Applications are now open to join a community journey to Poland with Cincinnati Jewish Experience (CJX). From April 27-May 4, 2026, participants will embark on a meaningful exploration of Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust.
The robust itinerary is replete with sites of Jewish interest, taking participants to numerous Polish cities, towns, and villages – including Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz, Lublin, Bialystok, and more – to learn about and honor the vibrant Jewish communities that thrived in these cultural and economic centers before the pogroms and Holocaust. Many places had substantial Jewish populations. Participants will also bear witness at former death camps such as Auschwitz, Treblinka, Majdanek, and Belzec.
The CJX mission is to build bridges across the broader Cincy community and provide a non-judgmental space for anyone seeking to explore their Jewish heritage and pursue the knowledge and guidance needed to make informed decisions about their Jewish future.
Finding Meaning and Fostering Unity
The seven-day journey is geared towards Cincinnati Jewish adult community members of any affiliation or level of observance, with women, men, singles, couples, friends, and intergenerational family groups encouraged to apply.
“I welcome people from all over the Jewish map to come,” said Lisa Cook, CJX’s Director of Operations and a co-founder. Cook, who will lead the trip, believes that “everyone should go to Poland and learn what happened to our people in the places where it happened.”
The final itinerary will reflect as many personal family stories of the individual participants as possible. “It’s just so much more powerful for someone to stand in the place where their family lived or died,” she said, “and makes for a much more meaningful experience for us all.”
While many Ashkenazim have ancestral ties to Poland, Cook has designed the trip to enrich anyone wanting to learn more about the Holocaust or who seeks, in her words, “to lean into their Jewish identity and feel connected to their heritage and the community.”
Before, during, and after the trip, participants will have ample opportunities to get to know one another.
“We’ll do a lot of icebreakers and discussions, and during the trip we’ll meet after visits to process what we’ve seen,” Cook said. “It’s a lot of heavy stuff, but there’s also a lot of light. The point is not to come back depressed but to return empowered.”
The impact of the trip extends beyond the week in Poland and even beyond the perspective and knowledge gained. The shared experience of traveling together creates lasting personal bonds.
“It’s very, very meaningful to have the opportunity to do such an impactful trip with people that you might otherwise have never met or had contact with,” Cook said, who has led ten previous community trips to Poland. “It’s a great way to build unity and bridges across the community. I have seen so many beautiful relationships being formed on these trips.”
Wrapping one’s mind around the enormity of the losses from the Holocaust is weighty, but Cook calls it a “blessing” as well as a responsibility. Visiting Poland after the October 7th attacks in Israel and the rise in antisemitism worldwide drives home the importance of understanding history and the risks Jewish communities face.
“You have to see the outcome of what happens when Jew hatred is unleashed. We were blessed until now to live in a very safe time, relatively,” she said.
Uplifting programming goes along with the darkness of Holocaust history. “We’ll connect to many individual stories of self-sacrifice, dedication, love, and family, and return home enriched in our traditions and empowered in our values,” Cook said.
The trip will involve some walking and full days to make the most of the seven days. All catered meals and snacks will be kosher-certified. For additional information about this unforgettable journey and to apply, visit the CJX Poland trip page.
