Lachva, Belarus And "Yisgadal Víyiskadash Sh'me Rabbo," The Ancient Prayer For The Departed

"We are now taken to Lachva, a small town approximately ten miles east of Kozhanhorodok, and slightly larger. We are witness to the memorial for the former Jewish inhabitants and to the remnants of the Lachva ghetto. We see the place where our relative Yankel Moraff had his place of business. Stories abound about the Nazi roundup and the killings. Kopel Kolponitzky, our guide and a former resident of Lachva, tells how he escaped on this terrible day. He joins the partisans, and survives in the forests and the marshes, fighting the enemy at every opportunity. He hears for the first time the story of his brotherís death. As his brother lies wounded in the street, his fiance refuses to leave his side. The doctor in Lachva approaches the weak and dying boy to render whatever assistance he can. A Nazi soldier confronts the doctor and tells him not to touch the Jew. He is reminded that he must treat only German soldiers. The doctor defiantly tells him that he will not treat any Germans, soldiers or otherwise. The soldier then methodically raises his rifle and proceeds to shoot all three, as if they were animals in a cage. The local Belarusians now learn too late that the Germans are not their liberators who will free them from their Russian captors. Far from it. As soon as they finish with the Jews the plan is to exterminate at least eighty percent of the non-Jews of Belarus. The die had been cast long ago and their fate was now sealed.

The bus stops by the ancient Lachva cemetery, where many headstones are over two hundred years old. It is neglected now and the grass has grown around the broken, barely visible stones. Some of the Hebrew writing can still be made out but most markers are deteriorated beyond recognition. It is here that my great-grandfather Aaron Morafchick lies. My uncle Ellie steps forward and in memory of all the Morafchick family, begins to recite "Yisgadal Víyiskadash Sh'me Rabbo," the ancient prayer for the departed."


(c) Larry Gaum "A Visit to Belarus -- The Circle is Complete" Belarus (sig) Newsletter: An On-line Magazine for People with Jewish Roots in Belarus Issue No. 2 - February 1999














Lachva, Belarus, today.

During the Second World War, Lachva, Belarus lost almost 100% of its Jewish residents, and 80% of its Slavic residents.

In order to facilitate the war effort and Germanization of Belarus and Ukraine, Hitler's Generals and Planners had wanted to drain the Pripyat marshlands dividing Belarus from Ukraine; but Hitler, having viewed newsreels of the dustbowls of 1930s North America, turned down Konrad Meyer's 1941 strategic plan.

Photo credit: (c) Larry Gaum and Belarus (sig) Newsletter. All rights reserved. With thanks.