The Town of Tykocin
The day we visited Tykocin, we immersed ourselves into the Shtetl lifestyle. The small huts and shacks looked like they were right out of the movie, “Fiddler on the Roof”. Tykocin, “the town of little people”, came to existence in 1522, when 10 families were granted with the Charter of Rights. This led to the development of a K’hila, and eventually, an economic hub. By the mid-1700’s, about 2,700 Jews lived and thrived in Tykocin.
There was a market in the center of town, with the main economy focusing around the sale of vodka/wine, fish, metals, wool, and clothing. We visited the Beit Kinessit, which at the time was being renovated, and held a minor prayer service inside, (until the Orthodox got upset and we left). We finished our service outside the busses, and learned the fate of the Jews in Tykocin. On August 25th, 1941-when World War II was in full effect, sadly, the Nazis came to round up all the Jews in town. The sadistic Nazis forcefully made the Jews sing, “Hatikva”, before boarding the majority of people into busses driving to the Tykocin Forrest. The rest of the Jews were demanded to run behind the busses. In the forrest, the Jews of Tykocin were lined up, and shot into 3 different mass graves. The people who could not keep up with the busses, were shot and killed as well.
I disliked and liked the beauty from the forest. On one hand, the forest was extremely beautiful, too pretty, for a place where thousands of people spent their last breath. However, the beauty added to the fact that the Jews are still here. While the Natzis killed a large majority of the Jewish people, Jewish life continues to flourish.
ReplyDeleteI found Tykocin beautiful. The streets and houses were very simple, but I was able to imagine a lively community. However, when I was told that everyone was forced to walk to their death beds, everything suddenly turned ugly. The forrest reminded me of a horror movie with the tall bare trees. It was dark and sppoky and something didn't feel right walking through the forrest. I felt angry and confused about how people could execute so many innocent people.
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