“..traveling criss crossing Poland looking for surviving Jews ..we found them. ..sometimes these meetings were ..packed with emotion ..I lack ..words to describe it. ..idea ..we are ..Survivors couldn’t sink in.” Leah Hammerstein Silverstein.
There has been no other pathological consideration, let alone such a massive hatred, nor has there ever been an enactment that was so genocidally given over to a body of People, other than The Holocaust to the Jewish People. As this was proposed by Hitler, as a solution to a Jewish question, so Hitler rendered to the very Jewish People he sought to eradicate, die Endlosung der Judenfrage. What such a term gained, in a momentum that was to become The Holocaust, was the total eradication, annihilation and destruction of 6,000,000 Jews of Europe.
“..Where they burn books ..they will also ultimately burn people.” Heinrich Heine.
History must not then become a series of predictions, but since Hitler managed to string words together, and as far back as the 1910’s, and catapulted them onward, no one should have been surprised that a malfeasant Austrian soldier would set about to devour what was best of humanity. Suggesting that he would irrevocably remove all Jews, targeting solely the Jewish People, is an admission of the guilt he did not stay around to contend. Here then, on Tuesday September 16th. 1919, Hitler penned a letter to a fellow rank and file soldier, Adolf Gemlich, what proved, in response to the requirement for an answer to the Jewish problem, what would be a deadly reckoning.
“..Herr Gemlich. ..antisemitism based on purely emotional grounds will find its ultimate expression in ..form of ..pogrom. ..ultimate objective must ..be ..irrevocable removal of ..Jews.” Adolf Hitler.
That confronting would become a systematically industrialised, unprecedented and unparalleled Slaughter in all of our history, and would present humanity with a struggle that is The Holocaust. There are 3,000,000 Polish Jews I could never ask this question of, and far too fewer Surviving Polish Jews available to respond to its searing pain. But, and what they all have in common, is their status as Polish Jews who are the remnants of a Polish Jewry decimated during the period of The Holocaust.
“..flames could be seen from 15 or 20 kilometres ..people knew ..human beings were being burned there.” Adolf Bartelmes.
The question I have asked of some of those Polish Jews, those who have Survived, was related to looking back, and then for those seeking to quell the homesickness they felt. It seemed pertinent to me, given my earlier christian upbringing, to consider how long we must look back to what, and for what we have lost. For the Polish Jew, it is a home which does not exist in their past and for the Polish Jewish Survivor, this fact remains in the light that shines through to that dark period in our time. For those Polish Jews who can look back to that former home, which has been purloined, stolen from them and expropriated from them, what will the World withstand in accepting this terrible wrong.
“..During ..war these relationships became even more hostile. A large segment of ..Polish population was displeased with their neighbours help to ..Jews during ..war ..and for many it seemed even as an unpatriotic step. Therefore ..some segments of ..Polish population took an active part in ..hunt for ..Jews.” Jan Grabowski.
Of course, most of this search I have made, is also to ensure that the Jewish Survivor does not remain fearful of those who are differing to them. I hope I show each Survivor, purposefully, that not all of those who might resemble the criminals who acted against them, are anything at all like those who were active against their Jewish neighbours, friends and citizenry. For me, and my journey does not solely belong to a promise made to a Survivor, but it was for me a personal effort to somehow touch something tangible and possibly bring a newer perspective back from those visits in Poland.
“..Article 2a ..crimes committed by Ukrainian nationalists and members of Ukrainian units collaborating with ..Third Reich constitute acts committed by Ukrainian nationalists between 1925 and 1950 which involved ..use of violence ..terror or other human rights violations against individuals or population groups. Participating in ..extermination of ..Jewish population and genocide of citizens of ..Second Polish Republic in Volhynia and Eastern Malopolska ..lesser Poland ..also constitute a crime committed by Ukrainian nationalists and members of Ukrainian units collaborating with ..Third Reich.”
As I was thinking Death Camps, and even Ghetto’s, the hoped for response I had sought to receive would never salve much of the angst I had heard, particularly from those who suffered for being the Polish Jews who Survived to hear their legacy denied. So much more too, of the veritable anger itself, from Survivors and their Descendants that was directed toward Poland, and toward their former non-Jewish Polish neighbours, I could not ignore the nature of it. To any of those non-Jewish poles who participated at all, regardless of when and where they acted against their own Jewish Citizens, the crime remains criminal.
“..Courage is never alone ….it has fear as its ..companion. An act deserves to be called courageous if ..performed in spite of fear. ..greater ..fear ..more courageous ..actions that defies it. ..only when fear and anxiety rule ..courage can ..assert itself.” Shlomo Breznitz.
From that extensive, though now dwindling Jewish grouping of Polish Survivor’s, I listened to what had little subsided in 70 or 80 years of a racism that was antisemitic in content. So I resolved to see for myself if antisemitism was still prevalent in Poland, knowing too well this present Polish government did not reduce my documented concern. As all manner of bigotry, bias, racism and antisemitism is usually quite similar in its inflection, the fear of The Holocaust period is generated in Polish Jewry’s troubling recollection.
“..I spoke with my Cousin who survived ..massacre of ..Jews in Sokoly ..Poland ..that night that Tokele was murdered. My cousin was fortunate as having gone to get some hot water to wash ..Sabbath dishes. While out fetching hot water ..Yaffe ..my Cousin ..saw her nephew Shaikie go to visit ..Gritzik house to see ..rest of ..family and that’s ..last time she saw him alive.” Avigdor Ben-Dov.
Here again though, time echoes the hatred that was expressed so evocatively which no longer needs the massive fears around todays christian holidays. So as to prompt perpetually any Jewish fears, the growing coming together of Jewish concern and Christian acknowledgement should deny that the breathing space it has previously devoured. But for those christian feasts, which were always highest on the list of such concerns of a Polish Jewry that was forced into a Survival mode, Polish Jews might well have fared better than they did.
“..No place for Jews in Poland.” General Lucjan Zieligowski.
To mark the antichristian morality, which supposed christians regularly expressed, this runs contradictory to all tenets of a belief system founded on anything ethically moral. By 1938 of course, all manner of language can be used to dispel the scent of hatred, and while it is applied to what antisemitism represents in the hatred of a People for being Jews, its disguise soon slips, and as it was presented by General Zieligowski. Today too, even under this proposed article 2a that this present Polish government unwisely renders, it is discernibly obvious that the extermination of the Jewish population is to be depicted as an isolated incidence without Polish no-Jewish intervention.
“..I can remember ..as early as 1932 ..Storm Troopers came marching by singing when Jewish blood splatters from ..knife.” Otto Frank.
For that which ensures words are not separated from those whose Jewish citizens are faced with a genocide within Poland, for Jews and non-Jews alike, these efforts clearly forge a Hitler tract that is RACIST. For me, as we isolate those hatreds in that search for the one specific detail which exacerbates the Jewish tragedy, this has to be the christian feasts, and the Easter period in particular. That which has served to heighten that Jewish concern, and from such a response as is given by newer Polish articles, Jewish Poland has newer concerns engaging it.
January 30th 1939 “..result of a war will be ..annihilation of ..Jewish race in Europe.” Adolf Hitler.
During this highly charged un-christian time, all Jews from all over Poland were at the hands of a rabble, whose lesson from any renewal, was always hate. It is also clear too that where christianity had dispersed the hatred for the wider Jewish community, be that in Poland, Germany or elsewhere, Jewish People were at the forefront of all aspects of a controlled and contorted anti-christian response. It beggars belief that people can go straight from the pulpit to the killing field and in swift order, ignore all moral efficacy in betraying, abusing and even murdering their Jewish neighbours.
