Mayn Shtetele MIELEC : 05/26/23

Obraz Ilany Horn Fine podarowany mieleckiemu Muzeum, fot. Muzeum Historii Regionalnej Pałacyk Oborskich

Jest to wpis niestandardowy, ale jeśli chodzi o takie historie, wszystko wymyka się regułom.

Złożony jest ze wspomnień Ilany Horn Fine i refleksji jej syna Jasona. Jest nieco języka polskiego, ale przede wszystkim angielski (tak też rozmawialiśmy z Ilaną, kiedy odwiedziła Mielec w marcu 2023 roku, trochę po polsku, trochę po angielsku). Znajdziecie tutaj bezcenne wspomnienia Ilany z jej pobytu w Polsce.

Ilana jest córką ocalałych Mosesa Horna urodzonego w Borowej koło Mielca i Loli Glicksman urodzonej w Tarnowie.

W tej chwili mieszka w Kanadzie i jej niedawna wizyta, była jej pierwszą wizytą w Polsce. Nigdy tu wcześniej nie była, nie urodziła się też w Polsce, a pomimo tego rozumie język polski i całkiem dobrze radzi sobie z porozumieniem się w ojczystej mowie jej rodziców.

W Mielcu znajduje się grób Babci Ilany Sary Horn i jej dzieci: Racheli i Dawida.

Myślę często o tym jak ważny dla Ilany jest fakt, że ten grób jest.

Miliony ofiar Holokaustu nie mają grobów.

Ocalali, ich potomkowie nie mają gdzie położyć kamyka.

Obiecałam Ilanie, że dopóki będziemy, będziemy się tym grobem opiekować. Mam nadzieję, że i po nas znajdzie się ktoś, kto będzie chciał pamiętać.

Wpis tworzę za zgodą Ilany. Pomyślałam, że to ważne by jej myśli, refleksje poznali mielczanie, którym bliska jest pamięć o ich żydowskich sąsiadach.

Wizyta Ilany w Polsce, w Mielcu, dla nas, osób opiekujących się grobem jej rodziny, była bardzo ważna i wzruszająca.

Dziękujemy Ci Ilano, że byłaś z nami!

Oddaje głos Ilanie i Jasonowi.

March 2022

In February of this year I received an email from a certain Ryszard Skiba.

Since I did not know this person, I wanted to ignore this message,

But somehow I felt I should see who this person was.

So , I opened the email, and to my astonishment, I see the the picture

Of a tombstone, barely readable , and 4 Names attached.

Sara Horn

Rachel Horn

David Horn

Mosze Horn (there isn' t name od Mosze, IT is a mistake of Ilana - Izabela Sekulska)

His question was: Do you know these people?

Yes, I responded,

This is my father Mosze,

His mother Sara and his siblings Rachel and David.

Who are you? I asked. Where are you and how did you find me?

So, this is his story!

My name is Ryszard Skiba, I live in Mielec, Poland.

I am part of a group of Polish People, who are very interested

In searching for our lost Jewish Neighbours in World War ll.

I work very close with Izabela Sekulska.

We found some survivors and their children, all from Mielec,

Who live abroad.

Now one of this person lives in Vermont, USA.

He forwarded us a copy of a newspaper clip talking about an

Artist Ilana Horn, who was 2. Generation of Polish Holocaust

Survivors , living now in Montreal.

So, we contacted you and luckily, there is a connection!

I am the daughter and granddaughter of these people

Mentioned in his email!

Furthermore they have been searching for more information

About my father Mosze Horn and luckily went to Yad Vashem.

There they found the diary of my dear father, written while in hiding.

I had it translated from Polish to German and then to English , so my

Children would be able to read it. I am happy I left it in Yad Vashem!

Beautiful Story....

You will read all the details,that I got from Izabela.

She is an amazing woman.

The story goes as follows ,

My father Mosze was hidden by Polish peasants during the war.

His hiding place was underground and to keep his sanity

He wrote a diary.

As it happened, 1942 , he witnessed as German Soldiers,

Accompanied by some Poles, shot his mother Sara and his

Sister Rachel and brother David. He saw where they were buried.

1945, after the war, he went back to that exact place and he

Exhumed their bodies, wrapped them in cloth and took

Them to the Jewish Cemetery. Traugutta Street.

He declared their names and his relationship to them.

Only years after, a tombstone with their names was put

On their grave.

My father Mosze never knew about this beautiful gesture!

There is a group of polish people who take care of four of these graves

In the Traugutta Cemetery. You can also see the stones they paint and

Leave with the buried .

Beautiful story...

Marzec 2022

W lutym tego roku otrzymałam maila od niejakiego Ryszarda Skiby.

Ponieważ nie znałam tej osoby, chciałam zignorować tę wiadomość,

Ale jakoś poczułam, że powinnam zobaczyć, kim była ta osoba.

Otworzyłam więc maila i ku mojemu zdziwieniu widzę zdjęcie nagrobka, ledwo czytelny, z dołączonymi 4 nazwiskami.

