Survivors' Park ( pl, Park Ocalałych) is a park in Łódź commemorating people who survived the
Łódź Ghetto, which was created and operated by
Nazi Germany during
the Holocaust. The park was officially opened on August 30, 2004, on the 60th anniversary of the liquidation of the ghetto.
The park is located in the former territory of Łódź Ghetto, between Wojska Polskiego Street and allotment gardens at Sporna Street in the valley of the Lodz River, in the area adjacent to the borders of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto during the war in Smugowa Street (it was originally to be located at Stalowa Street). The park was designed by Grażyna Ojrzyńska.
Overview
The originator of the park was Halina Elczewska, who survived the Łódź ghetto (she was transported from the ghetto to Auschwitz and then to Ravensbrück). She was also the first to plant her "tree of memory". A monumenta boulder (found in the park) commemorating the tragic events of 1940-1944 was unveiled under one of the two monumental pedunculate oaks. It has inscriptions in four languages: Polish, English, Hebrew and Yiddish.
418 Holocaust survivors who managed to reach Łódź planted their individual trees:
oaks,
maples,
lindens,
birches,
hornbeams,
beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
es,
pines,
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
s and
larches. The trees were numbered and entered into the register, and the survivors received certificates with the name and number of the tree. Along the Arnold Mostowicz Avenue there are plaques with the surnames and number of the survivor's tree. In total, 450 trees were planted throughout the park on an area of one and a half hectares. The target area of the park is 8.5 hectares, in this area there is a water reservoir on the Łódka River. Alleys and squares with gravel-clay surface and granite cubes were also created.
The alley connects two main elements of the park: Monument to Poles Saving Jews during World War II and Memorial Mound. The monument, built according to the design of , contains symbols of two nations: the statue of the
White Eagle White Eagle(s) may refer to:
History and politics
* Coat of arms of Poland, a white eagle
* Crusade of Romanianism, or White Eagles, a 1930s far-right movement in Romania
* Task Force White Eagle, a Polish military unit during the War in Afghanist ...
and the
Star of David
The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles.
A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...
, formed from boards with the names of Poles honored with the title "
Righteous Among the Nations". The 10-meter Memorial Mound, built at the other end of the park, is a viewpoint of the area. At the top of the mound there is a monument-bench of
Jan Karski
Jan Karski (24 June 1914 – 13 July 2000) was a Polish soldier, resistance-fighter, and diplomat during World War II. He is known for having acted as a courier in 1940–1943 to the Polish government-in-exile and to Poland's Western Allies abo ...
.
The construction of the park, as a long-term investment task, was approved by the City Council. Work began in autumn 2005 with clearing the area and demolition of ruins. The monument was unveiled in 2009. The park has the seat of the Dialogue Center named after
Marek Edelman, where conferences and educational activities take place.
References
{{commonscat, Park Ocalałych in Łódź
Parks in Łódź
Holocaust memorials in Poland
Gardens in Poland
2004 establishments in Poland
Parks established in 2004