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| The address is 18 Mila Street. |
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| The leader (the only one) of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising - Mordechai Anielewicz. |
When it comes to selective memory—nowadays popularly rebranded as "narrative"—one need only scroll through the posts of Jewish organizations, museums, and private individuals describing the commemorations of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Just look for the name "Anielewicz." For the uninitiated, or for the generations raised in post-1968 Poland, let it be clear: Mordechaj Anielewicz was the Commander of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It is his figure that dominates the monument. In one hand, he clutches a grenade; the other is wrapped in a bandage.
The distance between the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes and the Anielewicz Mound (the site of the bunker at Miła 18) is roughly 300 meters—a 5 to 7-minute walk. The Anielewicz Mound is a mass grave for approximately 100 to 120 fighters of the Jewish Fighting Organization (ŻOB). They lie beneath that mound, in the ruins of the bunker where they perished on May 8, 1943. Among them is the Commander himself, Mordechaj Anielewicz. Their bodies were never exhumed. In 1946, a mound was simply heaped over them using the rubble of the surrounding houses. Although over a hundred fighters and civilians died there, the names of only 51 identified individuals are etched into the obelisk at the foot of the mound.
The marginalization of Anielewicz and the systematic downplaying of his role as Commander must not happen at the expense of the man who lies rotting under the rubble of Miła. The memory of Szmul Zygielbojm and his tragic gesture in London, or Marek Edelman (one of the sector commanders in the Brushmakers' Shop), is important. But to ignore or sideline Anielewicz is nothing short of historical forgery and pure, unadulterated boorishness.
Enough of creating hierarchies of heroes to satisfy contemporary political agendas or social cliques!
The distance between the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes and the Anielewicz Mound (the site of the bunker at Miła 18) is roughly 300 meters—a 5 to 7-minute walk. The Anielewicz Mound is a mass grave for approximately 100 to 120 fighters of the Jewish Fighting Organization (ŻOB). They lie beneath that mound, in the ruins of the bunker where they perished on May 8, 1943. Among them is the Commander himself, Mordechaj Anielewicz. Their bodies were never exhumed. In 1946, a mound was simply heaped over them using the rubble of the surrounding houses. Although over a hundred fighters and civilians died there, the names of only 51 identified individuals are etched into the obelisk at the foot of the mound.
The marginalization of Anielewicz and the systematic downplaying of his role as Commander must not happen at the expense of the man who lies rotting under the rubble of Miła. The memory of Szmul Zygielbojm and his tragic gesture in London, or Marek Edelman (one of the sector commanders in the Brushmakers' Shop), is important. But to ignore or sideline Anielewicz is nothing short of historical forgery and pure, unadulterated boorishness.
Enough of creating hierarchies of heroes to satisfy contemporary political agendas or social cliques!
