טכס יום השואה 28-4-2014

The memorial assembly and ceremony in memory of the Holocaust and bravery of Zaglembian sacred Jews at the memorial site in Modi'in was conducted by Mr. Shlomo Kariv and Mrs. Gal Greenberg.

First torch was raised by Mrs. Dorit Novak and Mrs. Rachel Barkai.

Dorit Novak, CEO of Yad Vashem, served as principal of the International school for the teaching of the Holocaust in Yad Vashem for six years. The school is attended by about 300,000 students from Israel and abroad. Thousands of teachers take participate in seminars, conferences and days of study in 11 languages. Among her past roles, she was head of the Wisconsin Program, head of the employment and promotion administration shared with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Joint Israel. In addition, she established and managed the educational voluntary association "Launch". Among other positions during her military service she served as Head of Information and chaired the Culture Branch.

Rachel Barkai, has been head of Information and Commemoration at Yad Vashem for the past 20 years, in the course of which Yad Vashem has moved from being a national memorial Authority to being the largest Holocaust instruction, documentation and research facility in the world. The wing hosts hundreds of visitors, dignitaries and officials annually and holds tens events and hundreds of memorial ceremonies, including the central one on Holocaust Memorial day. It runs the multi language web site of Yad Vashem and gets more than ten million visitors a year.

The second torch was raised by Professor Mary Fulbrook and Dr. Wladyslaw Bulhac, who are foreigners involved with Holocaust research.

Mary Fulbrook, a professor on the History of Germany, member of the Scientific Science academy, Dean of the Historical Society at London University and member of the European Institute. Among her books: A Small town Near Auschwitz that relates to Będzin and the persecution of the Zaglembian Jewry. Prof. Fulbrook is now occupied with the commemoration of the Holocaust through the ages.

Dr. Wladyslaw Bulhac is an historian, vice principal of the Public Institute for the National Memory Institute in Warsaw. The institute investigates/researches events that took place between 1939 and the end of the 20th century, and therefore, runs one of the largest archives in Poland. It houses much information dealing with the Polish Jewry holocaust and had two exhibitions and has published two books dealing with Jewish life prior to the war.

The third torch was raised by Relly Polack and Dr. Mike Stavsky:

Relly Polack, the main instigator of the cross generational integration with our organization, raises a torch in memory of her parents: Bracha to the house of Koklinski, who passed away two months earlier, and Zvi Tobiasch from Sosnowiec, one of the veteran activists in our organization and in memory of her sister – my dear mother – Varda Greenberg, who was in charge of the contents and partner to the directing of all assemblies since 1989 and who died in her youth.

Mike Stavsky is a teenagers' and children's psychiatrist, head of Developmental Psychiatry at Schneider Children's Hospital – which is a unit that offers mental and emotional help to children with psychiatric problems on the grounds of intellectual disability. He raised a torch in memory of his father, Monik Stavsky, who initiated and funded the complete reconstruction of the Czeladź Cemetery and, with his son's assistance, took care of it routine daily upkeep.

The fourth torch was raised by Laura Rusek and Menahem Pnini:

Laura Rusek, born in Sosnowiec, was transported to Auschwitz- Birkenau and trying to escape was miraculously saved from hanging. She immigrated to the USA after the war, where she helped other Holocaust survivors for a long time by helping them obtain Reparations from Germany. She is now active in providing the topic of the Holocaust to people around the world through her lectures and written articles.

Menahem Pnini – Perlstein, born in Sosnowiec, was arrested by the Germans but, with the assistance of Jozek Kozoch, managed to flee out of town and cross the border to Russia along with his brother. He was recruited to the Polish troops within the Soviet Army and was among the men to free the Majdanek extermination camp in Lublin.

The fifth torch was raised by Rachel Segal and Zeev Klasner:

Rachel Segal, daughter of Alte-Taube and Aharon Schwartz from Sosnowiec, survived the Holocaust thanks to her joining the Hashomer-Hatzair Youth Movement, following her two brothers and sister. She insisted on not staying at her parents' home at the outbreak of the war and joined her brothers' group in the movement and made Aliya on her own through Youth Aliya (Aliyat HaNoar). She wrote her memoirs in her book: I am not staying here. I am going with my sister that was published with the assistance of Yad Vashem. She took pictures of the places that were meaningful to her heritage and then painted them. Her work of art was exhibited in various places.

Zeev Klasner, born in Sosnowiec, survived the war by finding refuge in the forests around Lwów. He made Aliya in 1947 illegally- Aliya Bet – and fought in Israel's wars in the Navy and the paratroopers. Zeev is an active painter and sculptor, since he has retired after many years at the Tel Aviv Maternity Hospital.

The sixth torch was raised by Lidor Glicksman and Offer Aderet:

Lidor Glicksman, is a lawyer. She served as a simulator instructor with the Moran special unit during her military service and is an active member with the organization. Born to the Lederman- Peer family, third generation survivor, raises a torch on memory of her grandparents: Bina to the house of Pregricht from Sosnowiec. Zeev was transported to Auschwitz, survived – the only one from his family- and survived a Death march. He made Aliya in 1945, served in the Etzel – National Military Organization – and then in the Israeli Navy. Bina was transported to a labor camp in Czechoslovakia at the age of fourteen. Her entire family was murdered. She faced Dr. "Death" – Josef Mengele twice and overcame him. After the end of the war, she was among the refugees on Exodus and went through all the hardships that famous illegal immigrants' ship during the British Mandate period had been through.

