Philadelphia Holocaust Memorial Ceremony 2022

Behind and Beyond the Ghetto Walls April 24, 2022

History of the Monument to the Six Million Jewish Martyrs In a city replete with reminders of the past stands a memorial to Six Million Jewish Martyrs — those who were so brutally annihilated by the Nazis. This monument stands as a striking symbol to all who cherish freedom of religion, equality and the dignity of humankind.

It also bears the distinction of being the very first Holocaust monument erected in the United States. The monument was the idea of some Survivors of the Nazi Holocaust who had come to settle in Philadelphia, and fervently wished to perpetuate the memory of the Six Million who perished. The Jewish communities of Greater Philadelphia responded to their call for support and to gain an appropriate memorial site. On April 26, 1964, Monument to the Six Million Jewish Martyrs was unveiled and presented to the City of Philadelphia by the Association of Jewish New Americans (known today as the Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors) and the Federation of Jewish Agencies of Greater Philadelphia (today the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia).

Each year since then, the Memorial Committee for the Six Million Jewish Martyrs has coordinated an annual service to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust — ensuring that this dark chapter of history remains in our living memories, in observance of the Philadelphia Survivors’ wishes, that we always Remember: zachor..

Monument to the Six Million Jewish Martyrs was created by sculptor Nathan Rapoport, whose Holocaust-related monuments and edifices, including at the former Warsaw Ghetto, are internationally known. Cast in bronze, this monument stands 18 feet from base to top. It depicts a mother gasping her last breath as flames envelop her, together with a child upholding the Torah scrolls: the Five Books of Moses. A patriarchal figure raises his arms in benediction; several other arms, wielding daggers, symbolize Jewish resistance against Nazi tyranny. The grouping is surrounded by a blazing bush and crowned by a burning menorah. The monument’s granite base is inscribed with the names of concentration camps, ghettos and death camps. Another inscription reads: The Holocaust 1933-1945 Now and forever enshrined in memory are the Six Million Jewish Martyrs who perished in concentration camps, ghettos and gas chambers. In their deepest agony they clung to the image of humanity, and their acts of resistance in the forests and ghettos redeemed the honor of man. Their suffering and heroism are forever branded upon our conscience and shall be remembered from generation to generation.

The site of the monument was originally donated by Alvin and Leanore Brookman, and was later expanded and named Isaac Levy Park, by Dr. & Mrs. Leon Levy, in memory of Dr. Levy’s brother. There, Monument to the Six Million Jewish Martyrs stands as a tribute to the dead as well as a reminder to the living for the need for constant vigilance to preserve liberty for all.

A Short History of the Holocaust

by Nora Levin

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Almost six million Jews were annihilated during World War II by an official, pre-meditated plan. The swift descent of a modern European state – Germany from anti-Semitic ideology to near genocide has no parallel in history, modern or ancient.

The Jews of Europe were not killed at one time or in one place. Rather, as the war advanced and the Nazis occupied more and more territory, Jews were confronted with economic and legal restrictions, the loss of citizenship, isolation, sealed ghettos and deportations to extermination centers, or mass killings, such as took place when Russia was invaded in June 1941. Killing units called Einsatzgruppen accompanied the German invasion army and killed over a million Jews within a few weeks. Hunger, typhus and inhuman labor killed thousands in the concentration camps and ghettos. Millions were gassed in the extermination centers in Poland. The murder of Jews went on for seven years – from 1938 to 1945.

Almost every nation in Europe was pulled into Germany’s “Final Solution.” Each reacted in terms of its own history, its attitudes toward Jews, the strength of the German military presence and Nazi police, the changing tide of war and territorial ambitions. Where the will to save Jews was strong – as in Denmark and some areas under Italian jurisdiction – Nazi plans were balked. In most countries, tragically, native anti-Semitism accelerated the process of destruction, and doomed the many efforts of Jews to resist.

We are commanded not to forget all that happened, to remember the spiritual strength, the physical resistance, the suffering, the heroism, the faith of the martyrs in the ultimate victory of humanity. Our Memorial to the Six Million Jewish Martyrs stirs us “to lament with their mutilated music,” to try to overcome the abyss that separates us.

Nashirah, the Jewish Chorale of Greater Philadelphia Dr. Julia Zavadsky, Artistic Director Soyeon Ki, Accompanist Nashirah (Hebrew for “we sing”) is an auditioned, community chorale. Singers come from all around the Greater Philadelphia area — from all walks of life — united by a love of singing and a special desire to share the great beauty and diversity of Jewish musical tradition. Repertoire is selected from the broadest range of compositions by Jewish and non-Jewish composers, inspired by Biblical or contemporary texts and influenced by the melody of many cultures.

