Obj. ID: 42835
Memorials Holocaust Memorial in the Jewish Section of El Batan Cemetery in Quito, Ecuador, 1996
Who is Commemorated?
Jewish Victims of the Holocaust
Description
The monument stands close to the entrance of the Jewish section of El Batan Municipal cemetery, and it is surrounded by four palm trees. The monument consists of two longitudinal blocks made from concrete positioned one in front of another. Each block has carved holes on both sides made so that visitors can insert stones in them. Each block features the memorial prayer Yizkor on the one side and the Kaddish on the other side as well as names of concentration camps, ghettos, and European cities.
The internal side of one of the blocks is decorated with Magen David and an additional dedication in Spanish.
Inscription
On the external side of the panel seen from the entrance, there are the memorial prayer Yizkor in Hebrew (on the left side) and the names of concentration camps and European cities (on the right side).
On the left side:
יזכור אלוהים כל אחינו
בני ישראל שמסרו נפשם
על קדוש השם אנא
ישמע בחיינו הד גבורתם
ומסירותם ויראה
במעשינו טהר לבם
ותהיינו נפשותיהם
צרורות בצרור החיים
ותהו מנוחתם כבוד. שבע
שמחות את פניך נעימות
בימינך נצח. אמן
Translation: May God remember our brethren, who gave their lives for the sanctification of God’s name. May their bravery, their dedication, and their purity be reflected in our lives. May their souls be bound up in the bond of life. May they rest in peace forever in God’s presence. Amen.
On the right side:
Dachau
Buchenwal[d]
Maurhausen
Lublin
Sachsenhause
Vilna
Bergen Belsen
Treblinka
Terezin
Opole
Maidanek
The internal side of the panel bears the inscription in Spanish on the left side:
In memoria de
nuestros hermanos
victimas inocentres
de la barbarie
Nazi
Translation: In memory of our brethren innocent victims of barbarity of Nazis
On the right side: the Kaddish prayer:
יתגדל ויתקדש שמה
רבא בעלמא די ברא
כרעותה, וימליך
מלכותה בחייכון וביומיכון ובחיי
דכל בית ישראל
בעגלא ובזמן קריב
ואמרו אמן
Translation: May God’s great name be exalted and hallowed throughout the created world, as is God’s wish. May God’s sovereignty soon be established, in your lifetime and in your days, and in the days of all the House of Israel. And respond with: Amen.
On the external side of the second panel, there is the memorial prayer Yizkor in Spanish on the left side and the names of concentration camps and cities of Europe on the right side.
On the left side:
Recuerda, Oh Dios, las almas de
nuestros hermanos que sacrificaron
sus vidas por la santificación de su
nombre. Haz que su heroísmo y
sacrificio encuentren eco en
nuestras vidas y que la
purez de sus corazones sea
flejada en nuestras acciones.
Haz que sus almas
gocen de la vida eterna y de
la quietud. Tu presencia nos
colmará de alegría y tu poder
nos proporcionará
las eternas delicias.
Amen.
Translation: May God remember our brethren, who gave their lives for the sanctification of God’s name. May their bravery, their dedication, and their purity be reflected in our lives. May their souls be bound up in the bond of life. May they rest in peace forever in God’s presence. Amen.
On the right side:
Melk
Chichelnik
Murafa
Mogolew
Berschaw
Oranienburg
Gurs
Argeles
Rabensbruk
Sered
Ghetto de
Varsovia
Auschwitz
Stutthof
Guetto de Kovno
The internal side of the panel bears the Kaddish prayer in Spanish:
El mundo que Dios ha
creado según Su voluntad,
tribute gloria y
santificación al
nombre del Eterno. Que su
reino sea proclamado
prontamente,
en vuestros días y en vida de
toda la congregación
de Israel.
Amén
Translation: May God’s great name be exalted and hallowed throughout the created world, as is God’s wish. May God’s sovereignty soon be established, in your lifetime and in your days, and in the days of all the House of Israel. Amen
Commissioned by
Quito Jewish Community
5 image(s)
sub-set tree:
Until 1906, the Ecuadorian Constitution declared Roman Catholicism as the only religion of the state. Therefore, in order to immigrate to the country and acquire citizenship, being Catholic was a main requisite. It was only after 1914, when the Panama Canal was inaugurated, that Ecuador began witnessing European immigration on a large scale. According to the government’s official data, only four Jewish families were living in Ecuador in 1904. Even in 1917, a total of only 14 people of Jewish religion were known to be living in the country.
According to the Israeli historian Haim Avni, between 1933 and 1945, Ecuador hosted 3.200 European Jewish refugees, mostly coming from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Italy. By 1950, this number had grown to around 4.000, mostly thanks to Jews who survived the Holocaust and were resettled to Ecuador; some of whom had family members already living there.
The majority of these immigrants settled in in Quito, the capital city, and Guayaquil, the main port and economic focal point of the country. However, Jewish communities were also present in other cities, including Ambato, Cuenca, and Riobamba.
After 1950, most of the Jewish refugees who had first arrived in Ecuador relocated to the US, Canada, and Israel. Today, it is estimated that the Ecuadorian Jewish community amounts to around 600 members.
Migliori, Michele, "Ecuador: (European) Jewish Heritage in “an Unknown Country”," Jewish Heritage Europe. April 1, 2020, https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/cemeteries/resources/essays-and-op-eds/ecuador/ (accessed January 6, 2022)
"Sara Roitman," Website, https://www.sararoitman.com/lang/es/biografia (accessed January 17, 2022)