Page 57 - Centrum Dialogu im. Marka Edelmana w Łodzi. Litzmannstadt Getto. Ślady.

Gutka Szczekacz zaraz po wojnie w Izraelu w kibucu,
1946 r.
Gutka Barker immediately after the war in Israel
kibbutz in 1946

She wanted the Jewish cemetery authorities in
Lodz to find the tomb, but they could not find it.
There is also the grave of her father and brother
because they were murdered in Auschwitz. There-
fore, on the wall of the cemetery in Lodz she hung
a commemorative plaque dedicated to the loved
ones. And during the concerts she always stresses
that she sings to commemorate her parents and
brother, who came from Lodz.
Tova Ben-Zvi sings in Polish, Hebrew, Yiddish and
Ladino (the language of Sephardic Jews), some-
times also in Esperanto. She performs songs that
talk about Israel, about the history of the Jewish
people, Jerusalem, but also about the common Chris-
do kraju urodzenia i jego kultury. Z dzieciństwa tian-Judaic heritage, traditional Israeli songs, songs
pamiętałam nazwy miast i miasteczek, ale nie of Shabbat and various holidays, psalms, songs from
znałam konkretnych miejsc. Niewiele pamiętałam. the war period. On the occasion of the anniversary
Zaczęłam więc zwiedzać Polskę i przyjeżdżać tu of the liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto she
regularnie – opowiada. recorded songs from the Lodz ghetto, which were
Chciała na cmentarzu żydowskim w Łodzi odna- sung in the streets of the closed Jewish district. Tova
leźć grób mamy, ale nie udało się go odszukać. Nie Ben-Zvi then gave a moving concert in Lodz. – My
ma też grobu ojca i brata, bo zostali zamordowani whole family liked to sing, but their singing was
w Auschwitz. Dlatego na murze łódzkiej nekropolii interrupted by the Holocaust. Therefore, always
powiesiła pamiątkową tablicę dedykowaną bliskim. I sing for them – she said.
A podczas koncertów zawsze podkreśla, że śpiewa Since the late 90s Tova Ben-Zvi spent in Poland,
dla upamiętnienia rodziców i brata, którzy pocho- almost half of the year. Working with the Society
dzili z Łodzi. of Poland-Israel Friendship, she has traversed the
Tova Ben-Zvi śpiewa po polsku, hebrajsku, w ji- whole country. She met with the youth, she gave
dysz i ladino (język Żydów sefardyjskich), czasami concerts in various Polish places, also in Catholic
także w esperanto. Wykonuje pieśni, które opo- and Protestant churches, and at various festivals.
wiadają o Izraelu, o historii narodu żydowskiego, She made friends with many people. Her close friend
o Jerozolimie, ale też o wspólnym chrześcijańsko- and protector was the president of the company,
-judaistycznym dziedzictwie, tradycyjne piosenki Joanna Branska, the animator of the many activities
izraelskie, pieśni szabatowe i na różne święta, that promote Jewish culture and art. Together they
psalmy, utwory z okresu wojny. Z okazji rocznicy gave lectures and held discussions with the audience.
likwidacji Litzmannstadt Getto nagrała piosenki Tova always emphasizes how much Jews and Poles
z łódzkiego getta, które były śpiewane na ulicach have in common.

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