During the Second International Conference on Judeo-Spanish organized
in Salonika (Greece) April 16 and 17, 2000, the Survivors of Shoah
and their descendants adopted unanimously the proposal put forward
by Prof. Haim-Vidal Sephiha that the Memory of the Martyrs be honored by the addition to
the Memorial of Auschwitz - Birkenau of a flagstone in Judeo-Spanish.
On April 15, 2002 the technical details, as presented by the director
of the State Museum of Auschwitz to JEAA's vice-President have
been finalized.
This project, in remembrance of our Sephardic brothers--victims
of the Holocaust, succeeded thanks to our common effort and the
positive attitude of the decision makers. Finally, our brothers
will be able to receive the deserved recognition in their own
language! A language that was unjustifiably missing.
The oblivion at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial of the martyrdom
of the Jews of Judeo-Spanish origin, who were also victims of
the Nazi cruelty, will be finally repaired thanks to you.
The Memorial of Auschwitz - Birkenau
had 20 commemorative flagstones
in 20 different languages.
Here is, as an example, the text in English:
FOR EVER LET THIS PLACE BE
A CRY OF DESPAIR
AND A WARNING TO HUMANITY
WHERE THE NAZIS MURDERED
ABOUT ONE AND A HALF
MILLION
MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN,
MAINLY JEWS
FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES
OF EUROPE
AUSCHWITZ - BIRKENAU
1940 - 1945
|
Out of 360,000 Sefardim living in Europe,
160,000 were murdered by the nazis.
Judezmo (judyo, spaniolith, ladino, Judeo-Spanish etc...)
was their mother tongue.
During the Second International Conference on Judeo-Spanish
organized in Salonika (Greece) April 16 and 17, 2000,
the Survivors of Shoah and their descendants
adopted a text presented by Prof. Haïm-Vidal Sephiha
requesting that the Memory of the Martyrs be honored by
the addition to the Memorial of Auschwitz - Birkenau
of a flagstone in Judeo-Spanish
with the following text:
KE ESTE LUGAR, ANDE LOS NAZIS
EKSTERMINARON UN MILYON
I MEDYO DE OMBRES,
DE MUJERES I DE KRIATURAS,
LA MAS PARTE DJUDYOS
DE VARYOS PAYIZES DE LA EVROPA,
SEA PARA SYEMPRE,
PARA LA UMANIDAD,
UN GRITO DE DEZESPERO
I UNAS SINYALES
AUSCHWITZ - BIRKENAU
1940 - 1945
|
Judeo-Spanish at Auschwitz - Le judéo-espagnol à Auschwitz -
El Judeo-español en Auschwitz