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23/10/2014

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23 Comments

Avi Ariav on April 6, 2005

14/10/2014 10:07:13 am

YOU HAVE BROUGHT BACK THE HONOR AND RECOGNITION TO A GROUP OF 150 JEWS INCLUDING YOUR FATHER (AND OTHERS BURIED AT BEIT-OLAM). YOU HAVE ALSO CREATED A BRIDGE FOR THE LOCAL POLISH COMMUNITY TO VIEW THEIR PAST AND NOT TO BE AFRAID TO TALK ABOUT IT, DOING THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PILLARS OF BEIT-OLAM BECAUSE ONLY WITH THE FULL PARTICIPATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE LOCAL BELZYCE COMMUNITY BEIT-OLAM STAND TO ACHIEVE ITS GREATEST ACHIVMENT: TO REMIND AND EDUCATE THE FUTURE GENERATIONS IN BELZYCE AND IT SURROUNDINGS.
I STAND BY YOU AS ALWAYS ON THIS ISSUE.

Marian Turski on April 7, 2005

30/10/2014 09:06:08 am

Dear Cygi ,

Mazal Tov on behalf of the inauguration of your web site.
I am one of the genuine ejdim - eyewitnesses, who could testify that the great and impressive monument, one of the most impressive in Poland in order to memorize the Shoah, was done only due to your, Cygi, dedication.
It also evoked a friendly mood in this little shtetl of Belzyce. Thus - I hope- the memory of our perished parents and brethren / sisters, would be kept in stone and mind. KOL TUV!

RAM JACOBSON on April 10, 2005

30/10/2014 09:07:15 am

AS A CLOSE FRIEND AND ONE OF THE FIRST TO BE INVITED TO THE MEMORIAL IT IS NO DOUBT ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PRIVATE UNDERTAKING BY THE ARIAV FAMILY TO COMMEMORATE THE WORST ATROCITY COMMITTED IN "MODERN TIMES".
IT WILL STAY THERE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME NOT ONLY AS A MEMORIAL BUT AS A REMINDER AND SHAME TO ALL THOSE WHO LIVE THERE TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE THAT THEIR FOREFATHERS DID NOTHING AND MOST PROBABLY PARTICIPATED IN THIS GENOCIDE.

Esther, Reuben Varda & Angus on November 2, 2005

30/10/2014 09:09:01 am

In October this year we had the privilege of joining Odette, Zigi, Ariel, Avi and their family members in the memorial service in Belcyze.

Although so much has been said and written about the subject of the holocaust and especially the connection of Poland to this most horrible part in human history, and the history of our people, each visit revives in one’s soul the deep sadness on the one hand and a feeling of pride on the other hand.

Sadness- how could, one of the so called most advanced people on earth together with their collaborators, commit such an atrocity and;
Pride of what this small “unworthy to live people” contributed to the nations among which they lived and the whole cultured world.

It will take many more years to try and understand why and had what happened and therefore it is so important NOT TO FORGET!! However we don’t think an answer to those questions can ever be given.

In Belzyce, we have evidenced the “private” horror of Zigi. Just the thought that this horror has multiplied itself in the millions sends cold shivers through one’s body.

Zigi was one of the few who was able to and did “commemorate” his horror and erect the memorial to his father and fellow Jews in Belzyce. Millions of others were unable to do this.

We all wish and hope that Zigi will be able to upkeep this annual commemoration for many more years. We all thank him for letting us share with him this moving ceremony.

Esther Lotan Varda Lotan

Reuven Lotan Angus Braham

October 2005

Matilde & Abram Jungman on December 14, 2005

30/10/2014 09:10:11 am

Dear Szulim.

My friendship to you and your brother Abraham began in the times of our childhood. I remember very well your parents Matilda and Lejbe. I remember also your grand-father Cygielman that was the builder of the yeshivah in Lublin which after the war was transformed into a medicine school. The purpose of your grand-father was to give conditions to “learn”. By building the cemetery and the monuments you gave conditions to perpetuate “memory”. Now you continue to preserve it with remarkable efforts and therefore we feel proud of you. We thank you for having invited us to such a noble and outstanding event.
November 2005,.Matile & Abram Jungman from S.Paulo, Brazil.

