Jewish festivals. A small but interesting room with judaica can be opened to visit, and also a room containing several dozen Jewish headstones from the cemetery, then being housed in the synagogue for safekeeping. The room used by Rabbi Horowitz, inside the synagogue and known as the "Lublin Room"is in itself a destination for Chassidic pilgrims, even today. The manor house and gardens belonging to the Potocki family - the magnate that once owned the town - is located next door to the synagogue, and is well- worth visiting in fine weather. Prior to World War II, the Jewish community of Łańcut constituted about one-third of the city population. The Nazis established a ghetto in the town in 1942 which was liquidated later that same year. Some of the Jews of Łańcut were deported to the camp in Pełkinie where children, sick, and elderly were murdered; some were sent to Bełżec. A handful were deported to the ghetto in Sieniawa where they were executed in the local cemetery. There were several incidents of those from Łańcut being killed while hiding in the nearby forest. Download lovely color brochures by the Foundation for Jarosław and Łańcut discussing Chassidism, the towns' Jewish history, and surviving sites of Jewish heritage: Learn more about the Chassidic Route, a project created by FODŻ for those interested in family travel, trips of memory, and Jewish religious pilgrimage to southeast Poland: Interactive map of the Chassidic Route on the website of the World Monuments Fund: 8:00 pm - Arrive at Kraków, hotel check-in 9

10 Wednesday, August 5th 8.30 am - To Museum at Auschwitz (former Nazi German concentration and extermination camps) 10:00 am- Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum tour As so much has already been written and portrayed in film and TV about Auschwitz-Birkenau, we will only briefly note here a few important facts and suggest additional sources of information. Auschwitz-Birkenau is a network of concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II. It consisted of Auschwitz I (the original camp), Auschwitz II Birkenau (a combination concentration and extermination camp), Auschwitz III Monowitz (a labor camp), 45 satellite camps. Auschwitz I was first constructed to hold Polish political prisoners who began to arrive in May The first extermination of prisoners took place in September Auschwitz II Birkenau went on to become a major site of the Nazi "Final Solution to the Jewish question". Approximately 1 in 6 Jews killed in the Holocaust died at the camp. Many of those not killed in the gas chambers died of starvation, forced labor, infectious diseases, individual executions, and medical experiments. As Soviet troops approached the camp in January 1945, most of its population was evacuated and sent on a death march. The remaining prisoners at the camp were liberated on January 27, 1945, a day now commemorated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In 1947, Poland founded a museum on the site of Auschwitz I and II, and in 1979, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Further reading can be found on the excellent and informative website of the Museum: 3:00 pm - Return to Kraków 7:00 pm - Discussion and meeting with Holocaust survivor and Jewish community representative 10

11 Thursday, August 6th 10:00 am - Tour of Kraków and Kazimierz (Jewish historical quarter): Jews in Poland from the 18th century to the Golden Age Kraków is the second largest, and one of the oldest, cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River, the city dates back to the 7th century and has been one of the leading centers of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life. Jewish history in the city can be traced back to the 14th or 15th century. The 18th century was marked by the struggle between the citizens of Kraków and the Jews of Kazimierz over closing Kraków to Jewish trade and crafts. Up until then, there had been put in place a number of anti-jewish restrictions intended to curtail the influence of Jewish merchants in many lucrative areas of Polish trade, including furs, wax, soap, salt, and tobacco. Jews served as gold and silversmiths and worked in the import-export industries. This resulted in the rise of a Jewish merchant class. In 1761, the Senate of Poland prohibited Jewish commerce in Kraków. In late 1776, the Polish king allowed Kazimierz to increase Jewish commerce rights. This had the effect of producing many incidents of violence perpetrated against Jews. In 1795, Kraków and its surrounding areas were annexed by Austria and in 1799 all Jewish businesses were removed from Kraków by order of the Austrian Authorities. Kraków changed hands again in 1809 and became part of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Then the Kraków Republic was formed between and during this period, Jews were allowed to live in the Jewish section of Kazimierz and "cultured" (assimilated) Jews were permitted to live in the Christian sections. By 1833, the Jewish population of Kraków numbered 10,820. A Jewish elementary school was opened in 1830 and the first Reform synagogue in Kraków again became part of the Austria Empire in Some 20 years later Kazimierz and Kraków merged and Jews regained some rights to trade and work. The poorest of the Jews tended to stay in Kazimierz. The Jewish Enlightenment (assimilationist movement) took hold and the first secular Hebrew public Library in Kraków opened in By the end of the 19th century, Kraków had a diverse network of Jewish schools taught in Polish, German, and Hebrew. A number of Jewish nationalist and Zionist organizations were also established and Jewish cultural and academic life in Kraków flourished. In 1900, Kraków had a Jewish population of 25,670, and by the eve of WWII, there were 120 officially registered synagogues and prayer houses! 11