“..Great things are happening ..this action ..we have dared to take is of enormous value. ..Jewish self defence has become a fact.” Mordechai Anielewicz.
When, on good Friday April 23rd. 1943, what remained of the Jewish World was fully awakened to the destruction they faced, it was far too late. Warsaw was decimated. Its Jews, continually consumed in the flames of Treblinka, clearly recognised that with only Hungarian Jewry still holding on to life, the World of Jewry was ravaged. It was significantly recognised too, and tragically so, that it was far too late for most of the 3,000,000 Polish Jews, and as many as 1,000,000 other Jews from all over Europe already consumed.
“..On ..site where for 400 ghastly days ..blasphemy of Treblinka tormented human history there is now a monument. It shows in ..centre an enormous rock topped by a menorah to symbolise ..300,000 martyred Jews of Warsaw. ..rock is surrounded by huge slabs of concrete from which rises a forest of 1,000’s of granite pillars of varying shapes and sizes ..representing cities ..villages ..and shtetlach los in ..Holocaust. On 150 of them are carved ..names of ..localities from which ..murdered Jews came. ..massive pillars bear ..names of ..Country’s of ..victims origin.” Alexander Donat.
These Jews, now annihilated, simply eviscerated from existence, and who were systematically obliterated, have still left an indelible stain upon the conscience of the free World. That all being said, the christian World is also answerable, at that very moment, when perhaps the reality for the Jews facing extinction was not quite as well known to them as it was to Allied intelligence sources, is such an accusation of their individual governments. For us though, those whose search is conducted so as to deliver the memory of as many Jews as can be salvaged from Hitler’s intention to conceal their existence, we strive with purpose to light the way through these hours of darkness.
“..Cautious estimate of ..number of ..Jews gassed ..Birkenau ..April 1942 ..April 1944 by Country of origin ..Poland ..transported by truck 300,000 Jews ..transported by train 600,000 Jews Holland 100,000 Jews Greece 45,000 Jews France 150,000 Jews Belgium 50,000 Jews Germany 60,000 Jews Yugoslavia } Italy } Norway } 50,000 Jews Lithuania 50,000 Jews Bohemia } Moravia } Austria } 30,000 Jews Slovakia 30,000 Jews Camps for foreign Jews in Poland 300,000 Jews Total 1,765,000 Jews.” and we call this ‘The Auschwitz Protocols’.
Then, when on good Friday April 7th. 1944 we become aware that such is the detail of the industrial scale of the destruction, we know that there is a protocol written which asserts this. Of course, these Auschwitz Protocols had been delivered to the knowing World by Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, and the World which allowed what had already happened, was still allowing the Slaughter to continue. It is now for the World in history, particularly the very abundant resource that is the history of The Holocaust, to ensure memory does not distort that very truth to seek to cover for its criminal negligence.
“..a rush to get everything down in writing before ..generation of survivors dies away. There is also a search for knowledge and understanding by ..descendants of survivors ..leading ..young to rediscover their Jewish heritage. Jews are proudly calling themselves Jews once more. ..young people of today will be ..leaders of ..next generation. They and people of all nations have an obligation to protect ..memory of The Holocaust.” Ann Kazimirski.
With apathy and indifference the level of Jewish destruction was unparalleled in all of history. While it is true that memory, particularly the Survivor’s memory, is maintained so that their testimony is ensured and that all other recollection is not lost in any distortion of the very integrity which the Survivor has brought to us. In that, we must never shirk from our own responsibility in relating these very cruel details, all that has emerged and may still re-emerge, in accusing all those who are the accused must be brought to the bar of judgement.
“..In Majdanek and everywhere in Poland. They gave what is ..best in humanity. I have it all ..in my soul ..letters written to me by many. Everything is possible ..in spite of other manifestations. I ..myself have never experienced any animosity toward me and what I represent. There is always ..goodwill and hope.” Halina Birenbaum.
We, who search in particular for those crimes against the Jewish People, simply because they were Jews, and more critically, because we saw them as too different or too unworthy of our concern, has fully taken my attention. I am not and have never been a person to give over to hatred and for any part of who I am, I am bemused by those who inarticulately allowed for the rise of such an immense hatred to happen. From ordinary people, who turned into an abhorrent species of persons, The Holocaust atrocity does much to represent who I am.
“..attempts by members ..German General Staff to whitewash their complicity in these atrocities ..or by German historians to exculpate ..regular German Army ..should not be allowed to cover up ..fact of ..vital ..significant economic ..strategic advantages ..Nazi establishment together with ..German Army and its General Staff derived from this unprecedented ..unparalleled mass murder and robbery.” Rudolf Vrba.
What we must do more of, so as to extract all that we can from what remains of what we know, is in a soul searching review of the very patent lack of humanity which betrayed all that should have been our concern for these Jews. Of course, we will never again know from 6,000,000 Jewish People what they must have considered are our truly brutal and immoral failings. Unless we present what existed for these Jews, before they were annihilated, will require us to recognise the anti-Jewish Pogroms existing in Poland. What might be an affront to the present, tracing back to the ignoble deeds of so many and the emerging annihilatory practice, cannot ever be shelved in favour of blanching this searing truth.
“..Written by ..Sonderkommando ..Crematorium II August 5th. 1944 ..Zalman Lewental ..Ciechanow ..Poland. No one can imagine exactly how things happened ..for it is unimaginable that a precise account of our experiences can be given. ..We ..a small group of grey people ..will give historians a ..hard time ..also ..psychologists who want to know ..investigate ..mental condition of ..people who tackled this dismal ..dirty work. ..who knows whether these investigators will fathom ..truth ..whether anyone will be able to thoroughly.” Zalman Lewental.
Admittedly, from the historical perspective which seeks any review of an ugly arena, we are presented with inhuman deeds committed by actual human beings. Wherever these hate filled individuals emerged from, those who acted simply because the human beings they murdered are Jews, have left a stench of hatred to further infect those who now seek to lessen their definite impact on The Holocaust atrocity itself. In that respect, we should never shy away from those infernal and inhuman words, the very terms of which are meant to depict the full horror. In all its intimate detail, The Holocaust must add details which simply cannot be ignored or displaced because of their ugly and offensive meaning.
“..Americans ..British ..fly in these regions. ..Why did they not drop ..bombs on ..horrible tomb ..60 kilometres from their Northern Frontier. They could have wrecked SS barracks ..ramps ..crematoriums ..roads ..rail track. Why didn’t they.” Alfred Wetzler.
Of course much that is related to the Slaughter of 6,000,000 human beings for being Jews, ensures we will confront the wrongs we know where present. For those with the ability to do the right thing, in words and images that express a clear hatred for what civilises us, too many chose silence. There will be times also when we can look further back, and beyond the period we seek to gain evidences for, and from all of history, and then we must attain the ability to deliver those pertinent lessons that the past must always ensure. It is always my intention, in informing upon this past, and with what we must recognise are the inconsistencies in what is being depicted, relayed and testified to, no bias must enter nor censorship be delivered.
“..people should be forced to see this and be shocked and offended by it.” Wilf Mandel.
For my part, how could any Jew, let alone a Survivor Jew who knows the truth of The Holocaust, be shocked by any imagery and scenes of the horror, when they were its unwilling witnesses. I have contended with this in my own accusation and that being silenced must never ensure words are allowed to be hidden. For those, who do not see the atrocity is not just contained in any photograph of the vileness of human depravity, but it is expressed in the lives lost that it represents, truth must be expressed as it is. From what we must retain in learning, historians of The Holocaust have, and always will have, those examples afforded us to ensure we know what it is we are looking at and what we must gain from sight of its relevance to all of history.