Sara Horn

Rachel Horn

David Horn

Mosze Horn (na nagrobku nie ma nazwiska Mosze, to pomyłka Ilany - Izabela Sekulska).

Jego pytanie brzmiało: Czy znasz tych ludzi?

Tak, odpowiedziałam,

To jest mój ojciec Mosze,

Jego matka Sara i jego rodzeństwo Rachela i David.

Kim jesteś? Zapytałam. Gdzie jesteś i jak mnie znalazłeś?

Oto jego historia!

Nazywam się Ryszard Skiba, mieszkam w Mielcu w Polsce.

Jestem częścią grona Polaków, którzy są bardzo zainteresowani poszukiwaniem naszych zaginionych żydowskich sąsiadów w czasie II wojny światowej.

Bardzo blisko współpracuję z Izabelą Sekulską.

Znaleźliśmy kilku ocalałych i ich dzieci, wszystkie z Mielca, którzy mieszkają za granicą.

Teraz jedna z tych osób mieszka w Vermont w USA.

Przekazała nam kopię wycinka z gazety mówiącego o artystce Ilanie Horn, która była 2 pokoleniem ocalałych z Holokaustu

Mieszka obecnie w Montrealu.

Skontaktowaliśmy się więc z Tobą i na szczęście mamy kontakt.

Jestem córką i wnuczką tych ludzi wspomnianą w jego e-mailu!

Ponadto szukali więcej informacji o moim ojcu Mosze Horn i na szczęście trafili do Yad Vashem. Tam znaleźli pamiętnik mojego drogiego ojca, spisany w ukryciu.

Przetłumaczyłam go z polskiego na niemiecki, a potem na angielski, więc moje dzieci będą mogły to przeczytać. Cieszę się, że zostawiłam go w Yad Vashem!

Piękna historia....

Przeczytasz wszystkie szczegóły, które dostałam od Izabeli. Jest niesamowitą kobietą.

Historia wygląda następująco ,

Mój ojciec Mosze był ukrywany przez polskich chłopów w czasie wojny.

Jego kryjówka była pod ziemią i aby zachować zdrowie psychiczne pisał pamiętnik.

Tak się złożyło, że w 1942 r. był świadkiem jak żołnierze niemieccy w towarzystwie kilku Polaków zastrzelili jego matkę Sarę i jego siostrę Rachelę i brata Davida . Widział gdzie zostali pochowani.

1945 po wojnie wrócił w to miejsce i ekshumowano ich ciała, owinięto w płótno i zabrano na Cmentarz Żydowski na ulicę Traugutta w Mielcu.

Jest grupa Polaków, którzy opiekują się grobami i całym cmentarzem na Traugutta.

Możesz zobaczyć kamienie , które malują i kładą na grobach . Pamiętają o zmarłych

Piękna historia...

April 24, 2023

What a trip! What an emotional trip!

All my doubts and worries were finally lifted when I touched the graves of my Grandmother Sara and Her children Rachel and David and her brother Aaron.

It was always the same question for Me… Should I go to Poland?

And meet this Polish group of Historians, who were so eager to meet me and show me around where my fathers family had lived and died.

My parents never went back to Poland, too painful for them.

The whole earth was full of Jewish Blood.

I asked my children and cousins for Advice. I even called the Head of the

Jewish Congregation in Cologne. I wanted his advice if I should leave one of my beautiful paintings in memory of their deaths at the Polish Museum.

All these questions were very important to me. But I was convinced To do the right thing and put all doubts aside.

Brave, very brave!

I organized everything for a smooth visit and gratefully I was

accompanied by my girlfriend Hella From Cologne.

So we left on March 24 to Krakow.

We arrive after a full flight with tons of Soccer Hooligans in the

afternoon and checked into our hotel. Soon after we walked to the

Large marketplace in the town Center. Kazimierz. Magnificent!! Krakow was not destroyed in World War ll and all the buildings remained in their original state.

Plenty of Cafés and Restaurants, Plenty of young people, students. Extraordinary!

We had supper there and admired the architecture of the buildings, Dating hundreds of years ago.

Now I know, that my mothers father, Mayer Glückman , had his daily coffee here in one of the cafés and his fur store around the corner in a side street.

We took a driver, to show me where My grandparents, my mother and her Sister and brothers lived.

Dietla Street 79.

A very large apartment building, Located on a beautiful boulevard with large trees and streetcars. Lovely rich area, they owned a car.

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, to prepare for the next days trip to Mielec, the destination of my Excursion.

The drive was two hours long. When we arrived, we were welcomed With flowers by our Polish group.

Two Ladies and three gentlemen. All of us were very happy to finally meet.

Our first stop was at the local Polish Museum, where I donated My oil painting. I am the first Jewish Artist there.

My painting

—The Holocaust Girl—

In memory for my family,

Perished in the Holocaust.

Wizyta w Muzeum, fot. Muzeum Historii Regionalnej Pałacyk Oborskich

Since it was not framed yet,

We went to the near framing store And I chose a very thick golden Design, to enhance the beauty of the Painting.

