Park Avenue Synagogue Congregation and 6 000 000 Shadow People, among them 1 500 000 Children. All of them perished during the Holocaust - זכור - Silent desecration of the Holocaust Monument in New York.

Children and their "shadows" of the Łódz ghetto (Litzmannstadt ghetto) - Last dance before the deportation to the death camp where they were murdered by suffocation in the gas chamber.

Shadow people are different! Especially those murdered during the Holocaust. 6 000 000 Jews and among them 1 500 000 children.

Why am I discussing suddenly "Shadow People"? The explanation is that it was actually the subject that representatives of the Jewish congregation Park Avenue Synagogue were most interested in when I tried to discuss the desecration by them of the Holocaust Monument at Madison Avenue. The monument was especially dedicated to Jewish children that perished during this dark period of Jewish history. Representatives of the Jewish congregation Park Avenue Synagogue question about Shadow people that support me was very special because we were supposed to discuss how the Monument can be restored at its right place!

Jewish congregation Park Avenue Synagogue in New York performed the desecration of the Holocaust Monument at Madison Avenue without permission from the donors. The monument by Nathan Rapoport was especially dedicated to Jewish children that perished during this dark period of Jewish history.

The Holocaust Monument was planned together with the Educational building. The corner or North bay on the Madison Avenue facade has solid stone panels in place of windows.

Jewish congregation, Park Avenue Synagogue, performed the desecration of the Holocaust Monument at Madison Avenue without permission from the donors. The monument was an artwork that was specially incorporated into the building from the very beginning, already when the Educational building was planned. Now, the only item that is left between the former top and middle panel (between 1 and 2) is the stone with one word in Hebrew - Remember. Of this action, Park Avenue Synagogue got three rooms with windows at Madison Avenue. Until recently, the monument, the tryphtyk including two sculpters in bronze and 16 stones with inscription could be seen above the Madison Avenue entrance to this beautiful synagogue, where according to rabbi at Park Avenue Synagogue, "every Jew and non-Jew who comes into the orbit of this institution and what it represents – all of these are thundering statements that the values of Korczak, his children, those murdered in the Warsaw Ghetto and all the Six Million live on." These words were delivered in the sermon year 2013. The rabbi, Eliot J Cosgrove, continued: Tomorrow evening we will begin our observance of Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. When the establishment of Yom HaShoah was first proposed by Israel’s Prime Minister Ben-Gurion, the suggested date was the fourteenth of Nissan, corresponding to April 19, 1943 – the day upon which the ghetto uprising began. (That date was not chosen, because it would not have worked to observe a memorial day on erev Pesah.) In fact, the name of the commemoration was initially Yom HaShoah u’Mered HaGetaot, Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and Ghetto Uprising. Even as it is now called – Yom HaShoah V’HaGevurah, Holocaust and Bravery Remembrance Day – our memorial is linked to the events of this one particular uprising which began exactly 70 years ago. One single stone from the original Monument with זכור (Remember) was left at Madison Avenue (just below number 1). Maybe to remember this obvious desecration! According to the law, the Monument can not be removed from its present location. It can not be divided or reinstalled in a different way as the artist, the donators, and the owners of the building agreed. The Monument should be therefore promptly reinstalled, exactly in the way it was before.

Jewish conservative congregation, Park Avenue Synagogue, performed the desecration of the Holocaust Monument at Madison Avenue without permission from the donors. The monument was an artwork that was specially incorporated into the building from the very beginning, already when the Educational building was planned.  When Korczak´s Last Walk (3) was taken away the congregation put new windows at the place where the bronze relief "Janusz Korczak and the Orphanage Children" was from the very beginning (red bar).  Through this "Action", an unknown, probably very distinguished person got a room with a view of Medison Avenue.

Zoom discussion with Jewish congregation Park Avenue Synagogue representatives. I hoped that I will at least receive an explanation of why the congregation demolished the first Holocaust monument in New York. I wanted also to know what happened to the inscription and 16 stones. The only information I got was that it happened during the remodeling of the building and the fate of the 16 stones with the inscription "TO THE SACRED MEMORY OF THE MILLION JEWISH CHILDREN WHO PERISHED IN THE HOLOCAUST" (middle panel, number 2 on photos). The sacred definition is: considered to be holy and deserving respect, especially because of a connection with a God. The cited above words of rabbi seem to have very little effect as the Holocaust memorial was, in natural absence of Holocaust survivors, taken away by the new Jewish generation in New York.

