Today, our last day in Belarus, we spent the time in Minsk learning of the WWII history of the Jewish community and visiting some of the establishments as well.
We started with a walking tour where we saw 1 of the 99 (!) shuls that had been active in the early 1900’s and had been taken over by various governmental interventions. The one we see, a choral shul, is monstrous, as is the parsonage home that was used by the Rabbi.
There was a law under Soviet rule that said that a cemetery that had not had a burial for 25 years may be plowed over or paved over to be used as public parkway. We stand in one of those Jewish cemeteries that no longer is recognizable as a cemetery. Over time, some of the community have taken the few remaining headstones that had been visible and lay them near each other on the ground to mark that, indeed, this was/is a cemetery. How sad it was to see these headstones strewn about as if they were mere rocks. We read some of the headstones that are still legible. Some are of little children and some of elderly…how heartbreaking.
Our next stop was the Minsk ghetto. We visit a place known as “Appelplatz.” This is similar to Umschlagplatz in Poland where from this point 100,000 Jews were sent to their deaths in the camps. In Minsk, as opposed to many other communities, thousands of Jews were murdered in the city and often in front of their neighbors and (non-Jewish) friends.
Our final stop in the area was a large ravine in the heart of the city. This location reminds me of Babi Yar and other killing fields that we have visited over the past few years. Here, on Ta’anit Esther 1942 approximately 5000 Jews were rounded up and shot to death in this ravine. It is a mass grave, that has a memorial to these Kedoshim. We once again, pause to reflect on their sacrifice as Jews and recite the Kel Maleh memorial prayer.
It is somewhat ironic that during our final few hours in Minsk, that for the first time since we arrived, the sun has begun to shine. The weather has been relatively speaking, not too bad. The temperatures have hovered between 20-30 degrees all of this time. (Compared to the 10 degree weather back in Chicago, I feel fortunate to be in the “warmth” of Belarus!)
Our last stop before our trip to the airport is to a location that I had honestly never heard of—Khaytin. During WWII, there were 619 villages around Belarus that were literally burned to the ground. Of those, 168 of them were never re-built. That means they were physically wiped off the face of the Earth. In Khatin, there is a memorial unlike any other I had ever seen. It spans the area of the entire village (that used to stand here). There are 26 houses represented by foundations and a chimney…houses that were burned to the ground with all of their residents inside. At one point, almost 150 people, men, women and children, were ordered into a barn, and the barn was set on fire. Those who tried to escape from the barn were shot to death outside the barn. Only 3 people survived…There is a massive sculpture of a man, face twisted in pain, holding the body of a child, his child, that died in the father’s arms. There are bells that ring every 30 seconds memorializing those who perished here. While there are many other symbolic items, I will mention only these. I must say that while we were standing there, it was perfectly silent. Yet, in my mind, the silence was broken by the sounds of the flames as they licked the wood buildings. A stark contrast…the sunny sky and the peaceful area…
And now, we are off to the airport (I am writing this on the bus ride to the airport). I can hardly contain my excitement knowing that in a few hours, I will arrive home in Israel. Although I was there only 3 weeks ago, I feel like I have not been there in months.
Every year, at the end of this part of the Mission, I think about the same thing. On Tisha B’Av, we recite a Kina that juxtaposes what the Jews felt like as they left Egypt compared to how they felt as they left Jerusalem to go into exile. The end of this Kina closes with the prayer, the hopeful prayer that once again we will sing in joy as we RETURN to Jerusalem. Today—I return to Jerusalem!
We started with a walking tour where we saw 1 of the 99 (!) shuls that had been active in the early 1900’s and had been taken over by various governmental interventions. The one we see, a choral shul, is monstrous, as is the parsonage home that was used by the Rabbi.
There was a law under Soviet rule that said that a cemetery that had not had a burial for 25 years may be plowed over or paved over to be used as public parkway. We stand in one of those Jewish cemeteries that no longer is recognizable as a cemetery. Over time, some of the community have taken the few remaining headstones that had been visible and lay them near each other on the ground to mark that, indeed, this was/is a cemetery. How sad it was to see these headstones strewn about as if they were mere rocks. We read some of the headstones that are still legible. Some are of little children and some of elderly…how heartbreaking.
Our next stop was the Minsk ghetto. We visit a place known as “Appelplatz.” This is similar to Umschlagplatz in Poland where from this point 100,000 Jews were sent to their deaths in the camps. In Minsk, as opposed to many other communities, thousands of Jews were murdered in the city and often in front of their neighbors and (non-Jewish) friends.
Our final stop in the area was a large ravine in the heart of the city. This location reminds me of Babi Yar and other killing fields that we have visited over the past few years. Here, on Ta’anit Esther 1942 approximately 5000 Jews were rounded up and shot to death in this ravine. It is a mass grave, that has a memorial to these Kedoshim. We once again, pause to reflect on their sacrifice as Jews and recite the Kel Maleh memorial prayer.
It is somewhat ironic that during our final few hours in Minsk, that for the first time since we arrived, the sun has begun to shine. The weather has been relatively speaking, not too bad. The temperatures have hovered between 20-30 degrees all of this time. (Compared to the 10 degree weather back in Chicago, I feel fortunate to be in the “warmth” of Belarus!)
Our last stop before our trip to the airport is to a location that I had honestly never heard of—Khaytin. During WWII, there were 619 villages around Belarus that were literally burned to the ground. Of those, 168 of them were never re-built. That means they were physically wiped off the face of the Earth. In Khatin, there is a memorial unlike any other I had ever seen. It spans the area of the entire village (that used to stand here). There are 26 houses represented by foundations and a chimney…houses that were burned to the ground with all of their residents inside. At one point, almost 150 people, men, women and children, were ordered into a barn, and the barn was set on fire. Those who tried to escape from the barn were shot to death outside the barn. Only 3 people survived…There is a massive sculpture of a man, face twisted in pain, holding the body of a child, his child, that died in the father’s arms. There are bells that ring every 30 seconds memorializing those who perished here. While there are many other symbolic items, I will mention only these. I must say that while we were standing there, it was perfectly silent. Yet, in my mind, the silence was broken by the sounds of the flames as they licked the wood buildings. A stark contrast…the sunny sky and the peaceful area…
And now, we are off to the airport (I am writing this on the bus ride to the airport). I can hardly contain my excitement knowing that in a few hours, I will arrive home in Israel. Although I was there only 3 weeks ago, I feel like I have not been there in months.
Every year, at the end of this part of the Mission, I think about the same thing. On Tisha B’Av, we recite a Kina that juxtaposes what the Jews felt like as they left Egypt compared to how they felt as they left Jerusalem to go into exile. The end of this Kina closes with the prayer, the hopeful prayer that once again we will sing in joy as we RETURN to Jerusalem. Today—I return to Jerusalem!
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