The following is our mission statement, expressed in a letter written by our founder, Rabbi Leibel Friedman:
כה אמר ד’ עצמות האלה הנה אני מביא בכם כח וחיית
Yechezkel 37, 5 • יחזקאל לז, ה
So, said Hashem to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live again.”
The souls and spirits of the multitude Kedoshim who were murdered in the Holocaust went up straight
to Shamayim, yet their bodies – burnt, battered, and beaten – stayed right here on earth. Their ashes
scattered upon the blood-soaked soil of Europe. Many of them were never Zoche to Kever Yisroel. Of
the many whose bodies did eventually get buried, most of their burial places are unknown. Even people
who are known to have perished only immediately after the war from illness and starvation. Many of
them were buried in mass graves which have long been forgotten.
The above is true in many areas formerly housing Nazi death camps. One of the areas where there are a
staggering number of unknown graves is in and around the Mauthausen death camp. The body count
from that area amounts to the tens of thousands. Many scattered graves ended up being transferred to
a mass-grave in Mauthausen itself, others were transferred to mass graves in cities in the surrounding
areas. We have identified at least 24 different – mass and single – graves in the cities and villages
surrounding it. Some of these graves scattered across cities and villages can house up to 100 Niftarim.
Most of these Niftarim people arrived there near the end of the war. At that time the Russian army was
zeroing in on Germany proper. As they were getting closer to the German homeland and closer to the
areas near Concentration Camps, the Nazis started a ruthless evacuation campaign to move their
prisoners to Camps in area deeper in Nazi territory. One of these camps was Auschwitz, from which
prisoners were transferred to Mauthausen.
There were also Jews led to Mauthausen by the Hungarian government from Work Camps (Munkotabor)
across Hungary to the Nazis. These Jews were also subject the notorious Death Marches. Thousands
were killed along the way and buried locally.
These journeys were accomplished primarily by two means. One was the notorious Death Marches –
marching thousands of these malnourished and underclothed Jews by foot for miles upon miles to their
respective destinations. They also moved many of them by train, cramming hundreds into packed cars
without any food or water, let coats or adequate clothing to protect them from the harsh weather. Any
person who fell ill along the way or even just withered was immediately shot to death or thrown from
the wagon. Many were then buried along the way by village locals.
Those who did live to arrive at Mauthausen from the above areas were then transferred to Gunzkirchen.
That entire way from Mauthausen leading to Gunzkirchen – the Death Road – is filled with single and
mass graves from these Kedoshim. Most of these graves were either lost and forgotten, and those
bodies found were transferred later to Mauthausen. A large amount of these Kedoshim are buried in
these 24 areas we will list. Theses graves can usually be found in the city cemetery – most of them under
Christian administration.
I do not know what the Halacha dictates in regard these matters. It is also futile to try to describe the
atrocities which I witnessed with my own eyes while I was imprisoned there. But my feelings are
impossible to hold back. These are people – our own brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers – who
were murdered for the sole reason of them being a part of Am Yisrael. The tragedy is compounded by
the fact that not only were they murdered in disgrace but their bodies are lying in disgrace all but
forgotten by those of us fortunate enough to survive. There is no one going to visit them, no one to light
a candle, recite a Kaddish, or say a perek of Mishnayos for them. They are literally Meisei Mitzva. Every
single one of these Kedoshim were an integral part of Klal Yisroel rounded up to this one area by the
accursed Nazi army. They are all our Jewish brethren originating from all areas were Jews had lived
prewar including Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, and Germany.
There is not one person who survived the war, who – between all these Kedoshim – does not have there
any relatives. There are hundreds of Yidden who – whether they know it or not – can find between them
a father, mother, grandparents, uncles and aunts, or cousins.
We must do everything we can to let the local communities know that these are Jewish graves, and to
educate them on the importance it bears for the Jewish Community. Hopefully that will ensure that they
are kept holy and are not in any way desecrated. This is only possible if we as a community show our
interest.
Let us remember the eloquent words of the great Jewish leader – whose tireless efforts saved
thousands during the war – Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandel:
זכור נא הבכיות, בתהום הגויות, ביום כלותם למרום הנשמות,
אז נשבענו שמם להזכיר, ואל לשכוח עד סוף עולמות”
“Remember the tears, coming out of the abyss, returning their souls to heaven;
we swore then to remember throughout the years, and not to forget forever”.