Nashirah performances strive for the highest standards of musical artistry spanning boundaries of geography and time.

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Program MOMENT OF SILENCE Please stand

WELCOME / HATIKVAH STAR SPANGLED BANNER Nashira PRESENTATION OF WREATHS Clarinet solo by Ken Ulansey

PRESIDING Sarita Russ Gocial

Chair, Memorial Committee for the Six Million Jewish Martyrs Chair, Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia

MUSICAL SELECTION

“Unter Di Poylishe Grininke Beymelech (Under the Little Green Trees)” Nashira

Lyrics and translation can be found on page 6

INTRODUCTION TO CANDLE LIGHTING Sophie Don, 3G Philly and Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation Pastor Todd Stavrakos, Gladwyne Presbyterian Church, Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia Member of Collegium of the Presbytery of Philadelphia

LIGHTING OF MEMORIAL CANDLES Candle 1: Representatives of the Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors Candle 2: Rita and Malcolm Ratson, Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors: Candle 3: Simone Gorko and Gail Brenner,, Sons & Daughters of Holocaust Survivors Candle 4: Mai Ziv and Ella Dotan, Israeli Scouts Tzofim Candle 5: Azaria Levites-Cohen, Habonim Dror Candle 6: Danielle Weiss, Chair, Jewish Community Relations Council

MEMORIAL PRAYER

“El Maleh Rachamim” Cantor Bradley Hyman

Congregation Rodeph Shalom Words and translation can be found on page 6

“Ani Ma’Amin”

A song sung by many Jews as they entered the gas chambers Lyrics and translation can be found on page 7

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MORDECHAI ANIELEWICZ CREATIVE ARTS COMPETITION ON THE HOLOCAUST INTRODUCTION Dr. Maureen Pelta, Competition Chair POETRY READING

Read by Elliot Gentry-Sharp and Stefan Ackerhalt 4th Generation Children’s Folkshul

“Behind the Walls”

Written by Kailey Atkins, Grade 8, Spring Lake Middle School 2021 First Prize 7th/8th Grade Poetry Text can be found on page 7

RECOGNITION OF DIGNITARIES Barton A. Hertzbach PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION INTRODUCTION TO SONG

Gavriella Kalish-Schur Kaiserman JCC-Diller Teen Fellow

MUSICAL SELECTION

“Yugnt Hymn (Youth Hymn)” Nashira

A song that inspired pride and hope in Jewish youth Lyrics by Shmerke Kaczerginski and music by Basye Rubin Lyrics and translation can be found on page 7

REMARKS Gail Norry

Board Co-Chair, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia

Please stand and remain standing MOURNERS KADDISH Rabbi Nathan Kamesar

Society Hill Synagogue Words and translation can be found on page 8

INTRODUCTION TO SONG Ruth Littner, 2nd generation

“Zog Nit Keyn Mol” Nashira

Audience Lyrics and translation can be found on page 8

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During the Holocaust, the creation of ghettos was a key step in the Nazi process of brutally separating, persecuting, and ultimately destroying Europe’s Jews. Jews were forced to move into the ghettos, where living conditions were miserable. Ghettos were often enclosed districts that isolated Jewish from th non-Jewish population and from other Jewish communities.

During World War II, the SS and other German occupation authorities concentrated urban and sometimes regional Jewish populations in ghettos. Living conditions were miserable. Ghettos were often enclosed districts that isolated Jews by separating Jewish communities from the non-Jewish population and from other Jewish communities. The Germans established at least 1,143 ghettos in the occupied eastern territories.

German occupation authorities established the first ghetto in occupied Poland in Piotrków Trybunalski in October 1939. The largest ghetto in occupied Poland was the Warsaw ghetto. In Warsaw, more than 400,000 Jews were crowded into an area of 1.3 square miles. Other major ghettos were established in the cities of Lodz, Krakow, Bialystok, Lvov, Lublin, Vilna, Kovno, Czestochowa, and Minsk. Tens of thousands of western European Jews were also deported to ghettos in the east.

The ghettos isolating Jews were meant to be temporary. In many places, ghettoization lasted only a few days or weeks.

In others, ghettoization last for several years. The vast majority of ghetto inhabitants died from disease, starvation, shooting, or deportation to killing centers.