Thereafter we were invited to

Stanislaw‘s house for coffee, Apple and Cheesecake.

What a treat. There he also showed Us a video from the Town of Mielec. This town.

Happy and full of delicious cake, we Were taken to the Large Jewish Cemetery. There we paid our respect to all the deceased People who were remembered on a memorial stone.

Now this is leading us to the most Important moment, when they took Us to the smaller cemetery, where my family was buried. The gates Carried a Magen David and were open to embrace us.

All I saw at that moment, was a large Field with four tombstones aligned In a small square.

I approached my ancestors, laid down the flowers and added four Little stones for each of them.

I let myself drift into a quiet conversation with the Dead, asking Them for their blessings and protection.

I felt good, I felt elated that I could come here to honour my beloved Father Mosze.

In the background I could hear the tune of a tenor reciting Yizkor on a Tape recorder.

Very thoughtful of my new Polish Friends to have thought of that.

After a few melancholic moments, l said Goodbye to my Ancestors. We left the cemetery on Traugutta Street.

It was quite an emotional moment for me.

Who would have thought, that I will Stand at an actual graveside of my family, when millions of Jews did not Have one.

The gate of the cemetery was closed And the chapter of my visit ended in a very important mission.

After this visit, I have to admit, that My soul took a very quiet and content Path.

G’d bless them all.

Leaving the cemetery, we continued to walk through the Jewish Quarter Of the City Mielec. We crossed a very Large market place with beautiful surrounding houses.

This is where daily life has been taking place.

Our friends knew all the old inhabitants of the homes , by names. Amazing…

It was a beautiful little town and I am Sure I walked on the same street as my Father did.

The visit ended with a fabulous meal At a fine restaurant.

We talked, exchanged adresses and bonded.

I ate Potato Pirogies!

An hour later, it was time to say goodbye. The driver took us back to Krakow and we had plenty of time to Think about this amazing day. Overwhelming!

Back in the hotel I called my sons To share all my emotional

impressions. What a day!

The next morning, on our last day, We visited the Jewish Area in Krakow.

Big market place of course and some stores carried still Jewish Names.

At first we visited the

REMU Synagogue and adjoining Cemetery.

This Synagoge was built in the Sixteenth Century, after the Inquisition in Spain and the

Expulsion of the Jews who scattered all over Europe and the Middle East. Very ornate and beautiful!

At the side of the building was the Old cemetery. All the stones were in Good shape and very well taken care of.

Our second visit at the other side of the market place was the

magnificent ~Old Synagogue~. It was also a museum with magnificent artifacts and paintings. Very well preserved and beautiful! A Treasure! The artifacts connected us with the Jews of those times.

We left the Museum, had a coffee at One of the Jewish Cafés and left for the airport to catch our flight home.

I am so very grateful for this trip!

Many Thanks to my Polish Friends Who found me and made it easy for

me to embrace the Dead.

Izabela Sekulska

Ryszard Skiba

Stanislaw Wanatowicz

Bogdan Urbanczyk

Ania Stapor

Mielec. Thoughts by Jason

Today, in Mielec Poland, a few locals Gather to commemorate the Destruction of a Synagogue, That was burned to the ground by The Nazis on September 13, 1939.

The woman featured in this video is Holding the diary of my grandfather, Mosze Horn.

My mother was recently contacted by a group in Poland that had found a gravestone with the names ~

Sara Horn,

Aron Leskowicz, Rachela Horn (22) And Dawid Horn (9).

When the war broke out, my grandfather Mosze witnessed his Entire family murdered and buried at the hands of the Nazis.

He took a mental image of the exact location where the Nazis had left the Remains.

After the war, my grandfather wrote in his diary, that he is indeed a free Man, but that he could not eat or sleep. He felt there was something he must do, before attempting to resume any form of life.

He went off in search of his fallen Family members and found the exact Location where they were murdered And where the bodies were left behind.

Honouring his family was what he had to do/must do before he could even think of resuming a ‘normal’ Life. He was only 25 years old. He purchased clean linens and a Carriage, and he himself exhumed the bodies of his family and had them buried in a Jewish cemetery, with Honour . The location of the

cemetery And/or burial plot was never known to my family, until now.

I honour my grandfather today (and Always) for his selfless heroics, and now others do too. He never meant for anyone to know of this or to have any form of memorial in his name. He was simply doing what he felt he must.

But today, I am filled with pride what my mother , Ilana Horn Fine, has gifted us. Today, locals in Mielec,

Gather at a Jewish cemetery, at my family’s gravestone, with my grandfather’s diary in hand.

I am completely blown away by this notion and visual, and this is all because of my mother.

The dots have been connected and our Horn Family that was murdered in the Holocaust has been located.

We can now share in the same sentiment that my grandfather wrote in his diary ~ we can eat and sleep more in peace knowing that our family members were buried in a Jewish Cemetery, with honour. Millions were not. We are very lucky.

Thank you, Mami.

W tym filmie możecie zobaczyć relację z wizyty Ilany w Mielcu: