Excerpt from Letter to Bernie Glassman about Auschwitz Retreat ~ from Natalie Goldberg, published in the Peacemaker Journal
In June 2011, a hundred and fifty of us traveled from all over the world to Auschwitz to Bear Witness.
I had heard about these Auschwitz retreats. I was drawn, but too scared. It was too immense, too far away. How would I even get to Poland?
But I have always loved being a Jew and was haunted by the Holocaust.
When I taught in the public schools I read Night by Elie Wiesel aloud to my students and we had Holocaust projects.
A mother came to me one morning before class, “Don’t you think it’s too hard for sixth graders? My daughter had nightmares all last night after doing research for her paper.”
“No,” I said.
“If we look evil in the face, we will know it and not run from it.”
She nodded as she backed out the door.
Join Zen Peacemakers in Bearing Witness this November
This year, Zen Peacemakers from all over the world and all walks of life will gather again in Auschwitz-Birkenau to bear witness together. We invite you to join us.
Scholarships are available, and guidance for Raising a Mala to support travel and retreat costs.
Bearing Witness Retreat in Auschwitz-Birkenau
November 15-21, 2026
Oświęcim, Poland
Learn more and register here
Natalie Goldberg is a poet, teacher, writer, and painter. A student of Zen Buddhism for 24 years, she trained intensively with Katagiri Roshi for 12 years, and is ordained in the Order of Interbeing with Thich Nhat Hanh.
Natalie teaches writing workshops nationally based on the methods presented in Writing Down the Bones. Her other books include Wild Mind; Long Quiet Highway; Banana Rose; and Living Color.
While we appreciate these efforts to confront evil, and we have the utmost respect for Roshi Glassman, we detect a certain degree of obsession with regard to Auschwitz-Birkenau. There have been many other evil events we suggest visiting and bearing witness: Srebrenica, the Herero and Nama genocide (now Namibia), Rwanda, even Palestine.
Rwanda is done. American Indian reservation is done. I think we should have one in Cambodia or some in Mexico or Central America