So actually, also what was left after the original memorial, two figural bronze reliefs that moved to the front of office windows without any background or description are difficult to see. Reliefs are no longer free but fastened to heavy vertical and horizontal iron bars that further deteriorate the reliefs. Korczak and the Children bronze relief was meant to show "free children with their educator". Now they are imprisoned by the heavy iron bars. One has to cross the street to see the reliefs as the sidewalk on 87 Street is small and also trees are shadowing what was left of the monument.
My very personal reflection when standing at 87th Street was that Janusz Korczak and the Orphanage children were put on the iron bars like the bodies for cremation in Treblinka. In Treblinka, railroad rails were laid as grates on blocks of concrete, and the victim's bodies were placed on rails over wood, splashed with petrol, and burned. The pyres operated 24 hours a day. Once the system had been perfected, 10,000–12,000 bodies at a time could be incinerated Actually my entire Warsaw family, approximately 100 persons, was murdered in Treblinka.

I hoped that conversation with Mr. Mark First would give some information about the reason for this clear desecration of the Holocaust Monument, the artwork of the famous Nathan Rapoport donated by two Holocaust survivors. The artwork called "Korczak's Last Walk" was a bastion of remembrance, hope, and community for the Jewish population in New York as well as for visitors from abroad. Nathan Rapoport monument at Madison Avenue was dedicated particularly to Jewish children and part of it, a bronze relief, portrays Janusz Korczak, as he led 239 orphans during the liquidation of the Warszawa Ghetto on August 5, 1942. The children were led through the entire ghetto to the cattle trains that would take them to their final destination, death camp Treblinka.

 
The inscription in the middle panel (2) gave information about Jewish children who perished in the Holocaust. Until recently, the monument, the tryphtyk including two sculptures in bronze and 16 stones with inscriptions could be seen above the Madison Avenue entrance to this beautiful synagogue, where according to the rabbi at Park Avenue Synagogue,:

"every Jew and non-Jew who comes into the orbit of this institution and what it represents – all of these are thundering statements that the values of Korczak, his children, those murdered in the Warsaw Ghetto and all the Six Million live on.". Six Million - 6 000 000 Jews are now just shadows and the memory of them was kept until recently by this important Holocaust Monument. Now, they are gone! By they, I mean the Holocaust victims and the Holocaust survivors that wanted to keep the history of Jewish people, also the dark periods, alive.

Back to my Zoom discussion with Jewish congregation Park Avenue Synagogue representatives. I hoped that I will at least receive an explanation of why the congregation demolished the first Holocaust monument in New York. I wanted also to know what happened to the inscription and 16 stones. The only information I got was that it happened during the remodeling of the building and the fate of the 16 stones with the inscription "TO THE SACRED MEMORY OF THE MILLION JEWISH CHILDREN WHO PERISHED IN THE HOLOCAUST". The sacred definition is: considered to be holy and deserving respect, especially because of a connection with a God. The cited words of the rabbi seem to have very little effect as the care of the Holocaust memorial by the new Jewish generation in New York simply demolished it.

So the info I got from the highest representatives of Park Avenue concerning the decision of demolishing the Holocaust memorial and also describe the process leading to that, as well as earlier requested information about what happened to 16 stones from the middle panel of the memorial were not answered. Or concerning 16 stones, I got a simple answer "We do not know". However, they wanted to know who the shadow people (Mr. Mark First description) were? Who in the world is involved and wants to reinstall the Holocaust Monument at the place that was decided by the donors and Park Avenue Synagogue representatives. 

I wanted to say that there are 6 000 000 of the Shadow People behind me but I disliked making the atmosphere more tense than it already was!

Perspective and windows

Mr. Mark First talked that my perspective differs from theirs. That was obvious that their perspective changed concerning the way of remembering the Holocaust. After demolishing the artwork by Rapoport, they got three new rooms in the building with a beautiful perspective of Madison Avenue...

Copyright
During our talk, Mr. Mark First pointed out that Nathan Rapoport Monument named "Korczak Last Walk" was a donation from the J family nowadays belongs to the Jewish Congregation. I reminded him that it does not mean that Park Avenue Congregation can do whatever they want to do it. According to my friends, the layers, specializing in copyright and art (from Israel and Europe) it is not allowed to make changes in the art or remove it from the building that was an integral part of the art.
Copyright protection in the United States exists automatically from the moment the original work of authorship is fixed. So the Holocaust Monument that was "fixed" by Nathan Rapoport in 1979 has this very strong copyright protection. This means the original work can not be removed or rearranged without the permission of the author. Park Avenue Synagogue, as I understand the law, had no right to demolish Rapoport's art. Placing parts of the Monument at 87th Street is therefore not legal. This has nothing to do with the ownership of the Monument itself or the building it has been placed on. Thus, especially as the Monument was built as a part of the building and no windows were planned there.
The description of the Monument is rather clear as published during 1979-1980 in Park Avenue Synagogues' own Bulletin. Also, the stone of the building was chosen to fill the requirements for Monument. Thus, both as the background and the part of Jewish history as described by Nathan Rapoport.

