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May
2002
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| Three Towns Leopold Statz Three small towns, So small that all of them could Fit into one... They do not appear on the map, They were wiped out during the war, Because the people who lived in them Were diligent, quiet, Peace lovers. Oh, you lukewarm, indifferent brothers, Why doesn't anyone ask about them? How abject is a person who Asks nothing. Contributed by Ziva Cohen
 Arie Barnea, Principal, Gymnasia Herzliya It was with great excitement that I learned about the important project that you have taken upon yourselves, and by so doing answer a painful question that many Holocaust survivors have locked in their hearts: What will happen to our memories of life and death after we are gone? Impressive second generation groups have sprung up in Israel recently to honor their parents and to participate together with them in meetings commemorating communities that were wiped out. Your organization takes this one step further by undertaking to preserve the memory for future generations. Why are we concerned only with Poland when the Jewish Diaspora has reached the four corners of the earth and many other communities were also destroyed in the Holocaust? Here are some answers to this question: - You and I would be glad if former residents of Romania, Yugoslavia and Morocco were to follow in our footsteps, whether to commemorate the Holocaust in particular or preserve the heritage of our grandfathers in general. - Our commitment stems from honoring our parents and from the special bond we feel with their community. - There is a difference between the communities of Poland and others, both in size - at least three and a quarter million on the eve of World War II - as well as the extent of the damage sustained at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators: of the Jews who lived in Poland in 1939 and of those who remained after the great escape to Russia, over 90% were murdered. In addition, all six death camps were built and operated on Polish soil, absorbing millions of Jews from other communities on their last journey. Since the community of former Polish residents is such a prominent one, perhaps it can serve as a model for others: just as we are dedicated to perpetuating the memory of our families and communities, so might others follow suit in honoring their families and communities. Thus dedication will join dedication, effort join effort, and love join love to preserve the national heritage and hand it down from generation to generation. |
 It has become a tradition with us "people of the towns" to get together every year and experience something of past times, meet with friends, recall and reminisce, sing old songs and savor the past of all these towns that appear in the list on the wall. Each name tells the story of a full and exciting life, of rabbis, shohets, mohels, cantors, teachers, schoolchildren, dreaming and ambitious youth, rich men, poor men, Hassidim and Mitnagdim, Bundists and Zionists, romanticists and actors, beggars and fishermen, traders and idlers, and others. In coming here today, the people bring everything that was in them: the house, parents, families, institutions, synagogues, shtiebelach, schools, political parties, yeshivas, day-to-day life. Shabbat eve, with mothers lighting the candles, their faces aglow as they say the blessing on them. Shabbat and festival songs emanating from each window and open door, each in its own style. Weddings and other activities of all sorts. All these memories bind us and envelop us as we sit together. With all the pain that accompanies the great loss, we the survivors can look on in satisfaction at the fact that we have used our lives that were so spared to do much for our country, our nation and ourselves. We have raised new generations imbibed with national pride. Our faith and might have helped us to fight and liberate our country from a foreign yoke and establish a Jewish state. We have built cities, industries and a strong army to fight our enemies, who have still not relinquished the idea of exterminating us. Although we are not living in the best of times, we shall, as always, not despair and shall not yield until we are victorious. To you, the next generation, I have a request to make. We are growing old, we are weary. Take the precious heritage that previous generations have bequeathed you - the love of your fellow man, whoever he may be, the desire to help others, the rich culture, the songs, the poems, the noble aspirations for a better tomorrow. Take up this cause, carry on the tradition - and may you succeed! March 2002 Yehuda Chamiel, Chairperson, Umbrella Organization  The heritage of fathers and mothers. The heritage of grandfathers and grandmothers. Customs and culture passed down to us from previous generations. We, the next generation of former Polish residents and survivors, as well as of those who could not be saved but perished in the Holocaust, have decided that we do not want to lose all the spiritual beauty that has been left to us by our families, writers and poets. Despite the hard day-to-day existence that was eked out in the towns of Poland, there was a certain beauty, which has been handed down to us in both verbal and written form. We have inherited many positive customs from that period as well as a great deal of humor, a product of the tribulations, which has been passed on from generation to generation and which has helped us to stand firm in the face of difficulty. We now inhabit our own homeland, and once again we are going through a difficult period. However, by virtue of our heritage we shall stand resolute, we shall overcome and forge ahead, firm in the hope that we shall not forget the heritage of our fathers and pass it on in turn to our children. Rina Leibel (nee Chrzanower-Halbfinger) Active Member, Association of Next
Generation
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