“..Progress ..far from consisting in change ..depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement ..and when experience is not retained ..infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember ..past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana.
Of course, there are a myriad of reasons why the individual Survivor cannot continually face the totality of the horror to be so visually presented, they live with it. I fully understand and appreciate such reasoning. But, it is essential that while the Jewish People forever reflect upon the terror this atrocity means to them, the World must identify similarly with the very atrocity we allowed to happen with our structured indifference. With both the past enjoined and the present learning from it, the recollections of those delivering their testimonies to evidences they witnessed and experienced will always become a little more than the trace we would otherwise be left with.
“..I wanted only to tell to get above ..past and ..present ..to bring closer for today’s people ..history and characters whose only trace in ..world is my recollection. I want them to live as long as I am alive. Doing it by letting people know about ..tragedy that was done by hate and fascism.” Halina Birenbaum.
What we learn today say, of this date when on July 10th. 1941, of the 1,600 of Jedwabne Jews who were murdered at the time, Poland does not seek to fully recall its truthful detail. Almost the entire Jewish Population were driven from their homes and all too many of them were burned to death in a barn by their erstwhile non-Jewish neighbours. Of course, the argument resounds that the non-Jewish poles were under duress. But these non-Jewish poles, guided by their Nazi instigators, are these same local non-Jewish polish neighbours who clearly then added collusively to the sought after victory Hitler had wished to gain.
“..burning alive of ..Jewish population ..forcibly herded by Poles into a barn ..is indisputable.” Josef Glemp.
What we have then, as we are now 80 years on from that infamous, collusive and collaborative effort to secure The Final Solution for Hitler, within Poland and by some non-Jewish poles, is an apology from the churches representative in Poland. Of course, what the church had previously forgot to acknowledge, was everything it knew its congregation had been involved in. Even when the Church in Poland countenanced such actions, no faith remains of a system which would excavate the meaning of any god from such ungodly terms.
“..My Grandmother ..Chana Yenta Wasersztajn ..stayed behind. I know that poles killed all ..Jews ..I know who killed my Grandmother ..her Daughters ..her entire family. He appropriated her home and now lives in this house.” Ester Migdal.
Then, prior to that 60th. anniversary, on March 4th. 2001, and while parts of what Glemp states are removed from his intention to apologise, we see the church’s continued stoking of the antisemitism that drove much of catholic Poland forward. When we recognise too that the church in Poland, and in many other Country’s throughout Europe, the christian churches fully failed to stand up to their own christian values. What we then see in the human status of beings, who are decreased to a differing position that appeared illusionary, the power they usurped over their Jewish brethren, has diminished all of christianity’s meaning.
“..illusion that we all did not share ..same fate. That until ..last moment ..even if one knew that there was a Ponar ..they always gave us a spark ..this distorted hope ..that possibly you would be exempt. ..frightful illusion produced frightful results of people wanting to prolong ..life of some at ..expense of others ..and depriving ..masses of any possibility of a different attitude. Only a minority that felt itself possibly less stricken ..less misled ..less under shock ..due to its past ..its education and its adherence to certain movements which trained people to give a personal example ..perhaps only they could cope with it. And it is not ..evidently ..a matter of chance from where ..people came in every Ghetto who formed ..fighting nucleus. Perhaps it arose from ..fact that they experienced less degradation ..that they were less panic ..stricken ..and they knew better how to live in ..Ghetto as free men in every respect.” Abba Kovner.
It would appear that the exemplary in those times, for those who will always deliver the evidence necessary to illuminate the darkness, and will shed light on a fate not just restricted to the Jewish People, but exclusive to Jews everywhere in Europe, will mock the stability of anything civilisation proposes. I have immersed myself in the horrors of The Holocaust for more than 25 years now and still find it difficult to understand why a World, which stood idly by, allowed this all to happen.
“..Bundists did not wait for ..Messiah ..nor did they plan to leave for Palestine. They believed that Poland was their country and they fought for a just ..socialist Poland ..in which each nationality would have its own cultural autonomy ..and in which minorities’ rights would be guaranteed.” Marek Edelman.
The World of such an intolerable indifference to all human persistence has failed monumentally to acknowledge its immense guilt in what it knew and failed to act upon. Slowly emerging though is the guilt and apology for that, and for Country’s like France, that apology is a necessary contingent in any form of contrition. For the rogue nature of its citizenry, which Poland must also recognise, even though it might consider its past behaviour was a lesser conspiratorial effort than France’s, all wrongs require all responses to it.
“..These dark hours forever sully our history and are an insult to our past and our traditions. ..Yes .. criminal folly of ..occupiers was seconded by ..French ..by ..French state.” Jacques Chirac.
These dark hours are not merely a sullying of France’s collusive affront to decency, it is also a damnable indictment of the collaborative effort in Hitler’s Final Solution of The Jewish Question. What I find deeply upsetting, given any inference whatsoever, is the usage of terms consigning 6,000,000 Jews to oblivion without acknowledgement of the guilt to be owned by more than have accepted it. I deliberately took myself away for a period and researched where a Jewish Community was not only corralled, it was ‘herded together and transported in cattle trucks’ and we know their destination, either one of the 6 Death Camps erected in Poland for their deliberate slaughter.
“..It is with sorrow ..with hope that we ..disclose ..deliberate slaughter of more than 1,000,000 innocent ..defenceless men ..women ..children. ..tragic fulfilment of a program of intolerance and arrogance. Vengeance is not our goal ..nor do we seek merely a just retribution. We ask this Court to affirm by international penal action man’s right to live in peace and dignity regardless of his race or creed. case we present is a plea of humanity to law.” Benjamin Befell Ferencz.
But, and it is in terms such as these, be it herding together of a People or the Slaughter of that People in which the hatred which fully sought to categorise a Jewish People, that we recognise them as The Holocaust. The Jews of Europe, designated as other than we are and while some of these hate filled advocates of Hitler’s effort who still now seek to dehumanise our effort on their behalf, these deniers must be confronted wherever we find them. For me, and should we consort to relinquish our hold upon this space of community, where a body of People are owed by all as we demand a called for life, it is a life that we all earn as human beings and for which was denied finally to 6,000,000 Jews of Europe and because they were Jews.
“..Sometimes I am asked if I know ..response to Auschwitz ..I answer that not only do I not know it ..but that I don’t even know if a tragedy of this magnitude HAS a response. What I do know is that there is response in responsibility. When we speak of this era of evil and darkness ..so close and yet so distant ..responsibility is ..key word. ..witness has forced himself to testify. For ..youth of today ..for ..children who will be born tomorrow. He does not want his past to become their future.” Elie Wiesel.
The historical term that is The Holocaust is allocated to such a classification which is clearly defined in all that Hitler proposed for the Jewish People. Today there is an attempt to it being diluted of them, or being slowly denied for them. In a space voided of any place to recognise their very existence, we have far too many empty spaces and the soil of which disposes of the blood and ash of too many 1,000,000’s of these Jewish People. What is still a fertile ground for breeding future hatred is warped by the hatred firmly affixed to an immense loss. So only those, given the knowledge of what this following evidence presents, will know the loss this represents for the 6,000,000 Slaughtered Jews.
“..Only one thing remained reachable ..close and secure amid all losses ..language. ..In spite of everything ..it remained secure against loss. ..it had to go through ..own lack of answers ..through terrifying silence ..through ..thousand darkness’s of murderous speech. It went through. It gave me no words for what was happening ..but went through it. Went through and could resurface ..’enriched’ by it all.” Paul Celan.
