Tuesday, June 5, 2018

S I X- at the Woodland of Dorohoi


Six towns, six stone columns, six burning candles, six flower wreaths, six flags, six guests  at the stage of honor.....


the woodland of Dorohoi

On Thursdayׂ (31.5.2018ׁ), 
I attended a commemoration in the 'Forest of the Martyrs'  near Jerusalem, at a spot called 'the woodland of Dorohoi'. Here, there's a six- column stone monument placed around a tree stump, symbol for the six towns of Dorohoi region in north-east Romania, whose jewish communities have undergone persecutions during the Holocaust.

the six-stone columns monument

six flower wreaths

The Dorohoi region during the WW2 period, included six towns, each surrounded by a number of villages: Dorohoi , the bigger town, and five tiny additional towns: Saveni, Mihaileni, Darabani, Herza, Radauti-Prut. My family was originally from Saveni  (so, by the way, was the american  composer of "Popeye the sailor man" ,Samuel Lerner).



horse of the border patrol by the tree, 'paying respects'

the horse rider patrolling.

youngest generation

I wrote about this memorial in the past, and I also mentioned in a previous post the sad fact about my mother being exiled to bloody Ukraine where she lost a baby and a younger sister. Although I was born after the war , I grew up in the shadow of its atrocities with heart broken parents who had lost everything.


Me...contemplating the area

The climax at this event for me is always the prayer of 'El Male Rachamim' (God full of Mercy). If the cantor is one with a good, powerful voice, it gives me the chills, and hot tears fill my eyes. The prayer (holocaust version, there are several) goes like this: 

'God full of Mercy/grant proper rest for the souls of the holy and pure/ who fell at the hands of murderers, whose blood was spilled in camps of destruction in Europe/ who were slain, burned, slaughtered and buried alive with extreme cruelty'.


six  candle flames




32 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you. I feel sad
      about Europe too. The continent which used to be once the brains of the world,is nowadays in a very gloomy situation.

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  2. I think it is wonderful that these towns and people were honored with such a tribute. Thanks for sharing. Peace

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    1. I think so too. The first organizer of the ceremony, an historian who wrote an anthology on the subject, died in 2014. The new one,is younger.He's a doctor by profession, originally from the city of Dorohoi.

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  3. A pure, simple, beautiful monument in commemoration of atrocities that should never have occurred. Sorrow and loss that never goes away.

    Lest We Forget....

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    1. The name of each of the six towns is written on the inside part of the column; there must be a reason for that which I don't know. I would have preferred the name of my town to appear on the outer part, sculpted in black.
      On the whole, however, it's indeed a beautiful, dignified monument.

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  4. Such a beautiful and moving post and tribute. And so touched by hearing your history and how you are able to connect with things of your past through these memorials and as you have talked about in other posts through these chances to visit and heal through the prayers. The word forgiveness comes to my heart as I write this,knowing how hard it must be but sensing that it is part of the healing and renewal. God Bless you Duta and your beautiful heart and soul as you connect the pieces of your past to being such a blessing to many in your life.

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    1. Thanks for your very kind words.I suppose the words and feelings of forgiveness, healing, renewal are relevant.
      To forgive, yes, but not to forget the evil done to so many people.That's what these commemorations are for.
      God bless you too, dear Shayndel!

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  5. this is a cool celebration. I can't imagine growing up under that shadow, its a completely different perspective from mine, but one i want to be sensitive to and aware of. thanks for sharing.
    (i did just start reading a book that i bought in Estonia called "the travellers" and it is short essays from artists who grew up in closed borders (former soviet, soviet, etc etc) and their perspectives as they cross boarders and travel elsewhere. and then they have art installations about their experiences. super interesting!)

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    1. "Cool" indeed. The people attending it are mainly second generation; younger ones also have started coming during later years.

      Estonia is a little country which has lately drawn much attention by introducing free public transport starting with this July.
      Thanks for the info on the book "the travellers"; it's sounds a 'must' read.

