Daffodils Bloom as Symbols of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Memory
Apr 22, 2023 14:37:57 GMT
M. Hawbaker likes this
Post by barb43 on Apr 22, 2023 14:37:57 GMT
This is from an Associated Press wire story out of Poland. It's heartwarming & heartbreaking at the same time, imo. A great read! Here are a couple of snips from the story.
www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2023-04-20/daffodils-bloom-as-symbol-of-warsaw-ghetto-uprising-memory#:~:text=The%20daffodils%20are%20linked%20to,and%20others%20who%20were%20murdered.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Yellow daffodils are everywhere in Warsaw this week, a symbol of remembrance for the 1943 uprising by Jews in the city's ghetto against Nazi German occupiers.
There are the real daffodils that residents and visitors to the Polish capital place on memorials to honor Holocaust victims, and little paper daffodils worn on lapels.
The presidents of Germany, Israel and Poland wore them Wednesday when they led official commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the uprising, on the site of the former ghetto.
Even members of the European Parliament wore them in Strasbourg, France, as lawmakers paid tribute to the Jewish victims.
Someone seeing the six-petaled flower badges for the first time might confuse them with the yellow Star of David that the Nazis forced Jews to wear in Germany and some occupied countries, as a prelude to deporting them to ghettos and death camps.
But those displaying them in Warsaw associate them with memory, respect and a communal coming together by people of all backgrounds to honor the Jewish victims of the ghetto and Holocaust victims more broadly. That idea is captured by the slogan of the official daffodil campaign, which is "remembering together."
The daffodils are linked to Marek Edelman, a commander of the uprising who died in 2009 who every year on the anniversary of the uprising placed yellow flowers, mostly daffodils but sometimes tulips, in memory of his lost comrades and others who were murdered.
The Warsaw ghetto was razed to the ground by the Nazis and new buildings were put up in its place after the war.
Anna Witkiewicz, a 47-year-old local resident, stood alone in contemplation before the memorial on Thursday, still wearing the daffodil she put on the day before as she and her friends commemorated the victims.
She said it was a symbol that made her feel a sense of belonging with the large numbers of Jews who once inhabited the area and others mourning the tragic loss, adding: “It’s impossible not to wear this flower this day.”
There are the real daffodils that residents and visitors to the Polish capital place on memorials to honor Holocaust victims, and little paper daffodils worn on lapels.
The presidents of Germany, Israel and Poland wore them Wednesday when they led official commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the uprising, on the site of the former ghetto.
Even members of the European Parliament wore them in Strasbourg, France, as lawmakers paid tribute to the Jewish victims.
Someone seeing the six-petaled flower badges for the first time might confuse them with the yellow Star of David that the Nazis forced Jews to wear in Germany and some occupied countries, as a prelude to deporting them to ghettos and death camps.
But those displaying them in Warsaw associate them with memory, respect and a communal coming together by people of all backgrounds to honor the Jewish victims of the ghetto and Holocaust victims more broadly. That idea is captured by the slogan of the official daffodil campaign, which is "remembering together."
The daffodils are linked to Marek Edelman, a commander of the uprising who died in 2009 who every year on the anniversary of the uprising placed yellow flowers, mostly daffodils but sometimes tulips, in memory of his lost comrades and others who were murdered.
The Warsaw ghetto was razed to the ground by the Nazis and new buildings were put up in its place after the war.
Anna Witkiewicz, a 47-year-old local resident, stood alone in contemplation before the memorial on Thursday, still wearing the daffodil she put on the day before as she and her friends commemorated the victims.
She said it was a symbol that made her feel a sense of belonging with the large numbers of Jews who once inhabited the area and others mourning the tragic loss, adding: “It’s impossible not to wear this flower this day.”
www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2023-04-20/daffodils-bloom-as-symbol-of-warsaw-ghetto-uprising-memory#:~:text=The%20daffodils%20are%20linked%20to,and%20others%20who%20were%20murdered.