Obchody Międzynarodowego Dnia Pamięci o Ofiarach Holokaustu w Muzeum POLIN

27 stycznia 2016 r. obchodzimy Międzynarodowy Dzień Pamięci o Ofiarach Holokaustu ustanowiony w 2005 r. decyzją Zgromadzenia Ogólnego ONZ.

Upamiętnia on miliony Żydów zgładzonych podczas drugiej wojny światowej. Data ten przypada w rocznicę wyzwolenia więźniów obozu Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Szacuje się, że podczas drugiej wojny światowej życie straciło około 6 milionów europejskich Żydów. Zagładzie ulegały praktycznie całe społeczności, stanowiące nierzadko ponad połowę populacji miast. Ludzie ginęli w gettach, obozach śmierci, obozach koncentracyjnych i obozach pracy; z głodu i chorób, w wyniku zbiorowych i pojedynczych egzekucji.

O tym ludobójstwie przypominają dziś tysiące grobów, pomników i innych miejsc martyrologii.

Warszawskie obchody Międzynarodowego Dnia Pamięci o Ofiarach rozpoczną się o godz. 16.00 przy Pomniku Bohaterów Getta (ul. Ludwika Zamenhofa).

W trakcie uroczystości zostaną złożone wieńce, odbędzie się modlitwa ekumeniczna oraz apel pamięci, podczas którego każdy będzie mógł odczytać imiona ofiar Holokaustu, także swoich bliskich.

W tym dniu w rejonie dawnego getta będzie kursował zabytkowy tramwaj oznaczony Gwiazdą Dawida.

Organizator uroczystości – Fundacja Shalom – apeluje o zapalenie w tym dniu o godz. 18.00 świec w oknach wszystkich domów w ramach akcji Światło pamięci.

Muzeum POLIN przygotowało z tej okazji szereg wydarzeń:

Żydzi na ekranie. Temat żydowski w kinie czasów komunizmu

Syn Szawła, reż. László Nemes – projekcja filmu i dyskusja

Czytaj dalej tu: Obchody Międzynarodowego Dnia Pamięci o Ofiarach Holokaustu w Muzeum POLIN

6300 Files and Documents On The Holocaust Found Behind Wall Of Budapest Apartment

TO GO WITH AFP STORY A document dating from 1944 that is part of around 6,300 census forms of Budapest’s then Jewish population is pictured at Budapest City Archives in Budapest on November 12, 2015. A vast trove of well-preserved Holocaust-era documents, long thought destroyed during the war, has been found hidden in a wall cavity by a couple renovating their Budapest apartment. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEKATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP

A new, huge collection of World War Two Nazi census documents has been discovered in a flat in Hungary. A couple living in the flat found the documents while they were undertaking renovation work on their apartment.

The papers were found behind a wall of the flat in Budapest and provide records of a Nazi census dating from 1944. The documents are in excellent condition after having been lodged in a wall cavity that had been covered up for more than 70 years.

There were around 6,300 papers in this hidden trove. They document the impending, intended destruction of Budapest’s more than 200,000 Jews, who were to be evicted and transported to Nazi concentration camps.

One of the owners of the flat, Brigitte Berdefy, says that the flat looks over the Hungarian Parliament buildings, so it’s no surprise that someone who had access to these kinds of documents would have lived or stayed in the apartment during the occupation.

During the renovation, a builder tried to put a screwdriver into the wall when suddenly the tool went straight through. They thought they had gone through the wall and out the other side into the neighbouring apartment.

But when Brigitte’s husband, Gabor, looked more closely he could see the papers and the handwriting on them. The workers and the couple went on to carefully remove the wall-covering and surrounding brickwork to find more than 60 kilogrammes of documents. All were covered in dust, but had remained dry and in excellent condition.

The ink handwriting can still be read, and the documents have now been donated to the Budapest City Archives. A representative from the Archives said that the documents are in excellent condition for World War Two paperwork since most of the documents found after 70 years have become faded and rotten.

The Archives are excited to have the documents in their possession since the content is invaluable for filling in many gaps in the knowledge and history of the Holocaust in Budapest. Researchers are now studying the papers and documenting the information.

When the census had been taken the Nazis had occupied Hungary for just two months, and the evacuation and transportation of Hungarian Jews had commenced.

The documents contain building addresses and information on their inhabitants, including their religious affiliation.

Lubavitcher Rebbe,
Rebbe Schneerson Death Certificate Is Auctioned — Top Bid Just $1,936

JTA

The death certificate of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson — the revered Chabad leader often referred to as “the Rebbe” — is on the auction block.

The official certificate, issued Aug. 2, 1995, and mailed by the New York Department of Health to Schneerson’s niece in Israel, is being auctioned by Virtual Judaica on its website — with a current high bid of $1,936. The auction will end on Jan. 19.

Schneerson died on June 12, 1994 at age 92. Because he had no children, his next-of-kin was his niece Dalya Rothman, who lived in Rehovot at the time the death certificate was issued.

According to the listing, the certificate bears “light age staining” and is “creased on folds.” Virtual Judaica lists an estimated price of $1,000-$5,000. The certificate is filled out by hand, in a slanting all-caps writing.

It is not clear whether Schneerson’s niece, or another owner, put the certificate up for auction. Reached on his cell phone Friday, Eli Amsel, who is listed on the Monsey, New York, auction house’s “Contact Us” site, said Virtual Judaica could not disclose who the seller is, but he said the item was “legitimately obtained.”

The item is not the first Rebbe-related document to go to auction, Amsel said, noting that some of his letters also have been sold through Virtual Judaica. He said items connected to Chabad and Schneerson are “very popular” on the site.

Schneerson’s grave, at Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, New York, is visited by thousands of people annually. Following his death, some of his adherents claimed he was the messiah. Chabad, which is best known for sending emissaries all over the world to engage Jews of all backgrounds, has operated without a rebbe since Schneerson died.

The “personal particulars” section of the death certificate includes Schneerson’s address (“770 Eastern Parkway,” the Chabad world headquarters in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn), birthplace (“Russia”), profession (“clergy”), birthdate (“April 13, 1902”), years of college and post-college education(“5+”) and parents’ names (“Levi Yitzchok Schneerson” and “Chana Yanefsky.”)

It is not clear why the death certificate was issued to Schneerson’s niece more than a year after his death.