The Jewish People today, their very identifiable reference point to a well spoken and pronounced humanity, must never allow what we all must learn from to alter who they must be. But here we are again, once more looking back at the lost Community’s of Jewish existence, their excellence dissipated and disappearing while many seek to restore what must not be lost. In those same community’s, and with those very cross fertilisation of differences, where their Jewish neighbours were extinguished because of those very differences, we must now look upon the values that are to be set by civilisation so differently.
“..United States organized a conference in Evian ..France ..July 6th. 1938 ..to discuss ..Jewish refugee crisis. There were a lot of lovely speeches ..America did not let any additional Jewish refugees in ..every other country in attendance followed its lead. ..29 countries ..none of them ..except ..Dominican Republic ..wanted any more Jews. Hitler saw this. Four months later came Kristallnacht. ..again ..no world reaction. Hitler tested ..world ..and at every step ..he saw ..truth ..World did not care. ..he knew ..he could build this factory of death. Evian led to Auschwitz. Kristallnacht led to Auschwitz. World antisemitism led to Auschwitz.” Ronald S. Lauder.
It is evident that the interminable question as to why The Holocaust happened will never be answered and with the loss of why, any such differences will continually persuade People to act without concern toward each other in those same spaces blotted by atrocity. In the realm of The Holocaust, it was a World’s lack of response which led to such a catastrophic event leading to a Jewish antecedence which was meant to end. What the forces of Hitler’s hatred focused upon was an extermination programme that the World knew of and were more than aware of. “..task of history is to stand above ..laws of nature and above human weakness and pass on ..truth to ..future.” Maria Hochberg-Marianska.
On the 75th. anniversary of the liberation of Birkenau and Auschwitz, we are once more brought back to recognise that the intolerances toward the Jewish People were not confronted by the World at the time. While it remains patently obvious that Hitler in word and eventual deed had meant and would ensure was a final resolve that would be his literal solution to the Jews, the World was fully awake to this notion of annihilation. So we pass along the truth no matter how ill it judges the past and in order for humanity to make better choices than those afforded by bias, bigotry and hatred.
“..For many parts of ..Polish society it is very difficult ..since for decades they were victims themselves ..of ..Nazis. ..countries around Poland ..Ukraine ..Baltic States ..same level of public debate about their relationship with their own Jewish minority.” Jan Grabowski.
It is essential for us too to recognise that at every point along Hitler’s trajectory in life, where he sounded the clarion call to more and further abuse of the Jewish People, be that in 1919, 1939, or as we recall here in 2020, Hitler delivered his only programme of completion. Albeit with an immense intolerance, it was the indifference of a World that is clearly what delivers that guilt of the World to this overall catastrophe. Steeped in such a total disrespect for life, which all intolerances have always presented, the delivery against the Jewish People was an unprecedented and unparalleled failure of anything approaching humanity.
“..A person can choose to hate. A person can choose not to use hateful speech. Hitler did not start with weapons. He started with hate. And then he proceeded to use hateful speech. A person can choose to not become a perpetrator or a bystander ..an oppressor cannot succeed on his or her own. When someone is being victimized whether by a schoolyard bully or a maniacal national leader those who are not victims make ..choice to join ..bully or to become ..bystander who does nothing.” Ben Lesser.
We therefore cannot ignore the lessons of the past in order to refute or impend the truth of the lessons we have chosen to ignore. For instance, the example set at the Evian Conference, when the World could have acted to give relief to those suffering Jews from the continuing abuse, which was as yet but the moral consideration of the conceived threat that a refugee status had presented itself and to German Jewry, was at variance to civilisations key principles of human concern. Clearly, that opportunity was glazed over in favour of the abject abandonment of 11,293,300 Jews of Europe, as The Wannsee Conference would later define.
“..As a child of ..Jewish people who ..by ..grace of God ..for ..past 11 years has also been a child of ..Catholic Church ..I dare to speak to ..Father of Christianity about that which oppresses 1,000,000’s of Germans. For weeks we have seen deeds perpetrated in Germany which mock any sense of justice and humanity ..not to mention love of neighbour. For years ..leaders of National Socialism have been preaching hatred of ..Jews. But ..responsibility must fall ..after all ..on those who brought them to this point and it also falls on those who keep silent in ..face of such happenings. Everything that happened and continues to happen on a daily basis originates with a government that calls itself ‘Christian.’ For weeks not only Jews but also 1,000’s of faithful Catholics in Germany ..and ..I believe ..all over ..world ..have been waiting and hoping for ..Church of Christ to raise its voice to put a stop to this abuse of Christ’s name.” Edith Stein.
What we must remember now is that 6,000,000 Jews are the least of that number to have suffered the consequences of the World’s failing. Believe me, and I know full well the great hurt I do to the Jewish Survivor who have to witness what I place before their field of view. However, any anticipated respite in the threats made against them, and while my own accusation is presented for them, it is essential we too are the burdened. What we must witness by the realisation of such a human devastation, is as it should be, a deeply wounding grief for all of us also.
“..I reached ..decision with a heavy heart ..having followed ..recent developments in Hungary with great concern. ..history cleansing campaign of ..past few years calculated to whitewash ..historical record of ..Horthy era ..including ..changes ..legalised ..sinister measures that were subsequently taken to absolve Hungary from ..active role it had played in ..destruction of close to 600,000 of its citizens of ..Jewish faith.” Randolph L. Braham.
Of course there is still that consensus, even in 1939, that the World of Jewry was not so under threat that the statistician of the time might become certain of the numbers of Jews threatened. The Jewish population was some identifying 16,600,000 Jewish souls. There was also the fact that some 16,728,000 Jews existed who were facing the preached for hatred of them. In that number too, 3,650,000 were Polish Jews who were closely betrayed by all too many of their own non-Jewish neighbours. In this! No one says that all non-Jewish Poles acted against their Jewish Neighbours, but all too few responded to the catastrophe to consume 3,000,000 Polish Jews.
“..Nazis were responsible for this tragedy it is they who murdered most of 3,000,000 Jews who lived in Poland before World War II. ..Germans were able to mobilize segments of ..Polish society to take part in their plan to hunt down ..Jews and help them carry out their Final Solution.” Jan Grabowski.
It remains a fact that, without the evidence of non-Jewish Poles, many more of the Jews of Poland could Not have been recognisably identified as Jews. I have listened to the many Survivors of Polish Jewry who insist there was a huge betrayal by their former gentile neighbours, and even friends. Reminding myself as I search in this dreadful past, I am certain that the Jewish People can never quite look back without the sense of loss that their loss entails. Such then is the certainty of that Jewish loss, all ensures I too must look back in search of what we all have left behind and this gains for me an insight into the descent of humanity toward ignominy.
“..We feel ourselves linked together ..we cannot break free of our past. That we cannot forget.” Yehuda Adelman.
For me too it is quite simple, as I still somehow feel I am keeping memory alive, and that for a Murdered Jewish People, they are prevented from disappearing from us entirely. But, as we attempt to retrieve from an almost fragmentary set of images that the atrocity presents to us, and we attempt to restore a vibrancy that has all but vanished, we are not recovering anything that was truly lost. The memories, the images, the testimonies and the fragmentary attesting to a vanished existence of these human beings, who have been totally eviscerated, 6,000,000 Jews of them at least, our humanity remains in tatters along with them.
“..I do not ..cannot know what I would be today if I had not been in ..Camp. No man knows his future. ..a man sets out ..almost never are our choices between ..two alternatives. ..every choice is followed by others. ..if I had not lived ..Auschwitz experience ..I probably would never have written. ..years have passed ..interposed ..artificial memory ..a defensive barrier ..between my ..normal present and ..dramatic past. ..I survived ..due ..to good luck. ..to survive with ..precise purpose of recounting. ..helped by ..determination ..to recognize always ..my companions ..myself ..men ..not things. ..to avoid ..total humiliation and demoralization which led so many to spiritual shipwreck.” Primo Levi.
