Mukacheve (Munkács), Ukraine Munkács Remembrance

Munkács Remembrance

~ Valley of the Communities - Yad Vashem ~
Photo: Copyright © 2008 Carol FEINEMAN, USA

The size of font used to inscribe the name in the stone is meant
to be an indication as to the size of the Jewish community.

~ Personal message by Louis SCHONFELD ~

This web site is dedicated to the memory of my grandmother, Leeba Welber, one of the few mothers to have "passed" the initial selection upon arrival to Auschwitz-Birkenau in May of 1944. Her fate was sealed by the monster Mengele at the final selection prior to the evacuation of the camp in January of 1945.

The Yizkor book for Munkács has yet to be written. Munkács' Jewish legacy lay dormant within the minds of her survivors. One's whole being reverberates with images about a way of life that future generations will never know. This is how I became a casualty of the Holocaust. When entire families in a mature community with a variegated culture are suddenly and violently torn from its moorings, the damage becomes irreparable for many years. Those painful events and the continuing after effects fall within the province of the survivors, the consequences of that pain carries onto the children, the residuals are the lot of the grandchildren, and the restless souls of the murdered victims remain unsettled in nameless burial holes and piles of ash. I tell you this, because I want you to know that I don't bring an academician's objectivity or an untainted understanding of Munkács' past.

This work is the product of an insatiable compulsion that has absorbed me and many of my generation. At the end of one's days only memory remains, and perhaps hope. This is how we might understand the words of the prophet Ezekiel (Yechezkel): And I was set down in a valley full of dry bones; there were many dry bones, and I prophesied that these bones will yet live, yet there was despair since the bones were so utterly dry, but I prevailed and a spirit came upon them and hope won over despair. Our ancestor's bones of which we have so little knowledge and the ashes of our martyrs for which there is no adequate memorial, have been neglected and abandoned for too long. Perhaps that is why they (and us) are so utterly dry. Will our spirit nourish these dry bones so that they may live once again, this time in our hearts and minds?

Why do we unceasingly and passionately search for dry bones? How does one elevate one's self if they have no knowledge as to the strength and makeup of the foundation on which they will build? As we discover an appreciation of these dry bones, they may live again; thereby our spirit will also be elevated.

The creation of this website has been a labor of love. The work began before I had a specific vision of Munkács;, it was an idea in formation, amorphous feelings with no place to give them expression. This website offers a small measure of relief as it is only a fraction of the memorial that the town's history deserves. I urge you to visit here often. Periodically you will find updates and upgrades to this site.

I also invite you to participate in this memory project along with me. To the survivors, I ask that you share with us your remembrances, your photographs and documents (copies only, please) that may give us some insight into a once flourishing community and its people. From others, I ask for your attention, your commitment and to share with us whatever you think worthy. I welcome your ideas, suggestions and positive comments. If I have disappointed anyone here, I ask their forgiveness and solicit their assistance in rectifying the cause of their dissatisfaction.

~ Holocaust Remembrance at Palanok Castle Museum ~

There is a room set aside in the Palanok Castle Museum to remember all of the Jews of Munkács that were murdered in Auschwitz or in slave labor camps. It contains historical photographs of the deportation, arrival and selection process at Auschwitz as well as other photographs that show the crematoriums, torture and starvation suffered by the Jews of Munkács and its surrounding villages.

One wall of the room contains a list of all of the Munkács Jews murdered in the Holocaust.

[ click the image to view a larger image. ]

[ click the image to view a larger image. ]

This page is hosted at no cost to the public by JewishGen, Inc., a non-profit corporation. If you feel there is a benefit to you in accessing this site, your JewishGen-erosity is appreciated.

Created by: Marshall J. KATZ, USA Compiled by: Louis SCHONFELD, USA and with assistance from the following: JewishGen members/descendants and contributors of Mukacheve Jewish families: Carol FEINEMAN, USA Louis SCHONFELD, USA.
Updated: 13 December 2020
Copyright © 2008 Louis SCHONFELD All rights reserved

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