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    2. yeah! i was in tallinn last month - there was still some confusion on the "free" (some told us it was and some said it wasn't, haha) - but that is indeed an amazing perk. this little country has done amazingly well for themselves despite their history. i loved reading about it when I was there!

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    3. As someone who lives in a small country, I would be delighted to learn more about Estonia, another small country. I shall try to read about it, and if possible, maybe, God's willing, even visit its capital someday.

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  6. Thankyou for sharing, Duta. It is easy to forget the atrocities which happened in the past. The UK has forgotten, but France has not, maybe because although the UK lost many to the conflict of the wars it was was not occupied. I think those countries which were occupied do remember for longer.
    It is good to see the younger generation present.

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    1. Indeed, Vera, it is good to see the younger generation taking interest in the past. After all, it's not possible to move forward without understanding the process that brought us so far, and drawing certain conclusions about it.

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  7. I try to imagine growing up in the shadow with all the brokenness your family faced. I am so very sorry for all your family's pain but I'm so glad you wrote about it and shared this experience with us. I hope that service and prayer soothed your soul.

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    1. The service, and especially the religious part of it with the prayer, did indeed soothe my soul.The beauty of the forest also helps.

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  8. This was an interesting post and I have never heard about this memorial for the Romanians persecuted in the Holocaust. I know you have written about your family's loss and that was indeed tragic. I can imagine this was a bittersweet event for you to attend, Duta.

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    1. I'm not surprised you haven't heard, as the evil famed places of persecution that have always been in the focus are placed in Poland (Aushchwitz), Germany (Dachau), Chechia (Terezinstadt)- and not Transnistria in Ukraine.
      Anyway, you're right - it was a bitter sweet event, on a beautiful forest background.

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  9. Such a terrible story about your mother :( The Balkans was really swimming in blood during WW2 after barely recovering from WW1. We have countless WW2 monuments too in each city. Most of our streets carry the names of the heroes from that war and it always pierces my heart when they change some of those names or when they try to throw a shadow over our fight for freedom.

    PS my city of Subotica has the second biggest Synagogue in Europe, it has just been renovated and is now again open for public and Jewish ceremonies.

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    1. Subotica - what a sweet, melodious name! Voevodina, too. I must confess shamefully I knew almost nothing about these places until I heard it from you.
      I'll have some reading to do now. Thanks for sharing the info about the Synagogue. 'Open for ceremonies' means there are still some jews there who practise their religion. It makes me glad to hear that.

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    2. Yes, I think there about 3 thousand Jews in Subotica (out of about 170,000 citizens). You can see some of the photos of the Synagogue here: https://www.subotica.com/fotografije/sinagoga-unosenje-svete-knjige-tore-id72600.html

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    3. Thanks, Dezmond.
      Magnificient synagogue and some very interesting stuff for me to read.

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    4. Thanks, Dezmond.
      Magnificient synagogue and some very interesting stuff for me to read.

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  10. Boa tarde, um tributo para que não seja esquecido, o negativo também deve ser lembrado.
    Continuação de feliz semana,
    AG

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    1. Well put! paying tribute, so as not forget the victims, and at the same time remembering the evil.

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  11. What a pretty memorial. yall pay tribute very well. So sorry for your families pains.

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    1. Hi, Kim
      I agree with you; it's a pretty nice memorial, and in Nature's setting - a forest. The weather, at this time of the year,is fine and cooperative with human intentions.

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  12. Thank you for sharing this with us here. I found it a most moving post and tribute.

    My good wishes.

    All the best Jan

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    1. I'm very pleased you find this post a moving tribute.
      Thanks Jan, for your good wishes.

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  13. What a beautiful memorial. So many have had such a difficult time at the hands of fellow humans. It is very moving to make reparation.

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  14. Oh DUTA, I am so sorry for what your mother and her family must have gone through. It's mind boggling the atrocities of war and so sad to realize that as far as we have come children continue to be the casualties. I'm sorry for little DUTA who had to live the sadness and pain of her parents. Blessings to you DUTA.

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    1. Thanks, Alicia.
      Children are affected by war and live its events through their parents. Even if parents keep silent about it, their behavior often says it all.

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