Agreement with donors - Conditions
According to Barbara Blumenthal, daughter of donors, her parent's donation, Nathan Rapoport Monument named "Korczak Last Walk" was meant to be an integral part of the building and be placed just over the entrance from Madison Avenue. These conditions were fulfilled and it is likely that the congregation accepted these conditions during the years 1979-2019. It is likely that there must be a kind of Donation Agreement, written proof for a donation.

Description of the Holocaust Monument by Richard Yaffe
Description of the Holocaust Monument by Richard Yaffe, a journalist, and editor-in-chief of Israel Horizons magazine. He was also a special correspondent for CBS, spoke to sculptor Nathan Rapoport while the work was being created and reported on the conversation in his 1980 book Nathan Rapoport Sculptures and Monuments:

“Rapoport was hard at work on the finishing touches, the casting in bronze, of his latest project, for the entrance of the new school of the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City. Rapoport im­mediately saw the school as the perfect place for a memorial to Janusz Korczek. Luckily, Dr. Judah Nadich, the rabbi of the congregation, did not need any convincing to dedicate the school to this martyr and his schoolchildren, and to the million Jewish children who perished in the Holocaust.

"What I have done," Rapoport says, pointing to a sketch of the memorial, "is to symbolize the mar­tyrdom and redemption. You see the menorah com­ing back to Jerusalem from the Arch of Titus, which was put up in Rome to commemorate the defeat of the Jews and whose inscription says that Israel would not rise again. It is Titus' Rome that is in ruins, and it is Israel that has survived and is building."

Three people are carrying the menorah back to Jerusalem — a sabra (a native-born Israeli), the Israel Underground which liberated the country from the British, and the Zva Hagana Yisrael, or Zahal, the Israeli Army of Defense (now IDF). And the Angels of God proclaim the victory, "I brought back the menorah which is the symbol of redemption."”

The Holocaust Monument, Korczak Last Walk, all three panels, should be reinstalled at its former place, at the entrance to the building facing Madison Avenue according to the former agreement between the donors, Anya and Leon Jolson, and Park Avenue Synagogue..

My words are of stone and bronze

“My words are of stone and bronze – silent but everlasting,” said Nathan Rapoport, an outstanding creator of Holocaust memorials. But he was wrong! His Holocaust Memorial at Madison Avenue was just demolished and the fate of stones with words is unknown. Even the highest representatives of Par Avenu Synagogue had no slightest idea what happened to the stones* with "words": TO THE SACRED MEMORY OF THE MILLION JEWISH CHILDREN WHO PERISHED IN THE HOLOCAUST.

To read more about it open the link below:

https://jimbaotoday.blogspot.com/2023/05/to-sacred-memory-of-million-jewish.html

*  One stone with זכור (Remember) was left. Maybe to remember this obvious desecration! According to the law, the Monument can not be removed from its present location. It can not be divided or reinstalled in a different way as the artist, the donators, and the owners of the building agreed.
The Monument should be therefore promptly reinstalled, exactly in the way it was before.

Park Avenu synagogue has 6 000 members. I wonder how many of them got the important piece of information that the "remodeling" of the Educational building was actually the removal (desecration) of the Holocaust monument and inserting instead three new windows with a magnificent view of Madison Avenue.

Anya and Leon Jolson. Great couple of Holocaust survivors who throughout their entire life remembered their 6 000 000 brothers and sisters, Holocaust victims.

The entrance today. On the right one can read the description that The facade sculptures are the gift of two survivors of the Holocaust (Anya and Leon Jolson). However, the facade structures are not anymore there! Great couple of Holocaust survivors who throughout their entire life remembered their 6 000 000 brothers and sisters, Holocaust victims. 

"Rapoport was hard at work on the finishing touches, the casting in bronze, of his latest project, for the entrance of the new school of the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City. Rapoport im­mediately saw the school as the perfect place for a memorial to Janusz Korczea. Luckily, Dr. Judah Nadich, the rabbi of the congregation, did not need any convincing to dedicate the school to this martyr and his schoolchildren, and to the million Jewish children who perished in the Holocaust.

"

Park Avenu synagogue has 6 000 members. I wonder how many of them got the important piece of information that the "remodeling" of the Educational building was actually the removal of the Holocaust monument and inserting instead three new windows with a magnificent view of Madison Avenue.

There are 1 412 000 Jewish people in the eight counties that compose New York and its environs. To this, however, one may add over 350,000 Jewish people in New Jersey and 50,000 in southern Connecticut, many of whom live in suburbs and bedroom communities that still look to New York City as their center.