With the implementation of the “Final Solution” (the plan to murder all European Jews) beginning in late 1941, the Germans systematically destroyed the ghettos. The Germans and their auxiliaries either shot remaining ghetto residents in mass graves located nearby or deported them. Jews were deported to killing centers. German SS and police authorities also deported a small minority of Jews from ghettos to forced-labor camps and concentration camps.

In August 1944, German SS and police completed the destruction of the last major ghetto, in Lodz.

Resistance in the Ghettos Jews responded with a variety of resistance efforts. Ghetto residents frequently smuggled food, medicine, weapons, or intelligence across the ghetto walls. These and other such activities often took place without the knowledge or approval of the Jewish councils. On the other hand, some Jewish councils and some individual council members tolerated or encouraged the smuggling because the goods were necessary to keep ghetto residents alive. In some ghettos, members of Jewish resistance movements staged armed uprisings. The largest of these was the Warsaw ghetto uprising in spring 1943. There were also violent revolts in Vilna, Bialystok, Czestochowa, and several smaller ghettos.

Source: USHMM.org

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Unter Di Poylishe Grininke Beymelekh (Under The Little Green Polish Trees) Lyrics by Joseph Papiernikov; Music by Israel Alter

Papiernikov was born in Warsaw and became a pioneer of Yiddish poetry in Israel. Cantor Israel Alter is a composer and professor of cantorial music at the Hebrew Union College in New York. The song laments the loss of one and a half million children whose young voices are no longer heard shouting in play on the grass or in the snow.

Unter di poylishe grininke beymelekh Shpiln zikh mer nit keyn Moyshelekh, Shloymelesh, Shpiln zikh mer nit keyn Sorelekh, Leyelekh, Nit af keyn grezelekh, nit af keyn shneyelekh.

S’hilkehn shoyn mer nit di yidishe shtimelekh Fun di kundeysimlekh Motelekh, Shimelekh, Mit di tsekrelte, tsderapete tsurelekh, Funem bavayzn vundreyrim un gvurelekh.

S’troyern atsind di poylishe beymelekh.

Toyt zenen yidishe heymen un heymelekh, Toyt zenen geselekh, khorev di hayzelekh— Vu es farshtekn zikh kinder, vi mayzelekh.

Yidishe kinder mit groyse eygelekh, Shvartse azoy vi mit khoyshekh fartsoygene Eygelekh fule, mit pakhed farlofene, Unter dem umglik, dem broynem getrofene.

Unter di poylishe grininke beymelekh Shpiln sikh mer nit keyn Moyshelekh, Shloymelekh, Shpiln zikh mer nit keyn Sorelekh, Leyelekh, Nit af keyn grezelekh, nit af keyn shneyelekh.

Under the little green Polish trees growing, No more at play little Moyshelekh, Shloymelekh, No more at play little Sorelekh, Leyelekh, Not on the gentle grass, not when it’s snowing No more are young Jewish voices heard shouting, Motelekh, Shimelekh, rascals carousing; Battered and bruised with their woes so beguiling, Strutting courageously, daring, delighting.

The little green trees in Poland are mourning, Gone Jewish homes and their houses and dwellings, Gone are old alleys, in shambles residing, Children like little mice, scurrying, hiding.

Dear little children with eyes large and staring, Black with a dark devastation enfolding, Eyes full of fear, full of terror conveying Despair, disaster beyond all comparing.

Under the little green Polish trees growing No more at play little Moyshelekh,Shloymelekh, No more at play little Sorelekh, Leyelekh, Not on the gentle grass, not when it’s snowing.

El Malei Rachamim (G-d, Full of Mercy)

Special Holocaust version of traditional Jewish prayer for the departed El Malei Rachamim shochein bamromim, hamtzei menuchah nachonah tachas kanfei hashechinah, bema’alos, bema’alos kedoshim, kedoshim utahorim, kezohar harekia mei’irim umazhirim, es nishmos acheinu B’nei Yisrael hakadoshim, hakedoshim vehatahorim, shenaflu bidei rotzchim venishpachu demom be’Auschwitz, Majdanek, Treblinka usha’ar machanos hashemam beEuropa sheneheregu,sheneheregu, veshenisrafu, shenisrafu venishchatu venikveru chayim bekol misos meshunos ve’achzorios al, al, al kedushas Hashem ba’avur she’anuchnu baneihem, ubenoseihem, acheihem,ve’achoseihem nodrim tzedakah be’ad hazkaras nishmoseihem beGan Ede t’hei menuchasam.

