75 years ago, on March 17, 1942, the first transports of Jews deported from the Lublin ghetto and Lvov arrived to the death camp in Bełżec. These deportations were the beginning of “Aktion Reinhardt.” About 2 million victims of this genocidal operation were commemorated at the Museum – Memorial Site in Bełżec.

“We stand in a place where within 10 months more than 434,000 men, women and children were killed. They were mainly inhabitants of south-eastern Poland, pre-war Lublin, Lwow, Stanislawow, Tarnopol and Krakow voivodships. We stand in a place which is the second largest, after Treblinka, World War II cemetery of Polish citizens and at the same time the third largest Holocaust cemetery in whole Europe” – reminded Director of the State Museum at Majdanek Tomasz Kranz, as he opened the ceremony. It was participated with representatives of the government, diplomatic corps, region authorities, self-government administration, universities and veterans’ and military organizations, as well as school pupils.

Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage, who was present in Bełżec, assured: “Poland feels responsible for this place, for commemorating it and for remembering what happened here. Consistent observances of the 75th anniversary of ‘Aktion Reinhardt,’ which we have started, will be continued until the end of 2018”. Lubelskie Province Governor Przemysław Czarnek highlighted the tragic history which Bełżec played during World War II: “We stand in a place where one of the biggest genocide in the history of mankind was perpetrated, in terms of the number of victims killed on such a small area and in such a short period of time” – he said.

A letter by Ambassador to Israel in Poland Anna Azari to the participants of the commemoration was read out. She wrote: “During such ceremonies we recall these horrifying days of Holocaust which in a way ended 1000 years of Jewish presence on Polish soil.”

Lila Lam-Nowakowska, survivor from the Stanislawow ghetto, whose father most probably died in Bełżec, shared her memories from the German occupation. “From the whole group who escaped at that memorable night from the Stanislawow ghetto, only me and my mummy survived. We didn’t know that our nearest and dearest were being killed at the same time when our train to Warsaw was passing by this place […]. After so many years this site still breaths an air of peril, but I visit it to pay homage to the murdered. I am grateful that you remember the victims of this horrifying place, of the Bełżec death camp.”

Ecumenical prayer for the dead was said by Michael Schudrich, the Chief Rabbi of Poland; Jan Cieślar, Bishop of Warsaw Diocese of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church; Dariusz Wasiluk, Orthodox Parish Priest from Tomaszów Lubelski; and Marian Rojek, Bishop of Zamość and Lubaczów. Following the ceremony, wreaths were laid down in the Ohel Niche.