Bolekhov - באָלעכאָוו

Trips

Bolechow August 2009 mission

To mark the occasion of the completion of the cemetery wall and in recognition of the fact that two of the Survivors from Bolechow (Shlomo and Josef Adler) were available to join the trip to share their experiences, BJHS coordinated a “mission” to Bolechow in August 2009. Some 30 individuals, roughly half from the United States and half from Israel (joined by two from France and one from Germany) shared a memorable and moving journey.

The visit to Bolechow included three separate ceremonies: dedicating the cemetery wall, recalling the horrors that 800 Jews endured in the DKA house, and conducting a service at the mass grave in the Taniava forest, where nearly 1000 Jews were shot by the Nazis and now are interred.

Many of the travelers found family homes (or the sites where their families’ homes had once stood) and gravestones of ancestors. We concluded the Bolechow portion of the trip with a banquet-style dinner at a local restaurant, concluded with the group singing HaTikva (with many tears shed as each person recalled those who lived and perished in the town).

We are greatly indebted to Alexander Dunai and his assistants (his wife and son and his colleague Svitlana Kovalyk) for their wonderful help in arranging the trip and making it a memorable experience for all – and for their friendship and kindness in all they did.

Susannah R. Juni

Mendelson family trip