Częstochowa Umschlagplatz to be Named in Honour of Samuel Willenberg z”l
Source: Alon Goldman
By unanimous vote, the Częstochowa City Council has decided to name the area around the Częstochowa Umschlagplatz, “Plac Samuela Willenberga” (“Samuel WIllenberg Square”), in honour of our late, great landsmann Samuel Willenberg z”l.
The initiative for this came from World Society Vice-President Alon Goldman and was submitted to the CIty Council by Chair of the Częstochowa TSKŻ Izabela Sobańska-Klekowska as, according to municipal regulations, only a local institution is able to make such a submission.
The site chosen is from where, during the liquidation of the “Big Ghetto”, the six rail transports departed from Częstochowa heading for the Treblinka extermination camp.
The monument, in memory of the Częstochowa’s Holocaust victims, was constructed at the initiative and with the funding of World Society President Sigmund Rolat
It was Samuel WIllenberg z”l himself who designed it and who supervised its construction.
The memorial monument was unveiled during the World Society’s Third Reunion in October 2009.
Samuel Willenberg z”l was born in Częstochowa. He participated in the Treblinka revolt and was its last living survivor. Sadly, “Samek” passed away in February 2016. After escaping Treblinka, he fled to Warsaw where he joined the Polish Home Army (AK). Among other honours bestowed upon him, Samuel WIllenberg was awarded the Virtuti Militari, Poland’s highest military honour.
The World Society sincerely thanks the Mayor of Częstochowa, Krzysztof Matyjaszczyk and the City Council for their decision. We also thank Deputy Chair of the City Council Jolanta Urbańska, who supported the initiative and assisted in its implementation, and Izabela Sobańska-Klekowska, Chair of the Częstochowa TSKŻ, who submitted the application.
This is how local Częstochowa TV station, Telewizja Orion, covered the announcement: