I am reposting this from 2018, and as always, simply no words....
Today is Holocaust Memorial Day, Yom HaShoah, so I thought I'd mention some of the tragedies of the Holocaust that occurred in one of my very favorite spots, Bratslav, Ukraine. Our family was very fortunate to have the opportunity to spend the Passover holidays in Uman, Ukraine this year (my first time ever not at home) and despite quite cold winter weather and main roads in the countryside that are full of deep potholes, we rented a van and a driver and made the trek to Bratslav (one of those places in the world where time seems to have mostly just stood still) with the primary intention of visiting the gravesite of the very great Rabbi Nosson Sternhartz (referred to as "Reb Nosson" or "Rebbi Natan" ) the primary student of Rebbi Nachman of Breslev.
If one takes a moment to consider Jewish History, and in this case Eastern European Jewish history, where there were Jews there was ongoing fear, tragedy and senseless murder in great numbers even long before the Holocaust. I'll admit that I didn't even know about the presence of the Nazis in Bratslav until I started doing some research to add extra meaning to my photos, and now I feel downright foolish for having been there just last week, without even giving it a thought. Sigh.
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