In all, and but for a few spaces in time, we have a disconnect that is so immense that the abyss we have been thrown into will never free us from its brutal reality. However, to simply restore an impression from the memory of a Survivor, which adds further to what might be lost otherwise, it is as essential that we must ensure this all adds more of the remembrance necessary to deliver a memory that is not all brutalised. In all of that though, how can we ever know the very Jewish loss that The Holocaust missing, or the Survivor’s role, maintains in presenting for us such a tragedy.
“..vast area of Europe seized ..held by ..Nazi’s and their accomplices during WWII contained approximately 8,300,000 Jews. ..estimated that 6,000,000 perished by Nazi lethal devices ..disease ..starvation. Considering that Hitler mobilised all of German’y resources for ..avowed purpose of annihilating ..Jews ..and that in this work he found helpers and collaborators among ..native population in almost all Nazi occupied countries ..it is indeed a miracle that more than 2,000,000 remained alive.” Dr. Philip Friedman.
Nowhere within Poland is free from the feverish attempt to destroy all that Polish Jewry once presented to the World, and along with as many as a further 2,000,000 Jews of Europe, has saturated the land with their blood. Even when all empathy, and our own sympathy is engaged, as we submerge ourselves, employed as we are in the retrieval of this horror, what wholly belongs to these Jews crosses over to accuse us deliberately. For the dwindling handful of Survivors, whose frightening glimpse of their past, which they afford us, they not only preserve the link to the past our research aims to add to, it enriches our search.
“..to all young people ..in ..hope that they will keep ..past alive in their memories ..and that they will never experience ..what my generation has had to live through.” Helga Weiss.
Perhaps too, that while there are still many of you who do not know me enough to understand exactly why this journey is so important to me, I hint at the pain of their loss becoming mine. There can be no suggestion that we do Not know all of those who were the non-Jewish Poles who saved their Jewish Neighbours, Cousins, Friends, Employer’s or fellow Human Beings. But what we do not know either are the very many who betrayed the tenets of any humanity they supposedly were signed up to in christianity. Wherever they stood, and as they sought to trade their Jewish Cousins in to their Nazi cohorts, they have betrayed the very credentials we assign to all or any of humanity, a humanity forgotten.
“..I saw a flood once in ..mountains. Wooden huts ..torn from their foundations were carried above ..raging waters. One could still see lighted lamps in them ..Men ..Women ..Children in their cradles were tied to ..ceiling beams. Other huts were empty inside ..but one could see a tangle of arms waving from ..roof ..like branches blowing in ..wind waving desperately toward heaven ..toward ..river banks for help. At a distance ..one could see mouths gaping ..but one could not hear ..cries because ..roar of ..waters drowned out everything. And that’s how ..Jewish masses flowed to their destruction at ..time of ..deportations. Sinking as helplessly into ..deluge of destruction. And if ..for even one of ..days of my life ..I should forget how I saw you then ..my people ..desperate and confused ..delivered over to extinction ..may all knowledge of me be forgotten and my name be cursed like that of those traitors who are unworthy to share your pain.” Rachel Auerbach.
I know my research appears almost limited to 6,000,000 Slaughtered Jews in need of Remembering, and that is the choice I have made proudly. This effort has always been in order to add to what is essential in recalling the Jewish past being a part of our historical past. For that reason, I know what YadVashem is involved in, and in acknowledging all of these 6,900 non-Jewish Poles for their Righteous status, I have no need to do more than is being done. For me then, the test for the historian is not just in the search for the past and its lessons, which can never be assumed, but in what must always be extracted.
“..proof ..which we have no right to consider as unfeasible out of prejudice ..has been supplied ..it still remains for us by digging deeper into ..analysis to ask why ..out of all ..imaginable psychological attitudes ..these particular ones ..imposed themselves. ..as soon as we admit that a mental or emotional reaction is not self-explanatory ..we are forced ..to make a real effort to discover ..reasons for it. ..in history ..as elsewhere ..causes cannot be assumed. They are looked for.” Marc Bloch.
From the intrinsic details of the minutae of the evidence, which their truths are the very enriched integrity of, theirs are the prevailing testimonies afforded to us as and when they are delivered by the Survivor. What I am involved in, purely to add to the memory of these 6,000,000 Slaughtered Jews, 3,000,000 of whom were Polish Jews, is in Remembering them and bringing that memory forward. It clearly has not served the Survivor well, those of them who sought any form of Justice, as they have continually looked back for an absented justice. While we should also all ask the Children of the guilty so as to find out all they can for themselves from the not too distant past, what did their Parents do to stem the flow of Jewish blood.
“..I don’t think there is any other solution than constantly coming to terms with ..past ..learning from it. ..no point in minimizing guilt in order to make it easier for sons ..daughters to bear ..failure of ..fathers ..grandfathers ..their mothers ..grandmothers.” Simon Wiesenthal.
For history, it is simply for the science to ensure that the lessons then exacted by their Parents upon the Jews that they helped to destroy, is a learned lesson that is not to be repeated. My work is detailed in the memory of the 6,000,000 lost and I am accusing all of those who collaborated or colluded in their destruction. If that was non-Jewish Poles, I will recognise that fact and point to those non-Jewish Poles who acted outside their supposedly religious conviction. I know very well the many Poles who effected my passage through Poland on those many occasions while I visited all the x6 Death Camps there.
“..poor people are being shipped off to filthy slaughterhouses like a herd of sick and neglected cattle. But I’ll say no more on ..subject. My own thoughts give me nightmares!” Anne Frank.
They are an extraordinary People as I met with them, borne out of times when they too were under great pressure to survive. But this alone cannot dismiss the fundamental humanity in each of us to act, with humanity, with compassion, with concern, and if that is to appropriate in a catholic country, it is with a christian conscience. However, what this Polish government seeks to engender is to pander to a right wing attempt to bury the truth behind mealy mouthed words and denial of a truth the Polish People are all too able to deal with. In line with German attempts to do the same in coming to terms, the lessons of the past must signal out intention to move integrity forward.
“..massacres of ..Jews ..reached fearful ..execrable forms and proportions. Incredible slaughter takes place every day.” Giovanni Battista Montini.
No media site which I wish to belong to can be open to debate on the subject of The Holocaust. While Montini as a future Pope knew in 1943 what we are beginning to learn and accept what they knew as a Church, I make that statement without equivocation. No if’s. No but’s nor even any maybe’s. I am fixed in my assessment that The Holocaust is the worst atrocity ever to touch our own humanity. That 6,000,000 Jews of Europe were destroyed as a consequence of that absenting of the humanity civilisation must demand and this is clearly an accusation of what we formerly considered was civilisation, and what that actually means.
“..my own objectives. As a Survivor’s daughter I have ..responsibility to keep my Father’s story alive. I want to encourage ..other children of Holocaust survivors to do ..same. Our parents survived for a reason so they could bear witness to a history that cannot repeat itself. ..only way that will happen is to continue documenting and sharing their stories ..even after they are no longer here to tell them. By doing that we can carry on their legacy and make certain ..dying words of 6,000,000 Jews Zachor matters.” Gail Lesser-Gerber.
1) Birkenau, the Death Camp at Auschwitz where 1,100,000 Jews were Murdered was in operation from October 1941 until November 25th. 1944, a period of some 37 months.
2) Treblinka where 900,000 Jews were Murdered was in operation from July 22nd. 1942 until August 2nd. 1943 a period of some 13 months.
