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All Jews were staying in their homes. Shortly afterward a group of about 100 Jews was convoyed to the Jewish ghetto in Mogilyov-Podolskiy [16] by the policemen. The rest of the Jews were told to pack clothes and food for three to four days awaiting the order about departure to the ghetto.
However, the German troops left and were replaced by Romanians. They didn’t send anybody to the ghetto: all Jews were staying in their houses. The situation was a little easier than when German troops were here. Of course, the Romanians also suppressed Jews, but not to such a great extent as the Germans.
The territory of the Vinnitsa region became the territory of Transnistria [17]. There were ghettos in many villages and towns with local inmates and those, who came from Moldova [18] and Bessarabia [19]. However, there was no ghetto or Jews from elsewhere in Chernevtsy. The curfew hours were established. Jews could only leave their house during the daylight and had to stay inside, when it got dark. They didn’t allow having the lights on in houses, but later it was allowed to turn on the lights, but have heavy curtains on the windows so that no light was seen from the outside.
All Jews were to have white armbands with yellow hexagonal stars on them. The order dictated that those Jews who didn’t have such armbands, were subject to execution for not following the order. However, I never had this armband on. I am a quiet and reserved person, but this order drove me so angry that I decided that I wasn’t going to obey it, even for the fear of execution I decided not to obey. I was never captured, though the local police watched us closely and they knew that I was a Jew. None of them reported on me, vice versa – they were sympathetic.
The Romanians fired all post office employees, including my brother and me. We had to earn our living, so we worked for the local farmers: weeded their fields, earth potatoes or gather their crops. Mama made plain clothes for Ukrainian peasant women: frilled skirts and blouses and also, altered old clothes for children. They paid her with food products. Money was not valued. People changed things for food at the market. At times villagers brought us a bottle of milk or a few eggs charging us nothing for this.
Occasionally we heard rumors about mass shootings of Jews in neighboring towns. Thus, in August 1942, Germans killed all Jews of the town of Yaryshev located nearby. I don’t know if there were any survivors. There were no mass shootings in our town. Of course, Romanians happened to kill people, but those were their captives, whom they captured after the curfew hours.
In general, Romanians were not as violent as Germans. They didn’t take away our radios. While Germans were in Chernevtsy they ordered the locals to submit their radios to the town hall, but this happened before they were to leave, and when the Romanians came into the town, they didn’t require following this order. There was a radio in all homes. We also had a ‘plate’-shaped radio that we often listened to. However, Mama took it to a niche and covered it with a curtain, although this was not necessary.
We followed the combat actions. In summer 1943 we got a feeling that there was a turning point in the war. The radio hardly ever announced that our troops had left a settlement, but vice versa – our army was attacking. We heard that around February 1944 our forces started advancement in Vinnitsa region. This gave us hopes.
In late March 1944 we noticed that the Romanians hardly ever came into the streets of the town – there were only policemen around. One morning we saw the Soviet tanks coming into the town. There was not a single Romanian left in the town. We didn’t even hear them leaving. The Soviet forces came into Chernevtsy quietly without shooting.
We ran out of our homes trying to come closer to soldiers, shake their hands and thank them. There was a field kitchen on the outskirts of the town inviting the locals to have boiled cereals with tinned meat that they were making.
However, the German troops left and were replaced by Romanians. They didn’t send anybody to the ghetto: all Jews were staying in their houses. The situation was a little easier than when German troops were here. Of course, the Romanians also suppressed Jews, but not to such a great extent as the Germans.
The territory of the Vinnitsa region became the territory of Transnistria [17]. There were ghettos in many villages and towns with local inmates and those, who came from Moldova [18] and Bessarabia [19]. However, there was no ghetto or Jews from elsewhere in Chernevtsy. The curfew hours were established. Jews could only leave their house during the daylight and had to stay inside, when it got dark. They didn’t allow having the lights on in houses, but later it was allowed to turn on the lights, but have heavy curtains on the windows so that no light was seen from the outside.
All Jews were to have white armbands with yellow hexagonal stars on them. The order dictated that those Jews who didn’t have such armbands, were subject to execution for not following the order. However, I never had this armband on. I am a quiet and reserved person, but this order drove me so angry that I decided that I wasn’t going to obey it, even for the fear of execution I decided not to obey. I was never captured, though the local police watched us closely and they knew that I was a Jew. None of them reported on me, vice versa – they were sympathetic.
The Romanians fired all post office employees, including my brother and me. We had to earn our living, so we worked for the local farmers: weeded their fields, earth potatoes or gather their crops. Mama made plain clothes for Ukrainian peasant women: frilled skirts and blouses and also, altered old clothes for children. They paid her with food products. Money was not valued. People changed things for food at the market. At times villagers brought us a bottle of milk or a few eggs charging us nothing for this.
Occasionally we heard rumors about mass shootings of Jews in neighboring towns. Thus, in August 1942, Germans killed all Jews of the town of Yaryshev located nearby. I don’t know if there were any survivors. There were no mass shootings in our town. Of course, Romanians happened to kill people, but those were their captives, whom they captured after the curfew hours.
In general, Romanians were not as violent as Germans. They didn’t take away our radios. While Germans were in Chernevtsy they ordered the locals to submit their radios to the town hall, but this happened before they were to leave, and when the Romanians came into the town, they didn’t require following this order. There was a radio in all homes. We also had a ‘plate’-shaped radio that we often listened to. However, Mama took it to a niche and covered it with a curtain, although this was not necessary.
We followed the combat actions. In summer 1943 we got a feeling that there was a turning point in the war. The radio hardly ever announced that our troops had left a settlement, but vice versa – our army was attacking. We heard that around February 1944 our forces started advancement in Vinnitsa region. This gave us hopes.
In late March 1944 we noticed that the Romanians hardly ever came into the streets of the town – there were only policemen around. One morning we saw the Soviet tanks coming into the town. There was not a single Romanian left in the town. We didn’t even hear them leaving. The Soviet forces came into Chernevtsy quietly without shooting.
We ran out of our homes trying to come closer to soldiers, shake their hands and thank them. There was a field kitchen on the outskirts of the town inviting the locals to have boiled cereals with tinned meat that they were making.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Frida Shatkhina