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World Jewish News
In Honor of a Jewish Hero
01.03.2009
In the synagogue on Bolshaya Bronnaya, an event was held in connection with the 100th anniversary of birth of Alexander Pechersky, leader of the uprising in Sobibor death camp in 1943 (the only successful uprising of this kind) and the presentation of the book Sobibor, published by 'Return' Historical and Literary Society.
The first speech was delivered by the Chairman of the 'Return' society Semyon Vilensky who recalled that not less than 250 000 Jews had been killed in Sobibor.
"A. Pecherskiy himself arrived at Sobibor with a group of Jewish prisoners of war, selected for the so-called special missions within the Germans project on utilizing the captured Soviet arms," said S. Vilensky.
Alexander Pechersky, according to S. Vilensky, was "a man of unparalleled courage, totally fearless."
Rabbi Mihoel Mishulovin said a prayer in memory of A. Pechersky and the murdered Sobibor prisoners.
And then candles in the Menorah standing in front of the stage were solemnly lit by the prisoners of the ghetto and the people who took an active part in compiling the book "Sobibor."
In his speech, the rabbi of the synagogue at Bronnaya Yitzhak Kogan emphasized on the symbolism of the fact that A. Pechersky's birthday was adjacent to the holiday of February 23 (Day of Soviet Army – Editor's note), and stressed that during the war, Jews were fighting especially fiercely:
"They were not afraid of any bullets or shells, because their hearts were full of revenge for killed relatives."
As an example, Rabbi Kogan told about his father, who learned about the destruction of his family by the Nazis and made every effort to absolve himself of the reservation and get to the front.
"Alexander Pechersky's heroism was not just in organizing the uprising in Sobibor, but also in pursuing the warrior's path afterward," summed Rabbi Kogan.
The representative of the Union of Jewish veterans of World War II Miron Mankiev reminded the audience about the heroism of the Jews during the War (even among the defenders of the famous 'House of Pavlov' in Stalingrad, one of the soldiers was Jewish).
Director Mark Rozovsky stressed that Alexander Pechersky belonged to the best sons of the Jewish people.
"This is a man for all times. The fact that he has not received any awards is, on one hand, painful, but on the other is very understandable," he said. M. Rozovsky also noted that it is necessary to make as many people as possible aware of the uprising in Sobibor, especially the representatives of the younger generation.
Those assembled also watched a video interview with A. Pecherskiy made by the Dutch historian and prisoner of Sobibor Julius Shelvis.
Semen Charny
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