Just outside of Skidel stands the train station, exit point for many of our recent ancestors. Although it is forbidden to photograph train stations in Belarus (for security reasons), we took the risk.
When the Germans came in 1941, they took an interest in Skidel because of the airport nearby. Skidel's downtown was bombed and burned within the first days of the German advance into this area. Today, the downtown area has still not been rebuilt and remains a large park containing a few monuments to Lenin and Soviet heroes of the war. According to survivors however, the Russian army fled just before the Germans arrived.
This small outdoor market, across the street from the "downtown park" described above, was the only commerce visible anywhere in Skidel during our visit in 1996. On a few tables, Polish toiletries, dry goods, and grocery items were offered for sale.
Outside of the central area, there are side streets with homes that survived the bombing. Two of these are shown below.
Although the Jewish schools, hospitals, synagogues, cemetery, homes, and factories are all gone, the Catholic Church outside of town was recently restored. The Church sits in a beautiful wooded area frequented by picnickers, walkers, and bicyclists.
Compiled by Linda Hugle
Updated January 2009
Copyright ©1998 Linda Hugle
Click here for "Town without Memory" and more pictures of Skidel.
Click here for Images of Skidel - Page 2.