Rabbi Burt Schuman on October 16, 2006

30/10/2014 09:10:54 am

It was a signal honor to join Zigi and the entire Ariav family at the memorial ceremony in Belzycie. Despite the mourning and sadness connected with the fate of Ziggy's family during the Shoah as well as those of Belzyce's Jews, it was also a time of building and healing. Bonds have been created between Jews and Non-Jews, between Israelis and Poles, between people of like minds ans like vision who have been empowered by memoery and by truth, but wish to build a society in Poland that prizes and celebrates its polyglot history and its diverse cultures.
Each year the bonds strengthen, new relationships are formed and new possibilities begin to emerge. Let what has been accomplshed in Belzyce serve as a beacon of inspiration to those who prize both a new, democratic and inclusive Poland and a revived Polish Jewish community that is re-emerging from their decades old hiding places and bunkers.
Thank you, Ziggy, for making us all "family".

Heiner Wilkens on March 5, 2007

30/10/2014 09:11:35 am

Beit-Olam in Belzyce is an outstanding and so necessary memorial to keep awareness alive of the darkest times of recent European history.
My first visit was in 1992. I met my good friends Odette and Ziggy, Elana and Uzi and other Jewish persons in Warsaw first. Let me be open. I was nerveous. I am German. But Ziggy and all of the group gave me a wonderful and comforting welcome.
The visit to the former concentration camp Majdanek the next day was very, very painful. Especially the sight of the huge boxes, filled with shoes of murdered people, small shoes of many children also, hurt immensely and is burnt into my mind. The realization at this concentration camp that German people just one generation ago murdered here and at so many other places and the fact that I am connected to them through my language and my passport, made the pain so strong. I felt ashamed and guilty.
And here, at this dark place, my Jewish friends helped me, cared for me. I had the feeling that the group carried me and gave me relief. I will never forget the warmth of my Jewish friends for me in Majdanek.
I came to Ziggy´s memorial twice and prayed with my friends. I will come again.
Thank you, Ziggy!
I am sorry!
Heiner Wilkens, a friend of Ziggy and a friend of Israel.

Keret Moshe on October 18, 2009

30/10/2014 09:12:50 am

My friend Zigi
Unfortunatly i could not participate this year on your journey to Belzyce,but i shall never forget the three times I did.My father and mother entire family were perished in Poland and I NEVER enjoyed grandparents, uncles and aunts.When I stood there and listened to the KADISH I felt this is also on behalf of my family and for that I thank you forever. I am proud to be your friend.

Moshe (Mike) Arens on November 11, 2009

30/10/2014 09:13:42 am

Honor thy father and thy mother. It is that biblical injunction that Zigi Ariav has followed by building a memorial at the Jewish cemetery in Belzyce, the place where he buried his father and another 149 Jews who were murdered in Belzyce on October 2, 1942. And the command ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ???? Remember! Never to be forgotten, the crimes committed against the Jewish people during the Holocaust.
The building of the memorial at the Jewish cemetary in Belzyce by Zigi is an act of great devotion and has profound meaning. It will be honored in generations to come by Zigi's sons and their children and children's children.

Tomas Arana on September 22, 2010

30/10/2014 09:14:21 am

I want to thank Zigi and his wonderful family for including me a couple of years ago in their annual ceremony... After learning the particulars I was stunned by realizing the mental process that Zigi went through. I can't think of anything more impossible to overcome in one's life then the tragedy of what happened on that fateful day. Zigi showed me what family truly means and also to show such a way of moving on and not punishing the young people but instead helping the community and the process of healing by what he and his family does.
As a human being, I learned so much about life and family from going with them to honor their fallen loved ones. What a solemn peaceful cemetery designed with great feeling. Thank you to Zigi and his family for teaching me more about life....
I will never forget what happened there during the Holocaust and I will never forget the lessons I have learned.... love to all of you........

Rina and Ray Black on October 6, 2010

30/10/2014 09:15:00 am

Dear Zigi,

We have just returned from our visit to Warsaw, where we have shared with you and your family the annual commemoration to the memory of your father and those other 149 men from your village whose lives were taken by the nazis and the ukrainians, and to your brother too. Having absorbed the story told in your book, and the same story you have so poignantly recounted during our visit, we can only thank you for allowing us to share this experience, and to have the opportunity to remember, that you provide to your family, your friends and those members of the Polish community who also come to honour the memory of your father and the former Belziecz community. Our own experience with you will be with us forever, and we do hope to return in the future to provide our children with a similar opportunity to never forget.
May God bless you and allow you and your children to provide for years to come this privilege to all those who wish and who take the opportunity to participate in the ceremony you conduct with such grace, generosity of spirit and warmth. With our warmest wishes Rina and Ray Black

