Now one of the tasks of any one engaged in history is to write about those who have been forgotten or in some cases removed from the story.
And I don’t think that is either a pretentious observation, or a vacuous one, and while it might appear obvious to some it is still worth restating.
It starts with those engaged in peeling back their own family history and in the process come to understand more about the time and place in which their relatives lived.
In my case I was never content with creating a long list of names and connections, I wanted the context and having found that context I wanted to place their lives into the bigger picture to best understand who they were, and something of the challenges and obstacles they faced.
All of which requires a lot of research and becomes one of those “studies in depth” which for most of us remain a very personal exercise, but can also offer up a wider insight into the lives of people at a moment in time.
And when that study is not confined to one family but to a whole community which was deliberately wiped out in fulfilment of a hideous ideology, then a very important piece of work is in play.
That “work” is being undertaken in a small town in the Ukraine, where “a volunteer-led program of heritage preservation and education, [is] working to re-connect the history of Rohatyn’s now-lost Jewish community with the people and places of the modern town”.*
It is a story I keep coming back to and will continue to do so, for here is a perfect example where a study brings a community out of the shadows, offers a context to their lives and by extension brings together a diverse group of people.
So, with “the cooperation of current Rohatyn residents and volunteers from around the world, …. the program focuses primarily on recovery of Jewish headstone fragments discovered in town and their return to the old Jewish cemetery.
Future include a cleanup and rehabilitation of the old cemetery, a modest memorial space for recovered headstone fragments, and the development of educational materials to support a renewed appreciation of the intertwined communities which once lived in Rohatyn”.
There are clear connections with what is going on across the world and in Europe where once again ideas of intolerance and hate are being peddled under the guise of nationalism.
Now I am sure there will be similar work being undertaken across the globe, each of which will advance our knowledge and shine a new light on forgotten communities and individuals but for me this project has become a personal one, and while I doubt I will ever be able to make a physical contribution to the work I continue to follow it and write about it on the blog.
Location, Rohatyn, Ukraine
Pictures; Rabbi Kolesnik and Mikhailo Vorobets walking towards the courtyard of the former Gestapo headquarters in Rohatyn, 2014, and Dr. Alex Feller cleaning lettering on a headstone fragment found at a Rohatyn roadside, 2011, leading the tour, and Remember, © Jay Osborn
* Rohatyn Jewish Heritage, http://rohatynjewishheritage.org/en/
**You can support Rohatyn Jewish Heritage with a tax-deductible donation:
http://rohatynjewishheritage.org/en/support/how-to-help/
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| Walking towards the Gestapo Headquarters, Rohatyn, 2014 |
It starts with those engaged in peeling back their own family history and in the process come to understand more about the time and place in which their relatives lived.
In my case I was never content with creating a long list of names and connections, I wanted the context and having found that context I wanted to place their lives into the bigger picture to best understand who they were, and something of the challenges and obstacles they faced.
All of which requires a lot of research and becomes one of those “studies in depth” which for most of us remain a very personal exercise, but can also offer up a wider insight into the lives of people at a moment in time.
And when that study is not confined to one family but to a whole community which was deliberately wiped out in fulfilment of a hideous ideology, then a very important piece of work is in play.
 |
| Cleaning the lettering of a headstone, 2011 |
It is a story I keep coming back to and will continue to do so, for here is a perfect example where a study brings a community out of the shadows, offers a context to their lives and by extension brings together a diverse group of people.
 |
| Leading a tour of the Jewish community exhibition |
Future include a cleanup and rehabilitation of the old cemetery, a modest memorial space for recovered headstone fragments, and the development of educational materials to support a renewed appreciation of the intertwined communities which once lived in Rohatyn”.
 |
| Remember** |
Now I am sure there will be similar work being undertaken across the globe, each of which will advance our knowledge and shine a new light on forgotten communities and individuals but for me this project has become a personal one, and while I doubt I will ever be able to make a physical contribution to the work I continue to follow it and write about it on the blog.
Location, Rohatyn, Ukraine
Pictures; Rabbi Kolesnik and Mikhailo Vorobets walking towards the courtyard of the former Gestapo headquarters in Rohatyn, 2014, and Dr. Alex Feller cleaning lettering on a headstone fragment found at a Rohatyn roadside, 2011, leading the tour, and Remember, © Jay Osborn
* Rohatyn Jewish Heritage, http://rohatynjewishheritage.org/en/
**You can support Rohatyn Jewish Heritage with a tax-deductible donation:
http://rohatynjewishheritage.org/en/support/how-to-help/
Thanks!
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