Belzec - July 14

Belzec Memorial

monument to Rzeszow - at Belzec

listing of names at Belzec - Mindel, my Yiddish name

layers of wood to resemble train tracks - Belzec Memorial

Upon arriving at the Belzec Memorial, the site of the first stationary killing facility established by the SS, I knew that this would be an emotional experience. The summer skies continued to be gray and full of humidity which gave the experience an intensity that was indescribable. The area of the memorial was huge -- and was filled with hundreds of thousands of rocks as far as the eye could see. In the distance were huge forests of green bordering the memorial. Our small group seemed inconsequential compared the vastness of the area. One could never imagine the scene here in the 1940's when this vast area knew only murder and annihilation. Scattered throughout the memorial were walls with sacred words written in Hebrew, Polish and English. One wall listed the first names of Polish Jews. Because the names of the real victims were unknown, this wall gave the victims some sense of identity. Among the names that stood out for me were Yiddish names that I knew from my own family. My Yiddish name is Mindl....my mother's name is Bajla, my aunt's name is Syma and my father's name was Lemel. The personal significance was deeply emotional for me and it was impossible to hold back the tears.
In addition to the names of people there were plaques naming the communities where the victims were from -- among them, Izbica, Zamosc, Rzeszow, Tarnow, and Lancut. These names were familiar to me from the stories that my parents had told me throughout the years.
As I entered the walking path to the memorial, I realized that the walls on either side of me became higher and the feeling of walking into an unknown place surrounded by thick concrete walls must have been similar to the feelings of victims walking into the unknown. This feeling was incredibly poignant and terrifying. Who could ever imagine the horrors?
As we left the memorial, we noticed one last piece of construction -- large pieces of wood put together to resemble railroad tracks -- another horrific symbol of the events that took place here.