12 Kraków's historic centre, which includes the Old Town, Kazimierz, and Wawel Castle, was included on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in More information can be found on the website of the Galicia Jewish Museum: Jewishgen Town page for Kraków: Website for the Jewish Virtual Library: 3:00 pm - Departure for Kielce, hotel check-in 6:00 pm - Kielce - Lecture and discussion about the 1945 anti-jewish pogrom by Poles on Jewish Holocaust survivors, and the post-1945 reconciliation process; meeting with the Jan Karski Educational Center The Kielce Pogrom was an outbreak of violence on July 4, 1946 against some 200 Holocaust survivors, members of the Jewish community of Kielce, which resulted in the killing of 42 Jews. As the deadliest pogrom against Polish Jews after WWII, the incident shocked Jews in Poland and many Poles, as well as the international community. It has been considered a major catalyst for the flight from Poland (immediately following the opening of the borders in 1947) of Polish Jews who had survived the Holocaust. 12

13 To download a brochure about the Jews of Kielce and the 1945 pogrom: Friday, August 7th 10:00 am - Departure to Przysucha Przysucha (Jews in 18th century) The historic town of Przysucha (near Radom) is located about 60 miles southwest of Warsaw in a region of Poland of small towns surrounded by farmlands. The town was founded in the early 15th century and by the end of the 18th century, it was a major center of Chassidism in Poland. It is still a site of annual pilgrimage today by Jewish religious groups, and there are several famous tzadikkim buried at the Przysucha Jewish cemetery. Jews comprised 75% of the town's population in the 19th century and continued to be the dominant ethnic group until the eve of WW2. Today the population of Przysucha is about 6,000. During WW2, the Nazis established a ghetto in Przysucha; most of the town's Jews were deported and killed in Treblinka. There is no Jewish presence in Przysucha today. Initially, Przysucha was inhabited by Germans who arrived to profit from the region s mining and rich iron ore deposits. Jews were allowed to settle down in the town in the early 18th century. Each nationality established their own district in Przysucha. As the Jewish community developed, a synagogue was built. It still exists today. The Przysucha synagogue is a rare and unique survivor of Poland's pre-war Jewish physical heritage. It was erected between , and is one of the largest baroque synagogues found in Poland today (650m²). It stands as a reminder of the now extinct Jewish community. 13

