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Tomasow Lubielski - Belzec – Josefow

On our first morning we made our way to Belzec, the first of the Operation Reinhard death camps to be constructed. We stopped off at Tomasow Lubielski along the way to visit the old Jewish cemetery. Vandalised both by the Nazis during the war and the Poles afterwards, the cemetery has recently been restored by those whose ancestors lived and died in the town.

Once in Belzec, we made our way to the camp. On our way, we passed by a house that, sixty-odd years earlier had been home to some of the SS guard stationed at the camp. Local workmen were in the process of demolishing the property, carefully cleaning each brick and slate to be used again.

On the other side of the railway line are situated the large good sheds previously used to house the looted property of the victims of Belzec. Today the buildings stand empty; there is no reminder as to their sinister history.

Belzec was much as we had feared. The soviet-style monument, inadequate even when new, now presents a sorry sight, decaying and vandalised. There are plans to construct a new memorial on the site, with support from the United Stated Holocaust Memorial Museum. It is doubtful as to whether this will bring more visitors to the area, however.

On our way back to Zamosc we visited the small town of Josefow. Unable to locate either the cemetery or the synagogue, we were kindly assisted by a local cyclist who led us to the old Jewish cemetery. Hidden on the side of an overgrown hill on the edge of town, the cemetery was the surprise find of the day.

There are around 200 tombstones still standing at Josefow. Absorbed by the tranquillity of the place, we never made it to the synagogue, which by way of coincidence is now the home of the cyclist.