3) Belzec where 884,700 Jews were Murdered was in operation from March 17th. 1942 until December 1942 a period of some 8 months.
4) Sobibor where 250,000 Jews were Murdered was in operation from May 1942 until October 14th. 1943 a period of some 17 months.
5) Majdanek, where an estimated 200,000 Jews were Murdered, was in operation from July 21st. 1941 until July 23rd. 1944 a period of some 36 months.
6) Chelmno, where 152,000 Jews were Murdered, was in operation from December 6th. 1941 until August 1942 and again from May until August 1944 a period of some 11 months.
While debate might rage over the final assessment to be made of that total atrocity, we accept 6,000,000 slaughtered Jews as a figure in relation to those Jewish People who might be in an accounted for loss. But, the assessment cannot be that final and conclusive detail we must seek as all humanity must demand. Of course, defeat is never on the lips of those willing to continue the fight, and for a lasting memory for 6,000,000 Slaughtered Jews, we do not concede ground in acknowledging that we will never know the exact loss in life to the Jewish People.
“..never ..down in ..entire blood ..stained road travelled by this people ..never since ..first days of its nationhood ..has any man arisen who succeeded in dealing it such grievous blows as did Hitler’s iniquitous regime ..and Adolf Eichmann as its executive arm for ..extermination of ..Jewish people. In all human history there is no other example of a man against whom it would be possible to draw up such a bill of indictment as has been read here. ..most terrible crimes of those fearful figures of barbarism and blood lust ..Jenghis Khan ..Attila ..Ivan the Terrible ..telling of which curdles our blood and makes our hair stand on end with horror ..deeds ..that have become ..a proverb and a taunt ..and an everlasting abhorrence ..to ..nations ..these almost seem to pale into insignificance when contrasted with ..abominations ..murderous horrors ..which will be presented to you in this trial.” Gideon Hausner.
However, this is not a fight we can afford to lose nor should we ever abandon the Jewish cause simply because too many wish to see that actual history is so distorted that it is prepared to deny the very truth which history demands. Through words, no matter their validity, they must never shroud the truth in the accumulation of intention to describe their honest veracity. Along with the science of history, we must not confine the chronological lineage of yesterday that links to that past. As history changes course, to then, as it will, we ensure tomorrow’s lesson is to be gained from today as we have learned all that needs to be changed.
“..There is a difference between ..German orchestrated systems of terror against ..Poles and ..Jews. ..Germans want to ruin ..Polish state as a state. ..with regard to ..Jews ..they want to devastate ..biological substance of ..Jewish Nation. If ..Germans do not change their method of dealing with ..Jewish population ..if there is no effort at Allied intervention ..whether through reprisals or other action ..barring some unforeseen circumstance ..within 18 months of ..time I left ..Homeland ..Jewish People of Poland will cease to exist.” Jan Karski.
Of course the lines in history linking past and present are not a demarcation line, as deftness draws driven lines through it as examples criss cross a broader tableau of human existence. For us to afford both the lessons learned and the ideologies unlearned, we reach the same consensus which Jan Karski clearly states. While it is essential in recognising that while not all victims were Jews, All Jews Were Victims. Also, and in that clear assessment we have to acknowledge, here in Poland and elsewhere, that while not all non-Jewish Citizens were guilty, not all non-Jewish Citizens of Europe were innocent.
“..I didn’t want to go back to Poland. Poles were killing a lot of Jews who returned to claim property ..homes ..other possessions. My Parents were dead. There was nothing to go back to.” Bianca Lerner.
For me personally, I brought with me to Poland this contention that so many Polish Jewish Survivor’s reside with, and I found some of the most cooperative Poles willing to point me toward the answers I sought. For me, there is absolutely no comparison from the past that conveys us to the truth of The Holocaust, irrespective of the notions of states become deft at contorting that past. In its experimental stage, history either gifts us the wrongs righted or the failed comparisons to be analysed incorrectly and these, which are corruptly interpreting skew history for ever.
“..Our strength is our quickness and our brutality. Jenghis Khan had millions of women and children hunted down and killed ..deliberately and with a gay heart. History sees in him only ..great founder of States. What ..weak Western European civilization alleges about me ..does not matter. I have given ..order ..and will have everyone shot who utters but one word of criticism ..that ..aim of this war does not consist in reaching certain geographical lines ..but in ..enemies’ physical elimination. Thus ..for ..time being only in ..East ..I put ready my Death’s Head units ..with ..order to kill without pity or mercy all men ..women ..children. ..Only thus will we gain ..living space that we need.” Adolf Hitler.
Taken from the past, so as to stage manage an aim to suit an insincere objective, we have Hitler recognising what Jenghiz Khan achieved and employing the efforts of der Einsatzgruppe to achieve such excesses in graver depravity. Also, what the Armenian Tragedy afforded him in what he became capable of against the Jewish People, comparison is disingenuous to the very struggle for the Jewish People so systematically targeted. So we remember in all of history that no other atrocity bears its resemblances to what the Jews of Europe encountered and not simply in terms of numbers but in mechanised, industrialised, systematic and sought out a slaughter that has never before been contemplated.
“..Who still talks nowadays of ..extermination of ..Armenians.” Adolf Hitler.
Finally, we are here to remember the massive loss to those Jewish Community’s which no longer exist in any substantial way. For these, we will never leave them behind in our recollection of what is meant, when we seek to discuss that there are 6,000,000 individual Jews of Community who are Always to Remember, Never to Forget, who were so totally destroyed, we cannot envisage all of who they were. But, and they are clearly Remembered collectively, and as we do not know all of them individually, as to who they all are, we choose not to forget that they were a body of People who once lived amongst us.
Aachen, Aalborg, Aarhus, Aba, Abadia, Abramowo, Abertamy, Adamow, Adampol, Adony, Aglona, Agriogala, Alderney, Aleksandrow, Aleksinac, Alexandrem, Alkmaar, Alytus, Amsterdam, Andrzejow, Angers, Annapol-Rachow, Annopol, Antopol, Antwerp, Apatin, Aradac, Arendelovac, Arandelovo, Argel, Athens, Atmicetka, Augsburg, Augustow, Aumale, Aurelow, Auschwitz.
Babiak, BabiYar, Baden, Bad-Kissingen, Bad-Voeslau, Baczki, Badzanow, Baligrod, Bamberg, Bar, Baranow, Bardejov, Bedkow, Bedzin, Beikovska, Belchatow, Beltinci, Belz, Belzec, Belzyce, Berdychiv, Berehove, Berezhany, Berlin, Berndorf, Berzovitza, Bezdziedza, Bialaczow, Biala-Rawska, Bialobrzegi, Bialy-Kamien, Bialystok, Bibrka, Biecz, Bielsko-Biala, Bielsk-Podlaski, Biezdziedzia, Bila-Tserkva, Bilgoraj, Bircza, Birkenau, Biskupice, Biszcza, Bitburg, Bitola, Blaszki, Blazowa, Blizne, Blizyn, Bobowa, Bobrka, Bochnia, Bohorodczany, Boiany, Bolechow, Bolekhiv, Boleslawiec, Bolimow, Bolszowce, Bordeaux, Borszczow, Boryslaw, Borzna, Bratslav, Brest-Litovsk, Brzeziny, Brzeznica, Brigel, Brody, Broniszow, Brussels, Brzesko, Brzeszow, Brzezany, Brzeznica, Brzozdowce, Brzozow, Brzuchowice, Buchach, Buczacz, Budaniv, Budzanow, Bukachivtsi, Bukaczowce, Bukowa, Bukowsko, Burdyakovtse, Bursztyn, Burzenin, Buszcza, Bychawa, Bytom.
