We are at the Memorial Site dedicated to the Victims of the Nazi Extermination Camp, a place of painful events forever inscribed in the history of humanity. Here in Mazovia, specifically in Treblinka, the shared memory carries the tragic fate of thousands of Jews and the history of Poles who suffered the hardships of war. Both our histories, Polish and Jewish, remain in a dialogue built upon the testimonies of those who survived and passed on the memory of those times, so that we may never forget and learn lessons for the future – said the Mazovian Voivode, Mariusz Frankowski.
On November 20th, youth from Poland and Israel, along with representatives of both countries, gathered once again to honor and pay tribute to the Victims of the Treblinka II Extermination Camp. The event, titled “We Stand Together,” is a joint project of the Mazovian Voivodeship Office and the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, organized in cooperation with the Israeli Ministry of Education. The project partners are the Mayor of Kosów Lacki and the Treblinka Museum – the German Nazi Extermination and the Labour Camp (1941–1944).
The event was attended by over 300 participants from Israel and Poland, who paid tribute to the victims of the Treblinka Extermination Camp. Before the main ceremony, Israeli and Polish youth participated together in educational and integrative workshops held at the School Complex in Kosów Lacki.
The ceremony began with a moment of silence, followed by the national anthems of Poland and Israel, performed by the Representative Orchestra of the Polish Police Headquarters. Six candles were then lit, symbolizing the six million Victims of the Holocaust. The candles were lit by:
- Candle of Remembrance – Mazovian Voivode Mariusz Frankowski,
- Candle of the Righteous Among the Nations – Israeli Ambassador to Poland Dr. Jacov Livne,
- Candle of Janusz Korczak’s Memory – Mayor of the Town and Commune of Kosów Lacki Jan Słomiak,
- Candle of Friendship Between Nations – Deputy Director of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews Łucja Koch,
- Candle of Resistance and Heroism – Representative of the Israeli Ministry of Education Dr. Eli Shaish, together with History Witness Ester Kamari,
- Candle of Hope – Representatives of Polish and Israeli youth.
In his speech, Israeli Ambassador to Poland Dr. Jacov Livne reminded:
Treblinka is a place whose story will be passed down from generation to generation. 900,000 people, mostly Jews, were murdered here. But also Poles and other nations were seen by the Germans as subhumans, destined for extermination. In the Third Reich, there was no place for any of us. The Holocaust did not start in Treblinka; it began with terrible hatred, which still exists today.
Polish and Israeli youth presented an artistic program featuring poems and performances, including “Eli Eli” and “Śpij Kolego,” performed by the Representative Orchestra of the Polish Police Headquarters.
The Polish-Israeli delegation honored the memory of those murdered at the Labor Camp by laying flowers at the Gravel Pit and the Execution Site.
