| | This past week, I was lucky enough to be in Warsaw, Poland for
work. I extended my trip for one extra day and signed up to take
a “Jewish Heritage Tour” of Warsaw.
What I saw, read, and heard shook the essence of my soul, and just
writing this post has rattled me again. But, I feel compelled and
obligated to share my experience.
Some brief background:
During World War II, when Nazis controlled Poland, the Jews of Warsaw
were forced to live in a walled-in area known as the Warsaw
Ghetto. The population reached nearly 500,000 at its peak.
By the end of the war, only 2,000 were left, found tucked away in underground hideouts.
My tour stopped at the very few remnants of the ghetto and at the
memorials and monuments of those who died and those who fought in vain
against the Nazi forces.
The most famous Warsaw Ghetto monument.
This is largest of all the memorials in Warsaw and that’s me in front of it.
It memorializes Mordachi Anielewicz, who led the Jewish revolt against
the Germans, and those who fought with him. Starving and armed
with almost nothing, the Jews of the Ghetto couldn’t stave off the
Nazi’s superior weaponry.
In the end, Nazis burnt down nearly every building and bunker and the
commander in charge declared that “The Jewish quarter of Warsaw no
longer exists.”
Those Jews who did not die in battle took a two-hour train ride to Treblinka, the “local” concentration camp.
The Warsaw Ghetto revolt began on April 19. My visit was on April
20. As such, there were memorial services at most of the
monuments the day before and fresh flowers were often left behind.
The red and white flowers – the colors of Poland – were placed by
Poles. The blue and white flowers were placed by Israelis who
came to Warsaw to honor the heroes who fought so bravely.
Mass grave
Years after the war had ended, local Jews discovered something horrible
at the Jewish cemetery: A mass grave where the Nazis had dumped
and burned their victims.
That area is now covered with grass and weeds. Its perimeter is marked with stones with a black stripe across the top.
The Children's Memorial
This is a memorial for the 1 million Jewish children who died during
the Holocaust. The stones leading up to it form the shape of a
menorah.
On the wall are a few verses of the poem, “The Little Smuggler.”
It’s about the Jewish children who would sneak out of the Ghetto to beg
for bits of food and bring them back for their families. (The
daily allocation of food to the Jews in the Ghetto averaged 184
calories.)
The poem, written from the voice of a child, ends:
Only one worry besets me
Lying in agony; so nearly dead
Who’ll care for you tomorrow
Who’ll bring you, dear Mom,
a slice of bread
Those words struck me so intensely at the time, I couldn’t – or
wouldn’t – take a picture of the engraving. And now, as I type
it, tears again drip down my cheeks.
One of the most famous stories from the Warsaw Ghetto
A memorial to Janusz Korczak, a teacher who headed an orphanage that
housed 200 children. The Nazis ordered him to request in writing
the removal (death) of the children from the orphanage. This
would allow the Nazis to put the blame on Korczak rather than accept it
themselves.
Korczak refused and accompanied the children on the train to the concentration camp, Treblinka.
Remnants of the wall that enclosed the Ghetto
This is one of the two remaining segments of the wall that enclosed the Warsaw Ghetto.
Look closely and you may see that two bricks have been removed... one
is in Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial and museum in Israel.
The other is in another Holocaust museum, but sadly, I forgot which one.
Quote/unqote, hospital
The Nazis called this building a hospital (like they called the gas
chambers “showers”), but it was actually used to sort Jewish women.
Some would be used as labor, others would be sent to the death
camps. The train station to the Treblinka concentration camp was
conveniently located right next door.
Today, this building is used as a school for economics.
Train station
At the time of the Ghetto, the train station was just a little wooden
structure. The train made only one stop: The concentration camp
in Treblinka.
Now, in its place, is a memorial to all the people who rode the
train. Since no one knows the names of all the people who were
sent to the camps from this station, the monument lists common Jewish
first names of people who were surely sent to their deaths.
There’s something eerily moving about listing just first names.
Instead of seeing the name of a stranger you never knew, you see
yourself and your loved ones. It’s as if you’re looking at your
own tombstone.
  
I would have been sent to Treblinka.
My brother Jonathan would have been sent to Treblinka.
My brother Benjamin would have been sent to Treblinka.
Warsaw's only remaining synagogue
My tour ended at the only synagogue remaining in all of Warsaw.
I asked my guide why the Nazis had destroyed every other synagogue, but spared this one.
Her answer: The Nazis used it as a stable for their horses.
But, on a positive note, the synagogue is still in use today.
People gather, worship, and celebrate. The Torah is read weekly.
The synagogue stands as a symbol of defiance.
“Never forget.”
A few months ago, Iran hosted a conference to debate whether the
Holocaust ever took place. People from nearly every Arab nation
(and several non-Arab nations) attended.
Iran’s leading newspaper sponsored a contest to find the “best” political cartoon about the Holocaust.
The people who actually lived through the Holocaust are dying of old
age. Soon, they won’t be able to tell first-hand what they
experienced, making it easier for people to deny the Holocaust, or to
say it wasn’t really that bad as “we” make it out to be.
As a Jew, it’s my duty to remember and to retell.
The Holocaust did happen. And it pushed the limits of what humans can imagine and the limits of what they can bear.
And yet, we are still here. Fewer than before, but still living, praying, loving, teaching, learning … existing.
“Am Yisrael Chai.” The People of Israel live.
Thanks for reading.
|
| | Posted 4/22/2007 8:14 PM - 478 views - 46 comments
- recommend
  - recs0
- give stars
- votes3
- share
- email
 - sent0
|
