Umschlagplatz
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
In the Holocaust, the Umschlagplatz (German literally meaning change-place) in the Warsaw Ghetto was where Jews gathered for deportation to the Treblinka extermination camp. Beginning on July 22, 1942, Jews were deported in crowded freight cars.
On some days as many as 7,000 Jews were deported. An estimated 265,000 Jews were taken to the Treblinka gas chambers, and some sources describe it as the largest slaughter of any single community in World War II. The deportations ended on September 12, 1942.
Even during the deportations, the area acted as a trading center for the Warsaw Ghetto and the rest of the city.
In 1988, a a stone monument resembling an open freight car marks the Umschlagplatz. The monument was created by architect Hanna Szmalenberg and sculptor Wladyslaw Klamerus.
External links
- Umschlagplatz photos and map (http://www.deathcamps.org/occupation/umschlagplatz.html)
- Monument photos and information (http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Poland/WarsawGhetto/WarsawGhetto01.html)
