Testimonial von Ernst Löschner für Bella (Bilha) & Moshe Talit

Of all the survivors of the Krimml Jews, Bilha (Bella) and Moshe Talit were particulary instrumental when it came to address existential needs of their fellow survivors. They worked at the Givat Avoda camp in Saalfelden, Moshe taught Hebrew to the Jews from Poland, Usbekistan, Romania, etc to get them started in Palestine, Bella (she spoke 6 languages) worked as translator and organizer of the Alpine crossings, often jointly with the guide Viktor Knopf who led 150-200 people every other day from Saalfelden to Krimml and from there via the Krimml Lodge over the mountains to the Aurina valley in Italy.

When I met them in 2007 at the occasion of the first APC, Moshe asked me whether it would be OK that he would say a few words at the inauguration of the memorial honoring all Givat Avoda Jews. His daughter Gal was a bit nervous, fearing that he might get carried away, but for all of us who witnessed his speech there was not one word too many. Here was this tiny old man rising to a giant voice, his eyes still glittering with Zionist zeal, recounting his experiences in Saalfelden, unforgettable!

Bella was soft-spoken; it was only after she passed away just a few months later (it was her last big wish, apparently, to be with Moshe one more time in Austria) that I realized that she had been of existential importance for several thousand people.

The marriage of Bella and Moshe at the camp in Saalfelden, their honeymoon trip to the Krimml Lodge, all this sounds almost “kitschig”, were the “incredible story” not of such significance to us Austrians. It was therefor for many reasons that I decided to publish their story in a widely read regional magazine, with Hans Nerbl contributing photographs and the layout of the article.

Since then 11 years have passed. Moshe is still among us, living in Tel Aviv at the age of 93, still sending as lemons from his garden via his son Uzi who has not missed a single APC, making it all the way from Florida to be with us.

When we conceived the installation of the Grove of Flight in the Krimml valley, the Board of APC deliberated who should be honored with a single tree. It was clear from the beginning that tree # 4 should be dedicated to Bella & Moshe. They had given hope to so many refugees in 1947. May the Grove of Flight be also a symbol of hope to present-day refugees in the world.