Liora & Moshe (Benpo) Ben-Porath on October 12, 2010

30/10/2014 09:15:51 am

Dear Zigi,Ariel,Avi,Sari& Agata,
It takes time to digest the unique experience that we had with all of you. We thank you for the opportunity we got from you to take part in a process that put us in a new position for life. Zigi, you succeeded not only to create a site which embraces the horrors of the past with the hopes for the future, but to begin a process where you are writing new pages of the Jewish History. With your unique capabilities you succeed to commemorate the past and at the same time build a bridge of coexistence with the new Polish generation. Without forgiveness for the horrors of the past you are establishing a base of understanding for the future. Through the story of yourself and your family you illuminate our history of holocaust, heroism and renaissance in our old-new homeland. Thanks to your ceremony and the meetings that you have arranged with your marvelous family our roots in Europe are strengthened and our pride as Sabras, second generation to the survivors of the holocaust, is empowered.
We wish you many years of good health and enhancement of your heritage to the next generation of your family. We shall always remember with a thrill and gratitude the special moments that structured our consciousness as Jews and Zionists.
Yours,
Liora and Benpo 12.10.10

Corrine Brydon on October 20, 2010

30/10/2014 09:16:32 am

Corrine Brydon on October 20, 2010 at 9:51 AM said:
To Zigi, Odette, your four beautiful children and the dear friends who were with me; I have taken time to consider my feelings after the experience we have shared through the history of Zigi and his family.
We were together in the small village of Belzyce, having walked in memory through the silent ghetto streets of Warsaw and the gas chambers of Majdanek death camp - so close and on full view to all the surrounding houses in 1941. On the 5th October 2010 we stood in the Jewish Cemetery, a tribute created by Zigi through love and purpose in respect of Lejb Cygielman, Zigi’s father, and 149 others - murdered in 1942, of Abraham Cygielman, just 16 years old and Zigi’s twin brother, murdered in 1943 and in memory of six million more all murdered by the Nazis and their henchmen in an attempt to exterminate us from humanity and the world - simply for being Jews.
Here I rekindled my identity -a Jew - part of a heritage of survivors, a custodian of our story and Zigi's story - a personal account - of a 14 year old boy who had to become immediately a man 70 years ago, told for future generations of survivors to hear.
Zigi, you have given us all so much, in three days we followed your story and the story of our people. It has had a profound effect on me, on all of us and we will continue to tell the story. We will never forget.

Susan Geller on October 25, 2010

30/10/2014 09:17:16 am

A few years ago I was privileged to participate in your annual trip to Belzyce. I can honestly say that I reacted more emotionally than I expected. After all, I did not know your family, so why should this stir such deep feelings in me? This trip unleashed a long suppressed pain; a mourning for members of my own family who were killed by the Nazis. Standing at the Beit Olam I said a silent prayer not only for your father and brother, but also for my grandparents and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins whom I never got to meet.

What a wonderful thing you have done, Zigi, and by doing so have obeyed the commandment of honoring your parents to the utmost degree. May you be blessed with many more years of good health to be able to continue to pass along your story to the future generations.

Tony & Carol Stafford on August 31, 2011

30/10/2014 09:17:50 am

We thank you sincerely for your kindness and great hospitality during our most memorable visit to the village of Belzyce. We have both read extensively about the awful period of the Holocaust, but when we walked around Majdenek it brought us so much closer to the awful reality of what happened; walking around the long wooden building filled with thousands of shoes shook you to your depths and also looking at all the faces in the pictures of the victims made you wish to reach out to the essence of each one who had trod that path.
This same empathy was there most strongly at the commemoration in the graveyard, it was almost palpable; a truly moving experience at a spiritual level. It was so fitting that Zigi managed to find the site Beit-Olam, where the survivors in his village, including himself and his twin brother, buried their 150 slain family members. Each annual remembrance ceremony which the family and friends attend surely does reach out to those so violently slain in the village and to the owners of the shoes – a symbol of the evil that never should be forgotten. We were privileged to be part of that remembrance.

Donald Brydon on October 23, 2011

30/10/2014 09:18:28 am

The three days I spent in Poland with Zigi and his wonderful family and friends were deeply moving. As a non-Jew I felt for the first time the true horrors that have befallen such noble people. I had known it in my mind, after this visit I knew it in my soul too. Of course I can never truly know what it was like to experience Warsaw under the Nazis but I can learn and understand and in doing so be at one with all those persecuted in such ghastly ways. Thank you, Zigi, for making this possible and by creating such a moving memorial for ensuring that your and others’ suffering will never be forgotten. And I hope the words of the Scottish poet will ring true:
It’s coming yet, for a’ that
That man to man the warld o’er
Shall brothers be for a’ that.

Zivah and Rabbi Gil on October 10, 2013

30/10/2014 09:19:23 am

It was a most important and inspiring event yesterday at Belzyce and both Gil and I wish to thank you and your family for including us among those present in the dinner on Monday night and in the memorial services in the school and cemetery.

