Belzec, Extermination Camp
We finished our tour of the camps part of Operation Reinhard with Belzec. As we got of the bus we noticed once again the close proximity of the railroad to the camp. We walked up the main path with the memorial stretched out on either side of us and before us. Two large pits of black ashes and rubble dominated most of the landscape. The small cobblestoned path down the center led to a giant wall. The walls on either side of the path were topped with twisted and rusted metal pipes. As you walked closer to the wall, the walls around your rose up and have you the impression of sinking into Belzec.
When we finally arrived at the wall, Sarah, her father, and Rache spoke about their family that perished there. They spoke of the town Sokal, and the untimely end their family met when they were brought to Belzec. A memory candle was lit and אלי אלי was sung, a kinah composed in memory of the Holocaust. As we exited the memorial, we walked down a sidewalk that listed all of the names of the cities that Jews were deported from to Belzec. We found Sokal among them.
Next we entered the Belzec museum, where Rav Brown spoke to us about four Nazis invoked with Operation Reinhard and gave faces to the evil we had witnessed over the pass few days. Below are my notes on his lecture.
Odilo Globocnick-brains behind operation Reinhard. Proud of what he did and didn't want to destroy the bodies or other evidence after he finished his work.
Kurt Franz-sadistic. Had a handsome face that hid a cruel and inhuman personality. Started in Belzec and moved to Treblinka. Called Treblinka his beautiful years. Put on trial and sentenced to life in prison.
Christian Wirth-head of Belzec. In charge of all of the killings and made the plans. No one was more brutal that him.
Franz stangl-the organizer. He organized the structure of Treblinka and Sobibor. Almost had no interaction with the prisoners. Captured in Brazil and brought to trial in Germany. Sentenced to life in prison. In a later interview he admitted that he thought that the request of Wirth to organize the operation he knew that what he was doing was wrong. The interviewer later wrote that he was a prime example of "How ordinary good men can become extraordinarily evil."
Entrance to Belzec
The Monument for Belzec
Wall at the end of the Path
Looking up from the base of the wall
View from the Top of the Memorial
Names of Cities on the Path down from Memorial
Hometown of Sarah and Rache's grandfather found on the path
Inside Belzec Museum
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