Day 6: Won't You Be My Neighbor?

July 19, 2019

Day 6: Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Mister Rogers, the world needs to hear your song again, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

It wasn’t easy for Polish Jews to live in a predominantly Catholic country. They were looked upon (and elsewhere) as the reason for Jesus’ death. This mentality fueled antisemitism and justified Polish neighbor turning against Jewish neighbor when the Nazi occupation began, followed by the Soviets.

At Jebwabne, a pogrom occurred where 350 Jews who sought refuge in a barn, were locked up and burned inside by their Polish neighbors.

In Tykocin, we walked the Forest where 3 mass burials are located and 3,000 Jews were brought to execution.

Then...Treblinka, an extermination camp. The Nazis tore it all down as they knew defeat was approaching. However, Franz Stangl, assistant commandant of Treblinka, took photographs of everything and kept it in an album he titled, “The Happiest Days of My Life.” Also, survivors remembered how it operated. The deception at Treblinka was unbelievable. Nazis created a fake railroad station (with signs, timetables, and a clock) and even a “hospital” where the elderly, disabled, and children were sent to be murdered. A Memorial to the 900,000 Jews executed was erected where the gas chambers and pits once stood.

While there were numerous Polish collaborators, it must be noted that Poland is the one country where the most Righteous Among the Nations come from.

And, yet it’s imperative not to be complicit and white wash history. When we acknowledge our wrongdoings we can learn and move forward. Failure to do so, begets mistrust with our fellow neighbors of all backgrounds.

Don’t treat those who are different as “others” who “should go back to where they came from.” That’s the 1st Stage of Genocide: Classification. I implore you to look up the 10 Stages. If you’ve been paying attention, they will be hauntingly familiar.

Memorial at Jebwabne. Miri Kassow singing Kaddish. I cried my eyes out.

Where the barn where Poles locked up the Jews seeking refuge in a barn
were burned alive.

Local carpenter

My Jewish boyfriend 😊

We are fed like kings and queens.

Forest in Tykocin

Memorial to the 3,000 murdered in Tykocin

Mass grave pits. Three of them.

Treblinka II. An extermination camp where 900,000 Jews were killed.

Names of the 900,000 people at Treblinka.

Memorial at Treblinka

The beloved Polish Jew, Janusz Korczak, born Henryk Goldszmit. He was a physician, pedagogue, and writer who directed an orphanage. When they were deported to Treblinka, he was given an option to remain. He went with the 200 children so they would not die alone. This is the only stone which carries a full name.

VIDEO AT TREBLINKA HERE

Large stones commemorate the murdered communities from abroad. The giant cemetery contains 17,000 stones. 216 of them carry inscriptions with names and cities and towns from which Polish Jews were transported here.