14 Despite having been used by the Nazis as a warehouse and heavily damaged during and after the War, the building still retains impressive ornamental and structural details, including a large central bimah, a wall niche for the ark framed with stucco griffins, the women's gallery, and highly colorful fragments of decorative frescoes on the inside; on the exterior is a very rare and unique feature: a pillory where Jews sentenced by the Jewish community court would be locked for punishment! Following the War, the building fell into further disrepair and neglect, like so many synagogues and sites of Jewish heritage in Poland. Over the intervening years, misguided renovations contributed to a deteriorating situation and dangerously threatened the structural integrity of the building. The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland acquired the synagogue in 2007, immediately thereafter instituting major work to stabilize the structure. Years saw the building's foundation reinforced and bimah properly re-supported, copper roof restored, and three of its four exterior walls rehabilitated. In 2015 the fourth wall will be completed. Then focus will shift toward restoration of the synagogue's rich and impressive interior. The long-term goal for the restored Przysucha synagogue is for it to host educational, cultural, and religious conferences and events, accessible to all visitors. Here will also be an opportunity to educate in situ the local non-jewish population about the richness of Przysucha's Jewish past, while also serving the needs of visiting Jewish tourists, pilgrims, and descendants, as well as Holocaust researchers and academics. Take a virtual tour of the Przysucha synagogue: Learn more about the ongoing renovation by the Foundation: 3:00 pm - Warsaw, Hotel check-in and shabbat preparation 14

15 7:00 pm - Visit to the Jewish Community in Warsaw The Nożyk Synagogue, the only surviving prewar Jewish house of prayer inwarsaw, was built in a Neo-Romanesque style between Finding itself located in Warsaw's "small ghetto" during WWII, the Synagogue's members shared the same fate as the rest of Warsaw's Jews. The Nazis converted the building into horse stables and a depot; and it suffered considerable damage during and after this period. The building was partially restored and returned to the Warsaw Jewish Community after the War, then rebuilt and rededicated in The Synagogue is in active use today. 8:00 pm - Shabbat dinner Saturday, August 8th 9:00 am - Visit with the Warsaw Jewish Community The Warsaw Jewish Community today has about 600 members, continuing a long tradition of education, community service, and warmly welcoming young and old, professionals and nonprofessional, students and teachers. Its members practice both traditional and liberal Judaism. The Community has a branch in Lublin and is one of seven organizations forming the Association of Jewish Communities in Poland. To learn more, please visit the website of the Jewish Community of Warsaw: 12:00 pm - Lunch 2:00 pm - Warsaw tour, including Umschlagplatz, Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Old Town 15

16 Before the World War II, over 30% of the population of Warsaw was Jewish; it was the second largest Jewish community in Europe. Hundreds of Jewish schools and libraries were open, there were theatres and sports clubs and more than 130 newspapers! In 1940 the Nazi Germans opened a Jewish Ghetto in the center of Warsaw surrounded by a high wall. The Ghetto was divided into two zones, the small and big ghetto, with a wooden bridge connecting them. From the Umschlagplatz, over 300,000 Jews were deported to extermination camps, mainly Treblinka (about 5,000-7,000 per day). A monument was built here in 1988, with an inscription that reads:. 'Over 300,000 Jews followed this path of suffering and death between from the Ghetto created in Warsaw to the Nazi death camps'. 448 given names - from Abel to Żanna - are engraved as a symbol of the Jews imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto. On the wall of the adjacent building is a verse from the Book of Job (16:18): 'O earth, cover not thou my blood, And let my cry have noresting-place'. In 1943, there was an uprising in the Ghetto that continued for over a month. At the end, the entire Ghetto was razed to the ground only a few buildings and the Saint Augustine Church survived. Those who participated in the uprising were killed. There were about 20,000 Jews in the Warsaw ghetto that managed to escape to the Aryan side of the wall and survive the War. Despite the enormous destruction of the war, Warsaw still has many surviving sites of Jewish heritage culture, including several which the group will be visiting on this day. Old Town Warsaw is the oldest part of the City, and rich in restaurants, cafés, and shops. Its surrounding streets feature medieval architecture. Old Town was established in the 13th century but meticulously rebuilt after its devastation in WWII. Wherever possible, original bricks were reused and the post-war rubble sifted for recovery of decorative historic architectural elements. Old Town Warsaw is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. 16

17 Website for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, opened in October 2014: Other useful links: 7:00 pm Farewell gala Sunday, August 9th - Departure Day 17