When will I learn? Cemeteries
I am so beyond tired. We walked and walked and walked today. I'm so glad we did all that today. I'm so happy to be tired. We started at the Litzmannstadt train station. It's a museum and part memorial of the Lodz Jewish ghetto. It was the train station where they took people from the ghetto to the concentration camps. Otherwise known as death camps. And annihilation camps. And extermination camps.
Then we walked to the nearby (but quite a walk) to the Jewish cemetery. Once one of the largest ones in Poland and the world. I can't imagine a bigger one. It was so beautiful, so creepy, so amazing.
The cemetery was inside of the Jewish ghetto in Lodz. That explains the outer walls with large shards of broken glass embedded in the concrete at the top.
As we walked we only ever saw one person, walking out of the cemetery. He looked like maybe he worked there. This place was so massive, and no one was in there. I think the last people placed in there were the 43,572 people from the Jewish ghetto. They were in the ghetto field. Part of the sadness was that it looked like a fairly average field on a sunny spring day in Lodz. There were cheerful yellow dandelions and green grass full of bees. There were some tombs that were still visible, at least partially. There were many sticks in the ground with markers on them, only about a foot off the ground.
There was a tombstone there, placed by the 2 children who survived the Holocaust and moved to Israel. It mentioned how the mother, and father, and some of their children and grandchildren all were killed during the Holocaust. Wow.
Along the first main path were 3 impressive mausoleums in a row. The first one had several white columns that were crumbling, like a Roman empire kind of feel to it. It was pretty tall, and had maybe a dozen tombs in it. The next one was twice the height, with 2 tombs inside that was fenced off, kind of like a birdcage. It was light colored, well kept and 30 feet up . The next one was smaller like the first one, but it had some golden sun designs on the ceiling. Those were the biggest as far as my eye could see, but there was more that I could not see nor explore this time.
Then there was the other bigger part of the cemetery where it was more like a forest trying to take over the monuments of the dead. Quite successful in some areas that we could see. We didn't have the leg power to explore the entire place, it was just too big. Worth a second visit though. The Catholic cemetery had people going in and taking care of graves, placing flowers both real and fake, placing lit candles. It was kind of colorful. There were not many mausoleums. The Jewish cemetery had graves with token rocks placed on them. The place was not kept up. It was full of tombs of people before the Holocaust, for the most part. It appeared to be truly haunted, if ever the word haunted could be used. It was a sight to behold.
No, I don't have any pictures. It said that picture taking of any kind was strictly forbidden unless you had permission from the Jewish Society. But I found a few through a Google search that I can add. But it was truly a much more mythical looking place. Where the Earth seemed to be re-absorbing the tombs of the dead. Maybe a little Circle of Life going on. The planet reabsorbing the remain of it's inhabitants. The other thing was that the cemetery was so devoid of the sounds of humans. All we could hear was what sounded like an echo of birds calling throughout the forested area. Like a spooky natural sound effect to go with this land dedicated to the dead.
I'm giving up on this family tree stuff. It's too frustrating. I will have to save money and pay someone to do it. Ancestory.com says the starting cost is $2,300 so I better start up a portable piggy bank.
Going to the archives on Monday didn't pan out. I was given some websites that are in Polish. The guy I talked to wouldn't answer my questions, just explain what to do, while showing me on his computer. He tried a search, and nothing came up. There must be a name change? When my Grandfather came to Canada. So hey, I quit. There is no other useful alternative. I have lost. I have been defeated. I went to get help from a family history guy, I asked if he would be available. I showed up, and he said: nope, I have another appointment, and I will be busy the rest of the month, sorry about that. And he walked away. I could paint a picture of my dejection, but I must be strong. At least I'm 66% sure I don't have any dark sad Jewish history in my family. Nothing against the Jewish heritage or culture, it would just increase the chances of digging up some very traumatic family stories.
Not that mine would be any better (if I had any luck, which I don't) as a descendent of a Roman Catholic. Those people in Lodz during World War II were still used as a labor force, they still had to witness what was happening to the Jews, defenseless against the Germans. They were killed if they were caught hiding a Jew.
A portion of the immense Jewish Ghetto field.