Lachein Ba’al Harachamim yastiram beseiser kanafav le’olamim, veyitzror veyitzror betzror hachayim es nishmasam, Ad-noi hu nachalasam, veyanucham beshalom al mishkavam, venomar Amen.

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G-d, full of mercy, Who dwells on high, grant proper rest under the wings of the Divine Presence – in the lofty levels of the holy and pure ones, who shine like the glory of the firmament – for the soul of our brothers the Jewish people, the holy and pure, who fell at the hands of murderers, whose blood was spilled in Auschwitz, in Majdanek, in Treblinka and the other camps of destruction in Europe, who were slain, burned, and slaughtered, and who were buried alive with extreme cruelty for the sanctification of the Divine Name.

For we, their sons, their daughters, their brothers, and their sisters, will contribute to charity in remembrance of their souls.

May their resting place be in Paradise – therefore may the Master of Mercy shelter them beneath His wings for eternity; and may He bind their souls in the Bond of Life.

G-d is their inheritance, and may they repose in peace in their resting place.

Now let us say – Amen.

Ani Ma’amin (I Believe)

Lyrics based on Maimonides’ ‘13 Principles of Faith.” Composer unknown. According to legend, Reb Azriel David Fastag was divinely inspired to sing it on a train to Treblinka. A fellow captive jumped out of the train and escaped, eventually teaching the tune to the Modzitzer Rebbe, Rabbi Shaul Yedidya Elazar.

Ani ma’amim, ani ama’amin, ani ma’amin B’emunah shleimah B’viat hamashiach, b’vaiat hamashiach ani ma’amim V’af al pi shyitmameah, Im kol ze achakeh lo B’chol you sheyavo

I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah.

And though he tarry, I will wait daily for his coming.

Yugnt Hymn (Youth Hymn)

Lyrics by Shmerke Kaczerginski; Music by Basye Rubin Undzer lid iz ful mit troyer, Dreyst is undzer muntergang.

Khotsh der soyne vakht baym toyer, Shturemt yungt mit gezang; Chorus: Yung iz yeder, yeder, yeder ver es vil nor, Yorn hobn keyn batayt, Alte kenen, kenen, kenen oykh zayn kinder, Fun a nayer, frayer tsayt.

Ver es voglt um af vegn, Ver mit dreystkeyt s’shtelt zayn fus.

Brengt di yungt zey antkegn, Funem geto a gerus.

(Chorus) Mir gedenken ale sonim, Mir dermonen ale fraynd.

Eybik veln mir farbindn Undzer nekhtn mitn haynt.

(Chorus) Klaybn mir tsunoyf di glider, Vider shtoln mir di rey.

Geyt a boyer, geyt a shmider Lomir ale geyn mit zey!

(Chorus)

Behind the Walls

Written by Kailey Atkins, Grade 8 Spring Lake Middle School 2021 First Prize 7th/8th Grade Poetry

In our darkest hours the world feared our pain.

They pretended not to see us Because they didn’t want to be us So, they built walls to hide from their shame.

Behind the walls they built we starved We lived on food that kept us weak The taste so bad that many died Because they couldn’t eat And the world watched in silence.

Behind the walls they built we drowned

Our song is filled with grieving, Bold our step, we march along.

Though the foe the gateway’s watching Youth comes storming with their song.

Chorus: Young are they, are they, are they whose age won’t bind them, years don’t really mean a thing Elders also, also, also can be children In a newer, freer spring Those who roam upon the highways, Those whose step with hope is strong.

From the ghetto youth salutes them, And their greetings send along.

(Chorus) We remember all our tyrants, We remember all our friends, And we pledge that in the future Our past and present blend.

(Chorus) So we’re girding our muscles, In our ranks we’re planting steel.

Where a blacksmith, builder marches, We will join them with our zeal!

(Chorus)

Never knowing who would meet his death Shoved into barrels and tubs of water We watched as friends took their last breath And the world watched in silence.

Behind the walls they built we burned Locked in rooms of gas and flames We walked so blindly into their traps Stripped of life in a world of pain And the world watched in silence.

Behind the walls they built we hoped That soon we would be saved It was hope that kept us going Hope that kept the fear at bay We hoped for the help that came too late.

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Mourner’s Kaddish Yit-gadal v’yit-kadash sh’mey raba, b’alma di v’ra hirutey, vyam-lih mal-hutey b’ha-yey-hon uv’yomey-hon uv’ha-yey d’hol beyt yisrael ba-agala u-vizman kariv, v’imru amen.

Y’hey sh’mey raba m’varah l’alam ul’almey alma-ya.