Offer Aderet, great-grandson on his maternal side to Rachel and Joseph barbink, heads of Hapoel Hamizrachi in Będzin and great-grandson on his fraternal side to Gaon Eliyahu David Rabinowitz Teomim (Adere"t), who served as the Ashcenazi Chief Rabbi in Jerusalem until the beginning of the 20th century and was Rabbi Cook's father in law, is a masters' degree student in General History at the Tel Aviv University and editor of Historical issues with "Ha'aretz", which is a leading newspaper in Israel famous for its in depth articles and outlook.

Seventh torch was raised by Dov Aichenvald and his son Ofir-Joseph Aichenvald:

Dov Aichenvald, CEO of Yediot Publishing House, writer and major in the army who lost most of his comrades and subordinates in the Zur disaster during the war in Lebanon in 11 November 1982.

Ofir-Joseph Aichenvald, a masters' degree student at the Tel Aviv University, first lieutenant in reserve with the Givati Brigade.

The end of Dov's last article is an imperative for the way to go:

This year is the 75th anniversary to the outbreak of World War Two. We, Zaglembian Jews, who lived on the German-Polish border, were the first to encounter the invading German army. The Germans set fire to our Great Synagogue in Będzin, during the first days of the war, killing worshipers in it. We witnessed the murder of 31 Jews who crossed the bombarded Pazzmscha Bridge in Sławków. Being so close to the German-Polish border also had its advantages. There were many mines in Zaglembie the Germans were interested in, for which they annexed Zaglembie to the regional administrative Unit of Ostobershlesien with its capital Katowice. The annexation improved the condition of the lives of the Jews in the area to some extent. For example, they got bigger food rations, movement limitations were only slightly limited. Closed ghettoes were set up as late as the spring of 1943. These improved conditions, prior to the ghettoes, created higher survival opportunities for the Jews in the area compared with other regions in Poland. Another advantage the Zaglembie annexation had was the Germans' need foe Jewish work power. Starting in October 1940 the Germans recruited young Jews for their work camps in Upper Silesia, Lower Silesia and the Sudeten. In addition, the Germans built "shops" in the Zaglembie area, where Jews were occupied in supplying the German army mainly with textile products and shoes. Many of the Zaglembie Jews were safe from being transported to extermination camps for a long time by being defined "essential for the German war effort". When, in April 1943, the Warsaw Ghetto was in flames, we in the labor camps still had news from home from time to time. The central ghettoes in Zaglembie: Srodula in Sosnowiec and Kamionka in Będzin, existed until August 1943 and were among the last to remain in Poland. In the beginning of august 1943 (the ninth of Av), the day Jews read the scroll of Aicha- Book of Lamentations – the Germans circled the ghettoes and started the zaglembie "Juden Rhein" – the total clearing of all Jews from Zaglembie to death camps. Men, women and children were taken out of hideouts and houses, some from bunkers where people resisted and Germans were wounded. The two major ghettoes were eventually cleared and in august 1943 most of the Jews remaining in them were transported to Auschwitz.

The Germans left Auschwitz and Zaglembie in December 1944. This year we commemorated the 70th anniversary of those events.

Yad Vashem, established 60 years ago, is launching an album on that occasion. The origin of the Yad Vashem title comes from the Book of Isaiah, chapter 56, 5th phrase:" And I let him into my house and within my walls, a good (reminder and name) Yad Vashem from boys and girls: an eternal name I 'd give them, never to be cut off." We send the Yad Vashem management greetings and embrace them to continue with their sacred enterprise.

Today, 56 years after the outbreak of the war, I turn to our young second and mainly to our third generation. We, the members of the first generation, are dwindling away. We have done what we could, established an organization we are proud of, whose name is known worldwide: in Israel, America, Europe and especially in Poland. Please take it upon yourselves to continue its development and constant activity so that the beauty of the Zaglembie Jewry is not forgotten.

I'd like to end my talk with a segment from Avraham Shlonsky's "The oath,"

Avraham Shlonsky - 6 March 1900 – 18 May 1973 - an Israeli poet born in the Ukrain, Russia, is one of the prominent poets in the new Hebrew poetry. He made a lasting impact on Israel's literary life, translation, editing and playwriting. He is famous for creating new words in Hebrew and a rich and impactful language.

The people who carried wreaths of flowers:

On behalf of:
• The Israeli Government – Minister Uri Orbakh
• Yad Vashem – Mrs. Rachel Barkai
• The Municipality of Modi'in –Mayor Deputy, Mr. Pessi
• Polish embassy – First Consul , Mr. Stazinski
• Israel Police - Chief Superintendent Amir Klein
• The Warsaw National Memory Institute - Dr. Aleksandra Namysło
• The Będzin province – Mr. Adam Szydłowski
• The Maccabim-Modi'in Reut Municipal Music center - Mrs. Ronit Cohen
• The JNF - Mr. Avi Estezon
• The IDF on the memorial monument for the last stem – Naval Major Asaf Yablon and Second Lieutenant Nitai Hanzur from the War on Terror Unit

For pictures taken during the ceremony, click here