“Umschlagplatz” means “transfer point” in German. On the site of this monument there really used to be such a place, railway tracks ran right up to it, and freight cars departed from here. Cars packed with people.
Hundreds of Jews were brought here every day for subsequent deportation to the camps. More than 300,000 people left from this point, but not one of them returned by the same road. Among them was the famous Polish doctor and educator Janusz Korczak together with his pupils.
The monument on this site was unveiled in 1988, when 45 years had passed since the uprising in the ghetto. The author of the monument is a woman – Hanna Szmalenberg. Together with the sculptor Wladyslaw Klamerus, they created it in the form of a freight car – that is exactly the space formed by the stone walls. On the inner side of this monument, you can see 400 Jewish names. Above the central passage there is a semicircular bas-relief depicting a fallen forest, symbolizing premature violent death. On the rear slab there is a narrow opening through which the tree growing behind the monument can be seen, a kind of symbol of hope.
Between the Umschlagplatz Monument and the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes runs the Path of Remembrance. Along it there are 16 granite blocks with inscriptions in different languages in memory of those who perished in the labor camps.