Cappelin, Chalons, Charloi, Checiny, Chelm, Chelmno, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Chernobyl, Chmielnik, Chodel, Chodorow, Chorbrzany, Chorostkow, Chortkiv, Chyrow, Cieszanow, Cluj-Napoca, Codorow, Cologne, Copenhagen, Corfu, Cracow, Crete, Czarna-Dunajec, Czeladz, Czemierniki, Czernelica, Czernowitz, Czestochowa, Czolhany, Czorsztyn, Czortkow, Czudek, Czyzew.
Dabie-Miasto, Dabrowice, Dabrowa-Gornicza, Dabrowa-Tanowska, Dalnicz, Dawid-Grodek, Debica, Delatyn, Derazhnia, Diekirch, Ditchkov, Dobczyce, Dobra, Dobromil, Dobrowa, Dolina, Domardz, Dorohusk, Dortmund, Dresden, Drohobycz, Drzewica, Dubienka, Dublin, Dukla, Dukla-Rysztak, Dunaivtsi, Dynow, Dzialoszyce, Dzialoszyn, Dzierkowice.
Echternach, Edingen, Einartshausen, Eisenstadt, Ejszyszki, Erdmannrode, Esch.
Fajslawice, Falenica, Felsberg, Felsztyn, Filipow, Firlej, Folwarki, Fordon, Frampol, Frankfurt, Fryszak, Fuerth.
Gabin, Gaia-Vilkia, Garbatka, Garwolin, Gdow, Gdowca, Gelsenkirchen, Germakowka, Ghent, Gidle, Gielniow, Gimbsheim, Gliniany, Glowaczow, Glogow, Glogow-Malopolski, Glowno, Golcowa, Golina, Goraj, Gora-Kalwaria, Gora-Wisniowa, Gorlice, Gorodenka, Gorzkowice, Gostynin, Gowarczow, Grabow, Grabowiec, Grajewo, Graz, Greiz, Grevenmacher, Grocholice, Grodek, Grodek-Jagiellonski, Grodzisk, Grodzisk-Mazowiecki, Gromnik, Grybow, Grzymalow, Guernsey, Gura Humorului, Gushtyn, Gwozdziec, Gwoznica.
Hague, Hainault, Halicz, Halych, Hancewicze, Henrykow, Hermanowicze, Hinkowce, Holeszow, Holobudy, Holyn, Horodenka, Horodlo, Horodok, Hornostaypil, Horyniec, Hotin, Hrubieszow, Hubicze, Huczko, Husiatyn, Hussakow, Huzele.
Ignalino, Ignatowka, Ilnik, Ilow, Ilza, Indura, Innsbruck, Inowlodz, Ivano-Frankivsk, Iwaniska, Iwieniec, Iwje, Iwniki, Izabelin, Izablonka, Izbica, Izbica-Kujawska, Izbica-Lubelski.
Jablonka, Jablonow, Jadow, Jagielnica, Jamnica, Janow, Janowska, Janow-Lubelski, Janow-Sokolski, Jarczow, Jaroslaw, Jasienica-Rosielna, Jasienika, Jaslo, Jassy, Jastrzebia, Jawornik-Polski, Jaworow, Jaworzec, Jedlicze, Jedwabne, Jejse, Jekabpils, Jelgava, Jezierna, Jezierzany, Jezow, Jody, Jordanow, Jozefow, Justingrad.
Kadzidlo, Kalisz, Kalno, Kalusz, Kalynivka, Kamanets-Podolski, Kamiensk, Kamionka-Strumilowa, Kanczuga, Karolowka, Karwodrza, Katowice, Kattowitz, Kazimierz-Dolny, Kerry, Khorostkviv, Khotyn, Kiel, Kielce, Kielczyglow, Kiernozia, Kiev, Kikol, Klagenfurt, Kleck, Kleczew, Kleparow, Kleszczow, Klimontow, Klodawa, Klodno, Klwow, Knihiczyn, Kobryn, Kock, Kolaczyce, Kolbuszowa, Kolki, Kolno, Kolo, Kolomyja, Kolumna, Koluszki, Komancza, Komarno, Komarow, Komarow-Osada, Komianka-Strumulawa, Komsomolske, Koniecpol, Konin, Konskie, Konskowola, Konstantynow-Lodzki, Koprzywnica, Kopyczynce, Korczyna, Korolevo, Korolowka, Koropce, Koropiec, Korycany, Kos, Kosin, Kosiv, Koslov, Kosow, Koszyce, Kovel, Kovno, Kowale-Panskie, Kozienice, Kozlowa, Kozminek, Kozowa, Krakowiec, Krasniczyn, Krasnik, Krasnobrod, Krasnosielc, Krasnystaw, Kremenets, Kreszow, Kristonopel, Kromolow, Kroscienko, Krosniewice, Krosno, Krowica, Krylow, Krynica, Krysnica-Zydroj, Krystynopol, Krzeszow, Kulikow, Kupel, Kuppenheim, Kutno, Kuty.
Labowa, Lacka-Wola, Lacko, Lancut, Lapanow, Lask, Laszki-Gorne, Laszczow, Laubersheim, Leczna, Leczyca, Lelow, Lendava, Lesko, Leszniow, Letychiv, Lezajsk, Lida, Liege, Limanowa, Linz, Lipochova, Lisia-Gora, Lityn, Liubar, Liubomyl, Lodz, Lomazy, Lomza, Lopatyn, Lopuszka-Wielka, Losice, Losyach, Lowicz, Lozisht, Lubaczow, Lubartow, Lublin, Lubycza-Krolewska, Lutomiersk, Lutsk, Lututow, Luxembourg, Lvov, Lvovo, Lyszkowice.
Madenica, Magierow, Majdanek, Majdan-Gorny, Majdan-Krolewski, Majdan-Tatarski, Makariv, Makow-Podhalanski, Malapolska, Malines, Malkinia, Malyj-Gwozdziec, Marculesti, Mariampole, Markowiec, Marseilles, Medenica, Medenice, Medzhybizh, Mendrowitc, Melnytsia-Podilska, Mersch, Michow, Miechow, Miedzyrzec-Podlaski, Mielec, Mielnica, Mikolajewo, Mikolajow, Mikulince, Minsk-Mazowiecki, Mlawa, Modliborzyce, Modrzejow, Modliborzy, Monasterzyska, Mosciska, Mosty-Male, Mosty-Wielki, Mstow, Mszczonow, Mukachevo, Murafa, Muraska-Sobota, Mysienica, Myskow, Myslenice, Myslowice.
Nabburg, Nadvirna, Nadworna, Naisanz, Naklo, Naleczow, Naliboki, Namur, Narajow, Narol, Nawaria, Nemyriv, Niebieszczany, Niebylec, Niemirow, Niepolomice, Niewiadowka, Niewiarow, Nivra, Nizhyn, Novohrad-Volynskyi, Novoselitsa, Nowe-Miasto, Nowotaniec, Nowy-Dwor, Nowy-Korczyn, Nowy-Pohost, Nowy-Sacz, Nowy-Targ, Nowy-Wisnicz, Nowy-Zmigrod, Nur, Nuremberg.
Obertyn, Odrzywol, Odelsk, Olesko, Oleszycek, Oleszyce, Oleszynce, Olhopil, Olkusz, Olpiny, Olyka, Opatow, Opoczno, Opole-Lubelski, Oryszkowice, Orzechowka, Osjakow, Ostend, Ostroleka, Ostrow, Ostrow-Mazowiecka, Ostrowiec-Swietokryzski, Oswiecim, Ottynia, Ozarow, Ozeryany, Ozorkow.
