Poland
25 cadets and midshipmen participate in Holocaust educational program in Poland
Stars and Stripes
June 17, 2025
Participants in the American Service Academies Program, coordinated by the Auschwitz Jewish Center, visit the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow as part of their extensive educational experience in Poland confronting the history of the Holocaust and its lessons for ethical leadership. (Courtesy-U.S. Consulate General Krakow)
Twenty-five cadets and midshipmen from five United States service academies visited Poland to take part in the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation’s (AJCF) American Service Academies Program (ASAP) — an impactful 16-day educational experience that challenges future military leaders to confront the history of the Holocaust and apply its lessons to modern-day ethical leadership. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the program, which has educated hundreds of U.S. military students since its inception.
“For 20 years, the American Service Academies Program has empowered young military leaders to understand the consequences of hatred, the fragility of democracy and the importance of moral courage. ”
— AJCF Chairman Simon Bergson.
ASAP brings these future leaders through an intensive itinerary in both the U.S. and Poland, focusing on Holocaust history, ethical responsibility in the armed forces and the moral consequences of leadership during times of atrocity. Participants engage with survivors, scholars, elected officials and educators across two continents in a transformative journey of remembrance and responsibility. An additional group will travel later this summer.
The 2025 cohort included 25 cadets and midshipmen from the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.
In Poland, the program began on June 1 with an opening dinner and an orientation led by Auschwitz Jewish Center directors and the program’s Scholar-in-Residence Prof. Jody Russell Manning. Over the next several days, the group engaged in guided study visits to Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkenau, a tour of the Kazimierz Jewish Quarter and the former Kraków ghetto, met with Holocaust survivors, visited the Auschwitz Jewish Center and museum and rolled up their sleeves to help maintain the Oświęcim Jewish cemetery.
Participants in the American Service Academies Program, coordinated by the Auschwitz Jewish Center, visit the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow as part of their extensive educational experience in Poland confronting the history of the Holocaust and its lessons for ethical leadership. (Courtesy-U.S. Consulate General Krakow)
Participants in the American Service Academies Program, coordinated by the Auschwitz Jewish Center, visit the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow as part of their extensive educational experience in Poland confronting the history of the Holocaust and its lessons for ethical leadership. (Courtesy-U.S. Consulate General Krakow)
Participants in the American Service Academies Program, coordinated by the Auschwitz Jewish Center, visit the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow as part of their extensive educational experience in Poland confronting the history of the Holocaust and its lessons for ethical leadership. (Courtesy-U.S. Consulate General Krakow)
The group then traveled to Warsaw to visit the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Treblinka Death Camp Museum and Warsaw Uprising Museum and concluded with academic seminars, reflection workshops and commemorative events.
The program continued in New York, where the group visited the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City, met with Holocaust survivors and Poland’s Consul General, visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and participated in the AJCF’s annual gala on June 11.
“By immersing these cadets and midshipmen in the history of Auschwitz and the Holocaust, we hope to inspire ethical leadership rooted in humanity and justice,” said AJCF Chairman Simon Bergson.
“These young men and women represent the future of our nation’s armed forces and they are confronting some of history’s darkest chapters to become the kind of leaders the 21st Century needs,” said AJCF Director General Jack Simony. “Twenty years of ASAP have shown us that education in ethical leadership is one of the most powerful tools we have to fight hatred and uphold democratic values.”
This year’s ASAP is made possible with generous support from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany; the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future; the German Federal Ministry of Finance; the Taube Family Foundation and the David Berg Foundation.
The Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to harnessing the lessons learned from the Holocaust to combat hatred and bigotry through educational programs and by providing direct humanitarian aid to victims of mass atrocities. It supports survivors of genocides and other tragedies, including Ukrainian refugees and those impacted by Hamas’s October 7 attacks. The Foundation maintains the Auschwitz Jewish Center, the last remaining synagogue in Oświęcim (Auschwitz) and serves as the primary institution dedicated to preserving the memory of the town’s Jewish community while addressing hate. To date, over a million people have visited the center and more than 300,000 individuals, including first responders, military personnel, students and educators, have taken part in its educational initiatives on tolerance and the Holocaust. For more information, visit https://ajcfus.org/.