by tskzA ceremony at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in the Warsaw’s Muranów District, and the March of Remembrance in honour of the Insurgents – this is how the Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Poland intends to commemorate the 82nd Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
The Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Poland (TSKŻ) would like to invite everyone to take part in the events commemorating the 82nd Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising which will commence on 19 April at 12:00 noon at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in the Muranów District in Warsaw.
Each anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is regarded as one of the most crucial events for the Jewish community in Poland.
“The anniversaries of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising are special events for our post-war generation, evoking in us profound emotions and thoughts. The memory of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is not only part of our history, but also part of our identity. The memory of the heroism of the Insurgents who resisted the Nazi German Holocaust machinery is an inspiration for contemporary Jews who cultivate the memory of the heroes of the Jewish Combat Organisation and the Jewish Military Union. The date of 19 April also serves as a reminder that in the face of the tragedy of the Holocaust, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising became a symbol of the struggle for dignity.
I wish that the 82nd Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising would not only serve as a reminder of a tragic chapter in history, but also as a call for dialogue, understanding and reconciliation” – said Artur Hofman, Chair of the Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Poland.
The focal point of the celebrations – the ceremony at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes – will commence at 12:00 noon. The ceremony will be attended by representatives of the Jewish community, war veterans, Righteous Among the Nations, state and local government officials, diplomats, representatives of Polish cultural institutions, as well as residents of the capital city of Warsaw.
Then the participants of the March of Remembrance will lay flowers at other memorial sites related to the Warsaw Ghetto. The ceremony will end at the Umschlagplatz.
The route of the March of Remembrance in Honour of the Insurgents:
– Ghetto Heroes Monument – Manhole, pl. Bohaterów Getta Warszawskiego
– The Żegota Council Monument, pl. Bohaterów Getta Warszawskiego
– Szmula Zygielbojm’s Plate, ul. Edelmana 6
– Anielewicz Bunker, Junction of ul. Miła and ul. Dubois
– The Umschlagplatz, ul. Stawki 4/6
On the night of from 18 to 19 April 1943, which was the Jewish holiday of Passover, the Warsaw Ghetto was surrounded by German troops. Early the next morning, the Germans entered the ghetto with the intention of its final liquidation. Members of Jewish armed resistance organisations, such as the Jewish Combat Organisation, together with its commander Mordechai Anielewicz and the fighters such as Icchak Cukerman and Marek Edelman, as well as the Jewish Military Union led by Paweł Frenkel and Leon Rodel, started their fight for human dignity. The first urban uprising in German-occupied Europe had begun.
“It was all we could do in that situation to resist Germans, knowing, that it was death which awaited us anyway, at the end of the day. That was the only thing certain. There was no illusion, we did not have even the slightest hope that we could survive. Nobody dreamed about it. Neither at the beginning of the uprising, nor later on” – recalled Symcha Ratajzer Rotem, alias Kazik, who was a member of the Jewish Combat Organisation.
The partners of the event are: the Association of Jewish Veterans and Victims of World War II, the Children of the Holocaust Association in Poland, and the POLIN Museum.
The celebrations will be streamed live on the host organisation’s social media profile.
