To add some perspective on our own experience in Vashkivtsi, I would
like to share this information.
Many Jewish men and boys of Vashkivtsi were murdered in 1941 and are
buried in a mass grave on the other side of town, not in the Jewish
cemetery. Those Jews who survived the slaughter were later deported
and today there are no Jews left in this once vibrant and
predominantly Jewish town. The place of the murder is marked by a
memorial stone. The town's former mayor took us there last year, and
it was visited last week by Julie Dawson who posted this photo on
Facebook:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28663229@N04/5731232246/in/photostream
The Vashkivtsi Jewish cemetery contains over 800 graves, most of which
date long before the Holocaust. That includes my grandmother, who
died in 1914 after the breech birth of her fourth son. On the day she
was to deliver him and realizing she might not survive, her two oldest
sons were called to her bedside. Perhaps in delirium or maybe having
a premonition she warned them that a great fire was coming and they
should run away. The next year the raging battles of World War I came
to the banks of the Cheremosh. My grandfather loaded his four young
sons on a wagon and fled to the safety of Czernowitz where they found
shelter with family. They returned to Vashkivtsi, but about 1927,
perhaps in reaction to the murder of David Fallik in Czernowitz and
the threat of being conscripted in the Romanian army, the three oldest
boys left for South America. Their father died in 1929 (he is buried
in Czernowitz where he presumably sought medical attention), and the
fourth brother left in 1934. So our immediate family had departed
long before WWII, though we know that many of their relatives perished
during the war years.
While clearing the cemetery last October we were told that locals
regularly came there, like the old woman from Kitsman, to find solace
in the face of adversity. I am not a big believer in religion, but
also do not doubt the sincerity of the old woman's prayers. The
Christians who helped us clear the cemetery came to appreciate the
beauty and significance of this place. While we uncovered and
revealed many interesting and some beautiful stones, my favorite is
this one, adorned with the Hebrew prayer El Malei Rachamim. I include
a photo of it here for your consideration and reflection:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28663229@N04/5731333422/in/photostream
On Tue, May 17, 2011 at 11:05 AM, HARDY BREIER <HARDY3_at_bezeqint.net> wrote:
> Christians weeping at graves of massacred jews.
> What are they weeping for ?
> Sons of their kin did the butchering.
> The hatred for the Jews came with the milk of their tits.
> Their tears do us little good.
>
> Hardy
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Received on 2011-05-17 16:25:26
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