On the eve of the awesome and solemn 40th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the atmosphere in this city of two million is tense and expectant. To this largely rebuilt and imposing capital have come some several hundred Jews, both young and old, from some 20 countries. They represent varying facets of Judaism, but with one common resolve — to honor Warsaw Jews who just four decades ago died in a blaze of glory and martyrdom.
Polish authorities have taken this gathering very seriously indeed. Each of the hotels — the Forum, the Victoria, the Grand and the Europejski — is like an armed camp. Outside are police patrols, and inside groups of soldiers demand guest cards before admitting anyone. Visiting a friend in another hotel is no easy matter.
Security forces are all over the place trying to ensure that there will be no confrontations between Arab terrorists and Jews during the several days of the observances, a hotel manager explained. Estimates vary as to the number of Jews who have come here from other countries, but the Israeli contingent of some 300, including Tel Aviv Mayor Shlomo Lahat, is by far the largest and the most colorful.
Orthodox Jewry, which is noticeably absent from the American groups, is indeed well represented by the Israelis, many in traditional garb and flowing beards. Some are here for an additional purpose — to seek out those places in towns like Lomza and Bialystok where they or their parents may have originated.
But all seem to be linked by one common denominator which has brought them far from home — a purposeful and strong desire to merge their ethnic memories with the fate of Polish Jewry and all the victims of the Holocaust.
GREAT SYNAGOGUE REOPENED
Today, a major event of the observances was the reopening of the Great Synagogue on Twarda Street, turned over by the Polish state to the Jewish community. Blown up by the Nazis in 1943, it has been reconstructed at a cost of 120 million Zlotys (over $1 million).
After the joyous processional of the five Sefer Torahs and their placement in the domed ark, the El Mole Rachamin was chanted. The poignant tones soaring through this hall that had suddenly died 40 years ago only to be reborn today, produced an eerie and haunting effect.
There were impassioned remarks, as speaker after speaker, including community president Mozes Finkelstein, Rumania’s Chief Rabbi Moses Rosen, Rabbi Itzhak Frenkel of the World Federation of Polish Jews, and Bishop Majdanski on behalf of the Catholic Church, all recalled those who died in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and hailed the redemption of this religious center of Polish Jewry.
Religious Affairs Minister Adam Lopatka asserted that the government “makes enormous efforts in order not only to save the remains of the Jewish culture in Poland but to restore them to their old lustre. The synagogue in which we are gathered today is a good example of such an approach and it is my wish that it will serve the Mosaic creed community in the best possible way.”
In the late afternoon, mezuzahs were nailed to the wall of the synagogue and then several hundred delegates assisted in the first religious service.
Somehow, the auspicious ceremonies seemed incomplete without the presence of Shmuel Tennenblatt, the dynamic editor of the Warsaw Volkstimme, which he published weekly in Yiddish and in Polish. He had described to this reporter some eight months ago his high hopes for the anniversary ceremonies in which he planned to play a major role, and he expressed his eager desire to meet his fellow Jews from all over the world.
Some weeks after his interview with this reporter he was felled by a stroke and died in the prime of his life. In a sense not anticipated then, tomorrow will also be a very special tribute to this charismatic friend and leader.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