Having the Mayor and citizens actively remember the horrors of the war is so important. Having trees grow on the grounds of the graves is a sign of life next to the memorial stones and inscriptions.

This exciting day ended for us with a session of Hebrew and Judaic lessons and Israeli Folk Dancing- another sign of life.

Please forward this message to your father, whose commitment is so powerful.

Best wishes,
Zivah and Rabbi Gil

Philipp Gross

11/11/2014 07:40:15 am

I would like to thank the Ariav family for inviting me to Belzyce in October 2014 for their annual memorial ceremony. It is difficult to describe my feelings in words, but it was clearly an inspiring event that brought up a lot of thoughts in my head... I was amazed by what Nimrod Ariav and his family had established there and about the strong commitment they have. I hope this event will last throughout the coming generations as this heritage should be kept up in order not to forget - it is very important!
It was a huge pleasure for me to be there and thank you all again for welcoming and taking care of me so warmly. Please go on with it....

Toda raba,

Philipp Gross

Roni and Allen Baharaff

27/10/2015 03:14:32 pm

Dear Tsigi, Ariel, Avi and family
It took us many years to join your family on this annual visit to Poland. Allen and I were deeply moved by the trip, the visit to the Warsaw Jewish Museum, the trip to Beit Olam, gave us a renewed perspective on our family history.
Tsigi, the Beit Olam project is admirable, inspiring and wonderfully respectful and understated. We were greatly moved by this day.
We thank you for including us on this very special journey.
Many thanks Roni and Allen

Yoram Ginach

25/9/2016 03:44:55 am

Dear Tzigi, Ariel and Avi,
I am back in New York after what has been a life changing experiencie for me, spending two days with you at the memorial events that you so kindly invited me to share with you. You have created such a memorable experience to whoever visits at the old Jewish cemetery, the Belzyce cultural center and learning your remarkable life story. I think that by looking forward and opening yourself and your family to a future relationship with the community of Belzyce you have found a way to keep the memory of your father and the Jews of Belzyce alive forever. I feel so grateful and privileged to have been part of it .
Yours, Yoram Ginach

Piotr Puchta link

17/10/2019 10:49:03 am

Dear Tzigi, Ariel, Avi and family
I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for all you have done during the last 29 years and all that you are still planning to do in order to preserve the memory of Jewish community that lived in Bełżyce until the II World War. During our joint visit on October 15, 2019, to the Jewish cemetery located in the town of Bełżyce, which for me was the first ever visit to this place, I have realized once again that people who are devoted to a good cause of remembering not only their own ancestors but also other contemporaries of their loved once are actually the richest, because they are giving away their kindness. Both kindness and generosity are virtues we should try to cultivate. However I share Tzigi’s opinion that preservation of the memory of the victims of the Holocaust it is the devotion that is the most important element. I hope to be able to join your visits to Bełżyce in the years ahead. I take this opportunity also to thank Marian for introducing me to your family and your initiative deserving special recognition.

Ran Gottfried

17/10/2021 07:18:04 pm

Hi Zigi
It was Sara fourth and my second visit to Belzice . It is more moving as time moves on. My family history is Polish as well and I understand your feelings and appreciate your importat contributions to the memory of the Holocaust . For me personally your fighting during the war and your acts in Europe and in Israel afterwards are with inourmance importance . Be well my friend. I am sure that Ariel and Avi will continue your project with the same motivation.

Atad peled

7/11/2022 02:29:52 pm

November 7th, 2022

Last time I was here was more than 10 years ago. Since then the world did not turn to be a better place. Actually we are now closer to nuclear war than we were during the Cuba missile crisis' in 1962. But as Europe is fighting the evils from the east and Democracy as we know it is yet again tested to the extreme and countries are fighting for their freedom , standing here is evermore emotional and important.

Today we stand strong and unite to shine light and hope and to say that the good prevails as long as we believe and as long as we continue to act rather than stand still. I've known the Ariav family for almost 18 years. I can say with confidence that they are not the kind of people who stand still. Particularly not Zigi.

Zigi, next year will mark 80 years since
the sad and cruel events that happened in this place, the same events that drove you to fight against the Natzis and later fight for Israel's existence. You always acted. You always believed that doing good is not only saying positive words but rather doing positive things. All of us are here today to embrace your sadness and remember together. Remember and never forget.

To Ariel and Avi - over the years you both proved that you share the same qualities as your parents. I feel comfort and pride knowing the world is getting a bit brighter thanks to you.

In Hebrew we say נר קטן מביס חושך גדול
A small candle defeats the mighty darkness

We will never forget

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