April 28 – For Your Calendar, Please

I came upon Doctor's site a couple of years late, but want to join with him and many others in remembrance.  Doctor lives in Australia, but the events to be remembered affected the entire world.  He is documenting one such story from his aunt, but has found many others. Click here to read all of his post on the subject, and here's part of his explanation:

"During the research into the tapes my Aunty left, and my subsequent searches, someone left me a link to another site,  ... related to a Jewish guy, living in the Polish Warsaw Ghetto area, during WW2. …

"Anyway, this guy wrote stories and poems, about what it was like to live in such conditions, of very little food, lack of running water, and such like. He also documented the eventual up-rising, and subsequent battles that went on.

"The same guy wrote a beautiful poem about a yellow butterfly, as it flew about, outside his window, and how he was certain that he would not live to see that beautiful piece of nature again."

Doctor went on to say:  "....we have various ways of remembering other bits of history, and I would like to ask you all to spread the word, and make Thursday 28th April, the third of an annual event, in remembering these little recognised brave people, who stood up to their tormentors..... Please, could you make a yellow paper butterfly, and just sit it on your desk, pin it to a notice board, or something?

"And could you please spread the word on this, as I feel its an important issue........

"Feel free to copy this to your blog, if you so desire........I would appreciate it if you did...... Shalom......"

Here is the poem, and the information on its author:

"The Butterfly"

the last,
the very last
so richly brightly
dazzlingly yellow
perhaps if the suns tears would sing
against a white stone

Such,
such a yellow,
is carried lightly
way up high
it went away
I'm sure its because it wished to
kiss the world good-bye.

For seven weeks
I've lived here
penned up inside this ghetto
But I have found what I love here
the dandelions call to me
and the white chestnut branches in the court
only.......

I never saw another butterfly.

That butterfly was the last one
butterflies don’t live in here
in the ghetto.

Pavel Friedman...4th June, 1942.
.............................

Pavel Friedman - Born Prague, 7th January, 1921
Sent to Terezin 26th April, 1942
Died Auschchwitz 29th September, 1944

And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed. [Esther 9:28 KJV]