Pabianice, Pajeczno, Palesnica, Paradyz, Parzeczew, Parczew, Pavoloch, Peczenizyn, Pelkin, Perehinsko, Piaski, Piaski-Luterskie, Piatek, Piatkowa, Pidkamin, Pieczychwosty, Pielnia, Pilawa, Pilica, Pilzno, Pinsk, Piotrkow-Kujawski, Piotrkow-Trybunalski, Pistyn, Pithiviers, Piwniczna, Plawno, Pliskov, Plock, Plonsk, Plotnica, Plusy, Podbuz, Poddebice, Podgaytsy, Podhajce, Podwoloczyska, Pohrebysche, Polaniec, Polonnoye, Pomortsy, Pomorzany, Ponary, Poninka, Potylicz, Praga, Praszka, Premishlan, Probuzna, Proszowice, Pryluky, Przeclaw, Przedborz, Przedecz, Przemsyl, Przemyslany, Przeworsk, Przyglow, Przysucha, Pulawy, Pultusk, Punsk, Pustelnik, Pysznica, Pyzdry.
Rabka, Rachmastrivka, Raciaz, Radevits, Radom, Radomsko, Radomysl nad Sanem, Radomysl-Wielki, Radoszyce, Radymno, Radziechow, Radzilow, Radzyn-Podlaski, Rakow, Ranizow, Rawa-Mazoiecka, Rawa-Mazowiecka, Rawa-Ruska, Redange, Rejowiec, Rembertow, Remich, Rhodes, Rietavas, Riga, Rohatyn, Rokietnica, Rokitno, Romanov, Ropczyce, Ros, Rouen, Rovno, Rozadow, Rozan, Rozdol, Rozhniativ, Roznow, Rozprza, Rozwadow, Rozyszcze, Ruda, Ruda-Opalin, Ruda-Pabianicka, Rudki, Rudnik nad Sanem, Rulzheim, Rumbuli, Rusiatycze, Rusinek, Ruzhyn, Rybnik, Rychwal, Ryglica, Rymanow, Rzeszow, Rzgow.
Sadagora, Sadowa-Wisznia, Salzburg, Sambor, Sandomierz, Sandz, Sanniki, Sanok, Sasow, Satu Mare, Savran, Sawin, Schodnica, Sedziszow, Sedziszow-Malopolski, Sejny, Seletin, Sharhorod, Shchirets, Shepetivka, Shpykiv, Shumskoye, Sidra, Siedliszcze, Siauliai, Sieniawa, Siennica-Rozana, Sieradz, Sighet, Skala-Podolska, Skalat, Skalbmierz, Skawina, Skierniewice, Skole, Skopje, Skryhiczyn, Skrzynno, Skulsk, Skvyra, Slavuta, Slawkow, Slesin, Slomniki, Slonim, Slopnice, Slupca, Sniatyn, Snikovska, Snitkov, Sobibor, Sobota, Sochocin, Sokal, Sokolow, Sokolow-Malopolski, Sokolowa-Wola, Sokoly, Sompolno, Sosnovoye, Sosnowiec, Sosnowica, Srocko, Stalowawola, Stanislawczyk, Stanislawow, Staporkow, Stara-Syniava, Stargard, Starokonstinntyniv, Stary-Sacz, Stary-Sambor, Staszow, Staw, Stawiszyn, Stebnik, Steniatyn, Stepan, Stip, Stojanow, Storozhynets, Strelisk, Stremieszyce, Strezliska, Strossov, Strusow, Strykow, Strzeliska-Nowe, Stryj, Strzylki, Strzyzow, Strzyzow nad Wislokiem, Suchystaw, Sulejow, Sulmierzyce, Suprasl, Suwalki, Sviv, Swieciany, Swierze, Swilcza, Swir, Szadek, Szczawnica, Szczebrzeszyn, Szczercow, Szczerzec, Szczuczyn, Szczurowa.
Tarczyn, Tarnobrzeg, Tarnobrzeg-Dzikow, Tarnogrod, Tarnopol, Tarnow, Tarnowska, Tartakow, Telechany, Teniatskya, Teratyn, Tlumacz, Tluste, Tokarnia, Tomaszgrod, Tomaszow-Lubelski, Tomaszowka, Tomaszow-Mazowiecki, Toporow, Torczyn, Torun, Touste, Trawniki, Treblinka, Trembowla, Trochenbrod, Truskawiec, Trzceniec, Trzcianne, Tsygany, Tuchinka, Tuchow, Tuliszkow, Turek, Turilche, Turka, Turobin, Tyczyn, Tykocin, Tylicz, Tyrawa-Woloska, Tyszowce.
Uchanie, Uhnow, Ujazd, Ulanow, Ulaszkowice, Ulazow, Ulucz, Uniejow, Urycz, Urzedow, Uscieczko, Ustjanowa, Ustron, Ustrzyki-Dolne, Usznia.
Valona, Vandziogala, Vienna, Vilna, Virbalis, Volkovtse.
Wabrzezno, Wachenheim, Wachock, Wadowice, Waeka, Wagrowiec, Warka, Warsaw, Warta, Wasosz, Wawolnica-Opole, Wessola, Widawa, Widze, Wieliczka, Wielkie-Oczy, Wielopole-Skrzynskie, Wielun, Wieruszow, Wiltz, Witkow-Nowy, Wizna, Wladyslawow-Russocice, Wloclawek, Wlodawa, Wloszczowa, Wlyn, Wojslawice, Wola-Janienicka, Wola-Krzysztoporska, Wola-Zglobienska, Wolborz, Wolbrom, Wolica, Worms, Wroblik-Szlachecki, Wurzburg, Wysokie-Lubelska, Wysokie-Mazowieckie, Wyszkow, Wyszogrod, Wyzwa-Nowa.
Yedinitz, Yeziorany.
Zabie, Zablotow, Zabno, Zabrowtowka, Zagorow, Zagorz, Zakliczyn, Zaklikow, Zakopane, Zakroczym, Zakrzowek, Zakszowa, Zaleszczki, Zambrow, Zamosc, Zarki, Zarnow, Zaslaw, Zawada, Zawichost, Zawiercie, Zbaraz, Zborob, Zborow, Zdunska-Wola, Zeldec, Zelow, Zgierz, Zhovka, Zloczow, Zmigrod, Zmigrod-Nowy, Zolkiew, Zolochev, Zolynia, Zurawno, Zwierzyniec, Zychlin, Zydaczow, Zydanow, Zyrardow, Zyrmuny, Zywiec.
Here, it might appear improbable that there is a threat that a non-Jew poses to those whose subject is the denial of The Holocaust. But the latent hatred is a sinister threat! In terms of of the truth, the abrogation of their deceit causes a terminal offence. For me though, as we stroll through the omission of names, forever forgotten in the conflagration, we deal with Community, no longer vibrant nor alive, extinguished as its Jewish presence was obliterated. So while it is not amazing to history to accept that some 50/70 million people are dead from within World War II, in a vaguely assessed detail, we are commanded to accept that some 6,000,000 Slaughtered Jews, a conservative estimate we cannot begin to assess, we adhere to its confines.
“..When I stand before you ..to lead ..Prosecution of Adolf Eichmann ..I am not standing alone. With me are 6,000,000 accusers. ..they cannot rise ..and point an accusing finger. ..For their ashes are piled up on ..hills of Auschwitz and ..fields of Treblinka ..and are strewn in ..forests of Poland. Their graves are scattered throughout ..length and breadth of Europe. Their blood cries out ..but their voice is not heard. ..I will be their spokesman and in their name I will unfold ..awesome indictment.” Gideon Hausner.
