Today we left Warsaw and on our way to the Treblenka Death Camp, I saw a sign for Białystok and I wondered how many relatives of my family may have ended up at Trblenka during Operation Reinhard and the systematic murder of Polish Jews.
The Nazis turned Białystok Ghetto into an important forced-labor center, especially for textile, shoes, and military-related production. I found that interesting because I remember as a child hearing that my grandfather worked in textiles and I wonder if it was a trade his father passed onto him. I realize how the decisions of my great- grandparents to immigrate to America are why my family exists still today.
Treblinka operated from July 1942 to 1943.
Its primary purpose was mass murder, not imprisonment or forced labor. Approximately 800,000–900,000 Jews were murdered there.
As we drive out of the complex amongst the trees, I’m struck by the beauty of the forest. How ironic. The Nazis plowed over the facilities and planted trees to hide their atrocities, but now a memorial has been erected in the middle of that forest. 17,000 large stones have been placed there. The stones represent whole communities that were wiped out. We held a memorial service while there. We held a memorial service and I lit a candle in memory of any family I never had a chance to meet and giving thanks to my grandparents that made their way to America. May we never forget.