Szarvas Camp is located two hours outside of Budapest, Hungary. It has been a stronghold for global Jewish life since the 1990s, and this year, twenty-six teens represented BBYO. We were supposed to be in Israel for ILSI, but the conflict led us to Szarvas. We had no idea what to expect.

After nearly two weeks of sports tournaments, dancing, Jewish learning, cheers, singing, and bonding with teens from around the world, the BBYO delegation sat in a circle and reflected on the time we spent at Szarvas. What stuck with me most from this conversation were the words of Matt Grossman, the CEO of BBYO. He discussed the importance of us being at Szarvas, becoming friends with teens whose great-grandparents probably knew ours. During this conversation, he said something that echoed in my head for the rest of the trip: “Europe is not a graveyard for the Jews.”

When I think about my family’s Hungarian heritage, I think about how they had to leave, and how many Jewish families weren’t afforded the chance. I know very little of my family’s life before the twentieth century; I mourn the culture I will never get to understand or experience because of anti-semitism and hate. I was expecting to feel a lot of guilt touring Europe, having fun in the same places my family was forced to flee. 

However, Matt Grossman’s words made me rethink. Despite Europe being the setting for atrocities against the Jewish people, there are growing, thriving Jewish communities across the continent. In Vienna, we toured a synagogue that was at one point occupied by Nazis. Vienna’s Jewish community refused to let this sickening piece of history stop them from using their synagogue. The Holocaust massacred Budapest’s Jewish population. Yet, the city has a vibrant Jewish life and is home to some of the world’s most stunning synagogues. While Munich was once the Nazi capital, it is now home to one of the fastest-growing Jewish communities in Europe. Just being able to walk around freely in these cities is a reminder of how far we’ve come. As Maja Vizentaner, an ILSE staff member, put it, “You are living your grandparents’ dream.” 

I thought about Vizentaner’s and Grossman’s quotes when ILSE had a cheer-off with BBYO UK, when I hung upside down on a rollercoaster with BBYO Austria, and when I sang until my throat hurt at Havdalah with the entirety of Szarvas Camp. Even when walking around Terezín, a terrifying ghetto created by the Nazis, I thought about how resilient the Jewish people are. Our families lived through one of the worst events in human history, and still chose to pass down their faith, culture, and traditions. ILSE taught me that rising above history is just as important as remembering it.