Sandy Thanks for sharing all of this information with us all God bless you Rose Zydel Olson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sandi Watters" <dharmadame@gmail.com> To: <polandbordersurnames@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 6:18 PM Subject: Re: [PBS] Camps > Hello everyone! > > When my daughter and I were in Poland a few years ago, I wanted very much > to > bear witness by going to Auschwitz. I am an amateur scholar of the > Holocaust, and I regarded it as part of a pilgrimage I felt obligated to > take. However, on the morning of the planned excursion, I realized I did > not have the courage to do it. Having read so many of the histories and > journals and diaries and literature that came out of the Holocaust, I knew > that I would most likely collapse when in the presence of what must surely > be an immense pervasive evil. > > The vast majority of victims were Jewish. We can never forget that. > Nearly > the entire Jewish population of Poland was exterminated as part of > Hitler's > "Final Solution." No one would ever deny that other groups were targeted > and persecuted. Wikipedia, in its section on "The Holocaust," lists > "Roma, > Soviet POWs, disabled people, gay men, Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholic > Poles, > and political prisoners." But we must remember that of the estimated 9-11 > million that suffered and died in the death camps, 6 million were Jews, > over > 3 million at Auschwitz alone. > > I mention this because as a person of 100% Polish ancestry, I am very > interested in the history of the Polish people. when I was 12 (I'm now > 58) > I read "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "The Rise and Fall of the Third > Reich" > and those two books spurred me on to read and research more and more into > the Holocaust. I began research into my Polish roots primarily to be sure > that my ancestors, those that stayed in Poland after my great-grandparents > and grandparents left and lived in Poland during the 30s and 40s, hadn't > fallen into one of two categories: (1) Those who, because of religion > (Catholic) or politics (judging from my grandparents, liberal and > anti-totalitarian), were persecuted and possibly killed for those reasons, > and (2) Those who, because of religion (Catholic AND anti-Semitic) or > politics (Nazi sympathizers or bystanders), aided in persecuting the Jews > and any of the other groups. If I found ancestors or relations in the > first > category, I wanted to honor them for their sacrifice. And if I found > ancestors or relations in the second category, I wanted to be able somehow > to (for lack of a better word) atone for them. > > My research has, as of yet, turned up nothing in either category, other > than > someone with my maternal grandfather's name (it couldn't be him) listed on > Yad Vashem's list of the righteous. (There are 6,004 entries for Poland, > which is the highest number for any nation. And, considering that Poland > had the most severe penalty - death to everyone in the household - for > harboring Jews, that is remarkable. The Netherlands is next with 4,767, > followed by France and the Ukraine.) At the website "Polish Righteous," > there is a wonderful poem and an alphabetical list of all of the (thus > far) > recognized Poles who put their lives on the line, and for 704, lost them, > to > aid Jews. The link is: http://www.savingjews.org/ > > Sorry to go on so long on what could be considered entirely off topic. > However, this subject is what initially brought me to this site and > genealogical research. For anyone interested in that time period, Norman > Davies book, "Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw," makes for compelling > reading, as does John Hersey's fictionalized account, "The Wall." And, if > anyone is interested in the topic and would like more suggested reading, > please feel free to contact me off-list. > > Sandra Watters (nee Slago aka Szlaga) > > On 7/19/07, Jim Presenkowski <jimpres1@mac.com> wrote: >> >> Rose, >> >> I had a relative who was picked up in Poland and taken to Stutthof on >> the >> Baltic sea. My first trip to Poland in 1978 he and I visited the >> camp where >> he was interred. He told me what happened in the camp and the daily >> routine. >> He cried as he told me about his time there. How they slept 7 to a >> bunk. How >> he was third in line at the gas chamber but the Germans needed >> workers for >> the road and he was spared. He was liberated and lived until 2004. >> And he >> had his number on his arm. He wrote about his life there. >> He was not Jewish but was a Catholic. >> >> Jim >> >> >> >> On Jul 19, 2007, at 9:15 PM, Jack and Rose wrote: >> >> > Hi Mary >> > I did not mean HAPPY as in JOY,, I meant "happy" glad that we did >> > get ENOUGH >> > COURAGE TO REALLY GO AND SEE THINGS FOR OURSELVES. >> > I know what you mean,,,,,, I was in such shock and horror the >> > entire time, >> > but NEEDED TO SEE THIS, I think everyone in the WORLD needs to see >> > this >> > My neighbors have their " tatoos" from Auswitz on their forearms >> > and they >> > have told us about watching their PARENTS DIE IN FRONT OF THEM >> > sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo we have learned first hand from >> > Survivors and >> > victims of this HORROR AND EVIL >> > >> > I did not want you to get the wrong impression, we were not HAPPY >> > to be >> > there >> > GRATEFUL TO GOD, really, for the courage and strength that he gave >> > us both >> > to GO TO SEE FOR OURSELVES, we were both nervous beforehand also >> > >> > Rose >> > >> >> Kuba Przedzienkowski >> jimpres1@mac.com >> kuba@przedzienkowski.com >> www.przedzienkowski.com >> >> >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> POLANDBORDERSURNAMES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' >> without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > POLANDBORDERSURNAMES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message