(Noy:)We woke up and ate breakfast at the very nice hotel. We then decided to stop by Belzec death camp on our way to the hospital In Warsaw. We arrived and the first thing I saw was a field of ashes. Of course not real ashes, but black rocks of different sizes covered the grounds. They were there to give it a feeling and look of ashes. Nothing was left of the camp because the Nazi soldiers destroyed it the moment they were done with their massive murdered of about 500,000 Jews. This field was surrounded by a forest, and right outside were railroad tracks which were used during the holocaust to transport Jews to the death camp, their first and last stop. When we walked towards the memorial Ima noticed a date on one of the walls- it was March 17, 1942. This was very ironic because it was today- that date was the day the first killing of Jews In Belzec began- about a month earlier they tested the gas chambers. The memorial was designed in a very touching way. The field of “ashes” was surrounded by a sidewalk- on it the names of the small towns and villages in which the Jewish people came from before they were sent to Belzec. When we got there we saws a group of polish teenagers with the mayor of the village (according to Tomek). The Polish students had a ceremony along with their group leaders. It really surprised me and touched me that even polish non Jews cared to visit the death camps and hold ceremonies as great as they did. It also showed me that even the polish teenagers at school learn about the holocaust, just like in Israel and any other country. After that a group of Israeli Hasidim arrived. They were a group of teen girls with their leaders. They were all wearing the Israeli flag across their back- it meant a lot to me to see all of these different people gathered with the same purpose- to learn and see of the horrors of the Nazis and the holocaust during world war two, and hopefully try to prevent it from ever happening again. Other than the Polish teens and the Israeli Jews, there were some Jewish girls from Great Britian. As we were walking down the memorial, I looked at all the names of the many small villages and was in complete shock- I still could not believe how a group of anti-Semitic people could get together and form this stereotype about a group of people, and wipe out that whole race. I could not believe that all these little towns we passed by in Ukraine were once filled with Jewish People. This thought shook me. The thought that the Nazis were able to kill 6 MILLION Jews shook me. It still does, and it always will. And when I see Auschwitz tomorrow I will be shaken again. Never will I let this thought leave my mind. Belzec was meaningful to me and even more probably to Ima and Savta- because this was most likely the place where Savta’s family, my mother’s family- and my family was killed. Belzec was a death camp in which it was impossible to survive. The train loaded with Jewish people knowing nothing about their fate reached the station and dropped them off. They got undressed- and went to their death in a shower. No bunks to sleep in, no time to think- to gather your thoughts, no time to say goodbye. This is why Belzec meant so much to me.
(Ruthy:)Despite the need to get to Warsaw to take care of Savta’s arm, we decided to start the day in the Belzec Death camp, just out side the town in which we spent the night.
According to the articles in the Rohatin book (where saba Arye had an article as well), it seems like many or most of Knihnize’s Jews (500 people) were sent there on September 1942.
When we reached the gate, I was stunned. There was a date written in Iron letters and numbers on the gate. It only said 17-III-1942 (with the Hebrew date as well)
That was the date of the first transport to Belzec. (On February of 42 there were some “experiments” before the camp opened “officially”).
Very few cars were in the parking lot, but in a matter of minutes, the place filled up with Official Poles wearing black suites and holding memorial wreaths and some other Poles including (which was most touching to me) a few elderly simple men who came with their Bicycles from the nearby town, as well.
At 11am, a short ceremony started. We didn’t understand one word and yet it was probably for me the most soul touching ceremony I ever heard. The people took burning “nerot zikaron” into the memorial when the ceremony was over.
Than, busses arrived too and the place was filled with Orthodox Israely and American girls with their Israeli flags and youth.
Nothing was left of this very efficient horrible machine.
A huge field was covered with Bazelet stones, and looked like a huge grave yard with the snow covering the ground.
A long path leads around the field with names of all the shtetls and towns whose Jews were brought to Belzec, in chronological order. Of course we found Knyhnize as well as Savta Ahuva’s town Narajov.
After the trip to Ukraine, in which we were all involved in the navigation, we knew a lot of the villages and towns’ names that we passed through. All Jews free now.
A little museum tells the story of this factory.
The most astonishing fact is that only 2 people (!!) survived this place. One of them was murdered in the 50’s just before serving as a witness in a Nazi officer’s trial.
Just a simple place. No Barracks, no beds, nothing. A train station and gas chambers and a very efficient system.
According to the articles in the Rohatin book (where saba Arye had an article as well), it seems like many or most of Knihnize’s Jews (500 people) were sent there on September 1942.
When we reached the gate, I was stunned. There was a date written in Iron letters and numbers on the gate. It only said 17-III-1942 (with the Hebrew date as well)
That was the date of the first transport to Belzec. (On February of 42 there were some “experiments” before the camp opened “officially”).
Very few cars were in the parking lot, but in a matter of minutes, the place filled up with Official Poles wearing black suites and holding memorial wreaths and some other Poles including (which was most touching to me) a few elderly simple men who came with their Bicycles from the nearby town, as well.
At 11am, a short ceremony started. We didn’t understand one word and yet it was probably for me the most soul touching ceremony I ever heard. The people took burning “nerot zikaron” into the memorial when the ceremony was over.
Than, busses arrived too and the place was filled with Orthodox Israely and American girls with their Israeli flags and youth.
Nothing was left of this very efficient horrible machine.
A huge field was covered with Bazelet stones, and looked like a huge grave yard with the snow covering the ground.
A long path leads around the field with names of all the shtetls and towns whose Jews were brought to Belzec, in chronological order. Of course we found Knyhnize as well as Savta Ahuva’s town Narajov.
After the trip to Ukraine, in which we were all involved in the navigation, we knew a lot of the villages and towns’ names that we passed through. All Jews free now.
A little museum tells the story of this factory.
The most astonishing fact is that only 2 people (!!) survived this place. One of them was murdered in the 50’s just before serving as a witness in a Nazi officer’s trial.
Just a simple place. No Barracks, no beds, nothing. A train station and gas chambers and a very efficient system.
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