People who invented wood sprites and other such creatures probably spent time in this cemetery.
Most of these tombstones were taller than me, in the older sections.
Another part of the Jewish ghetto field.
Then we walked to the nearby (but quite a walk) to the Jewish cemetery. Once one of the largest ones in Poland and the world. I can't imagine a bigger one. It was so beautiful, so creepy, so amazing.
The cemetery was inside of the Jewish ghetto in Lodz. That explains the outer walls with large shards of broken glass embedded in the concrete at the top.
As we walked we only ever saw one person, walking out of the cemetery. He looked like maybe he worked there. This place was so massive, and no one was in there. I think the last people placed in there were the 43,572 people from the Jewish ghetto. They were in the ghetto field. Part of the sadness was that it looked like a fairly average field on a sunny spring day in Lodz. There were cheerful yellow dandelions and green grass full of bees. There were some tombs that were still visible, at least partially. There were many sticks in the ground with markers on them, only about a foot off the ground.
There was a tombstone there, placed by the 2 children who survived the Holocaust and moved to Israel. It mentioned how the mother, and father, and some of their children and grandchildren all were killed during the Holocaust. Wow.
Along the first main path were 3 impressive mausoleums in a row. The first one had several white columns that were crumbling, like a Roman empire kind of feel to it. It was pretty tall, and had maybe a dozen tombs in it. The next one was twice the height, with 2 tombs inside that was fenced off, kind of like a birdcage. It was light colored, well kept and 30 feet up . The next one was smaller like the first one, but it had some golden sun designs on the ceiling. Those were the biggest as far as my eye could see, but there was more that I could not see nor explore this time.
Then there was the other bigger part of the cemetery where it was more like a forest trying to take over the monuments of the dead. Quite successful in some areas that we could see. We didn't have the leg power to explore the entire place, it was just too big. Worth a second visit though. The Catholic cemetery had people going in and taking care of graves, placing flowers both real and fake, placing lit candles. It was kind of colorful. There were not many mausoleums. The Jewish cemetery had graves with token rocks placed on them. The place was not kept up. It was full of tombs of people before the Holocaust, for the most part. It appeared to be truly haunted, if ever the word haunted could be used. It was a sight to behold.
No, I don't have any pictures. It said that picture taking of any kind was strictly forbidden unless you had permission from the Jewish Society. But I found a few through a Google search that I can add. But it was truly a much more mythical looking place. Where the Earth seemed to be re-absorbing the tombs of the dead. Maybe a little Circle of Life going on. The planet reabsorbing the remain of it's inhabitants. The other thing was that the cemetery was so devoid of the sounds of humans. All we could hear was what sounded like an echo of birds calling throughout the forested area. Like a spooky natural sound effect to go with this land dedicated to the dead.
I'm giving up on this family tree stuff. It's too frustrating. I will have to save money and pay someone to do it. Ancestory.com says the starting cost is $2,300 so I better start up a portable piggy bank.
Going to the archives on Monday didn't pan out. I was given some websites that are in Polish. The guy I talked to wouldn't answer my questions, just explain what to do, while showing me on his computer. He tried a search, and nothing came up. There must be a name change? When my Grandfather came to Canada. So hey, I quit. There is no other useful alternative. I have lost. I have been defeated. I went to get help from a family history guy, I asked if he would be available. I showed up, and he said: nope, I have another appointment, and I will be busy the rest of the month, sorry about that. And he walked away. I could paint a picture of my dejection, but I must be strong. At least I'm 66% sure I don't have any dark sad Jewish history in my family. Nothing against the Jewish heritage or culture, it would just increase the chances of digging up some very traumatic family stories.
Not that mine would be any better (if I had any luck, which I don't) as a descendent of a Roman Catholic. Those people in Lodz during World War II were still used as a labor force, they still had to witness what was happening to the Jews, defenseless against the Germans. They were killed if they were caught hiding a Jew.
A portion of the immense Jewish Ghetto field.
People who invented wood sprites and other such creatures probably spent time in this cemetery.
Most of these tombstones were taller than me, in the older sections.
Another part of the Jewish ghetto field.
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