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On Simchat Torah Again—65 Years Late—Hesed Director Builds Monument to Murdered Jewish Community in Ukraine in 1941
On Rosh Hashanah, Anatoly, Zaporozhye Hesed director, was visiting Chubarevka, one of the 50 remote villages on the Hesedmobile route, when he heard about the elderly Jewish home's desperate need of repairs. While there, he unexpectedly learned about the history of the Zaporozhye community. Maryna, 80 years old, who was excited to have a Jewish guest, shared her life memories: "We used to have the Jewish agricultural farms here, and even a synagogue, but the community was wiped out by Nazis in one day - no one survived…"
"It was immediate and genuine impulse of a Jew – to find out about any remains of what was once a thriving community – says Anatoly." He and other Hesed workers spent hours wandering around and asking local elderly for anything they could remember. They eventually ran into an old man who took them to an area of the abandoned village cemetery and showed them a small stone sign, half-sunk and completely lost in overgrowth. The Zaporozhye community of 113 Jews was destroyed on October 14, 1941, the day of Simchat Torah. The date was purposely chosen by the Nazis to murder thousands of Jews all over Ukraine in one day. This year, 65 years later, on the eve of Simchat Torah, which falls on the same infamous date – October 14, the memory of these 113 Jews, who seemed to disappear without a trace, will be restored. Zaporozhye community members and lay leaders have made a commitment to open a new monument site on Simchat Torah. The village people wondered, "Why do you need to do all of this after so many years?". "Were your families murdered here?". The Hesed Director responds: "All the Jews are one family. That's why Hesed Mobile van travels hundreds of kilometers daily to help each Jew in the most remote village. That's why we need to have this monument. That's what makes us a community." October 2006 |