Yit-barah v’yish-tabah v’yit-pa-ar v’yit-romam v’yit-na-sey v’yit-hadar v’yit-aleh v’yit-halal sh’mey d’kud-sha, b’rih hu, leyla min kol bir-hata v’shi-rata tush-b’hata v’ne-hemata da-amiran b’alma, v imru amen.

Y’hey sh’lama raba min sh’ma-ya, v’ha-yim aleynu v’al kol yisrael, vimru amen.

Oseh shalom bim-romav, hu ya-aseh shalom aleynu v’al kol yisrael, v’imru amen.

Glorified and sanctified be G-d's great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will.

May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen. May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.

Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

Zog Nit Keyn Mol (Partisans Hymn)

Lyrics by Hersh Glick; Music by Dmitri Pokrass Zog nit keyn mol az du geyst dem letstn veg, Khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg.

Kumen vet nokh unzer oysgebenkte shoS’vet a poyk ton undzer trot Mir zaynen do!

Fun grinem palmenland biz vaytn land fun shney, Mir kumen on mit undzer payn, mit undzer vey; Un vu gefaln iz a shprits fun undzer blut, Shprotsn vet dort undzer gvure, undzer mut.

S’vet di morgnzun bagildn undz dem haynt, Un der nekhtn vet farshvindn mint faynt.

Nor oyb farzamen vet di zun un dem kayorVi a parol zol geyn dos lid fun dor tsu dor.

Dos lid geshribn iz mit blut un nit mit blay, S’iz nit keyn lidl fun a foygl oyf der fray.

Dos hot a folk tsvishn falndike ventDos lid gezungen mit naganes in di hent!

To zog nit keyn mol az du geyst dem letstn veg, Khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg.

Kumen vet nokh unzer oysgebenkte shoS’vet a poyk ton undzer trot Mir zaynen do!

Never say this is the final road for you, Though leadened skies may cover over days of blue, As the hour that we longed for is so near, Our step beats out the message – we are here!

From lands so green with palms to lands all white with snow, We shall be coming with our anguish and our woe, And where a spurt of our blood fell on earth, There our courage and our spirit have rebirth.

The early morning sun will brighten our day, And yesterday with our foe will fade away, But if the sun delays and in the east remains, This song as password generations must maintain.

This song was written with our blood and not with lead, It’s not a little tune that birds sing overhead, This song a people sang amid collapsing walls With grenades in hands they heeded to the call.

Therefore never say the road now ends for you, Though leadened skies may cover over days of blue, As the hour that we longed for is so near, Our step beats out the message – we are here!

Yizkor Endowment Fund To sanctify the memory of our martyrs and to perpetuate the study of the lessons of the Holocaust, leaders in the Greater Philadelphia community have established a Yizkor Endowment Fund. Its principal purpose is to assure that the Annual Memorial Ceremony for the Six Million Jewish Martyrs continues each year. Interest from the fund will also be used to undertake Holocaust education activities. Individuals interested in participating in this fund should contact the Jewish Community Relations Council at 215.832.0536.

Educational Websites About the Holocaust jewishphilly.org/holocaust • echoesandreflections.org • sfi.usc.edu • ushmm.org • yadvashem.org

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YIZKOR PLANNING COMMITTEE Sarita Russ Gocial, Chair Jeanette Neumann Berstein Leanore Brookman Tammy Forstater Bart and Batamé Hertzbach Michael Hess Bernie and Mim Krik R. Malcolm and Rita Ratson Beth Razin Rhoda Rothberg Ruth Littner Jake Sztejman

JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA Board Co-Chairs David Adelman Gail Norry

PHILADELPHIA HOLOCAUST MEMORI

President and CEO Michael Balaban Jewish Community Relations Council Chair Danielle Weiss Director, Jewish Community Relations Council Jason Holtzman

ORGANIZATIONS PLACING WREATHS AT THE MONUMENT Association of Invalids, Veterans and Holocaust Survivors from the Former Soviet Union

Senior Manager, Community Engagement Beth Razin

Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia Jewish War Veterans of Bucks County Post 697

Sponsors

Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Philadelphia

4th Floor • Philadelphia, PA 19103 p 215-809-2474 e info@thephrf.org www.thephrf.org

MEMBER Consortium of Holocaust Educators of Greater Philadelphia

HOLOCAUST EDUCATORS CONSORTIUM OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA fosters communication and cooperation among organizations engaged in Holocaust awareness and education. We are dedicated to assuring a legacy of thoughtful Holocaust-related programming and providing a forum to share information and resources. holocaust-ed-phila.org