Szary Dom / Grey House

[Jewish descendant, educator and guide highlighting the long-lasting history of the space and the importance of not limiting it only to the Nazi or post-war period.] “Actually, the very first time I was walking [there], and I knew this place… I knew that we would see Szary Dom. And anything that has a name like that, it feels like it weighs heavier in your head. You know, Klaus Barbie doesn’t mean anything, but the “Butcher of Lyon” is like–that’s like… It’s a name. The Grey House, the Black House, the Red House… So I was like, okay, now we’re going to see this Grey House, and I knew that it was like this office, but it’s also like some sort of violence being done there. And as we walked down Jerozolimska, on the left I saw this building and I thought it was it, and I was like, “Wow.” And I had this moment of like: okay, this is the place, this is what people saw and where they were attacked […]. And then we kept walking, and then I saw the actual Grey House on the right side. And I felt nothing. I have already used my emotional reaction in the first place, which was the wrong one, so then, when I got to the right one, I was like: “Oh, I guess I was wrong,” you know.”