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My paternal and maternal ancestors came from Mogilyov in Byelorussia (editor’s note: Mogilyov is a rather big town in Byelorussia. In the early 20th century the number of its population counted to – 30,000 people. There was an active Jewish life in the town. There were 38 synagogues and prayer houses, Jewish primary and general education schools for boys and girls, charity community and Jewish hospitals). I visited this town with mama in my early childhood, but I don’t remember anything, naturally. My maternal grandfather Yankel-Avrum Ziskind and my paternal grandfather Gershl Lerman were stove setters. I guess they knew each other well.
My mother’s parents Yankel-Avrum and Cherna Ziskind (I don’t know my grandmother’s maiden name) came from Mogilyov. They were born around the 1860s, though I don’t know for sure and this judgment of mine is based on my mother brothers and sisters’ age. The thing is there were 18 children in the Ziskind family! Four of them died in infancy. My mother’s oldest sister Mata moved to America with her husband and sons Yankel and Boruch in1914. Yankel was the same age as my mama – he turned 6, and Boruch was one year old. I don’t know Mata husband’s name. I know that the family lost trace of Mata during the revolution of 1917 [1] and never heard from her again.
Of the remaining thirteen children I knew six, who moved to Kiev in the 1930s. I also heard about four others – so in total I can tell about 10 of my mother’s brothers and sisters. My mother’s sisters Olga, Dora, Sonia and brothers Mikhail, Zusia and Grigoriy lived in Kiev. Perhaps, the Jewish spelling of their names was different, but I’m telling them as my mother called them. I also know that two of my mother’s brothers Mulia and Solomon were in Minsk and sister Hava – in Gomel. The rest of them lived in Gomel, and I only remember the name of my mother’s sister Sarrah. I knew my aunt Olga better than anybody else (her Jewish name was Golda), though I’ve forgotten aunt Ola’s family name. Grandmother Cherna lived with her in Kiev since the early 1930s. All I remember about Olga’s husband is that his name was Boris. He perished at the front during the Great Patriotic War [2]. She raised two daughters: Zhanna and Sopha, who live in Australia now. Olga worked as an accountant. She died in the early 1970s. My mother’s sister Dora’s Jewish husband Lazar Sneider had two daughters from his first marriage. Lazar was a logistics official and provided well for Dora. During the Great Patriotic War they were in evacuation in Siberia where Lazar died. Dora didn’t return to Kiev after the war, but stayed where they lived during the war. Mama wrote her occasionally and I know that Dora died in the early 1960s. My mother’s brother Mikhail perished at the front. Grigoriy lost his arm to the war. He was single and lived near us. Grigoriy died in the middle of the 1970s. I lived in aunt Sonia’s family few years after the war. Their son disappeared and they had no information about him. Sonia and her husband Ruvim died in the middle 1950s.
My mother’s parents Yankel-Avrum and Cherna Ziskind (I don’t know my grandmother’s maiden name) came from Mogilyov. They were born around the 1860s, though I don’t know for sure and this judgment of mine is based on my mother brothers and sisters’ age. The thing is there were 18 children in the Ziskind family! Four of them died in infancy. My mother’s oldest sister Mata moved to America with her husband and sons Yankel and Boruch in1914. Yankel was the same age as my mama – he turned 6, and Boruch was one year old. I don’t know Mata husband’s name. I know that the family lost trace of Mata during the revolution of 1917 [1] and never heard from her again.
Of the remaining thirteen children I knew six, who moved to Kiev in the 1930s. I also heard about four others – so in total I can tell about 10 of my mother’s brothers and sisters. My mother’s sisters Olga, Dora, Sonia and brothers Mikhail, Zusia and Grigoriy lived in Kiev. Perhaps, the Jewish spelling of their names was different, but I’m telling them as my mother called them. I also know that two of my mother’s brothers Mulia and Solomon were in Minsk and sister Hava – in Gomel. The rest of them lived in Gomel, and I only remember the name of my mother’s sister Sarrah. I knew my aunt Olga better than anybody else (her Jewish name was Golda), though I’ve forgotten aunt Ola’s family name. Grandmother Cherna lived with her in Kiev since the early 1930s. All I remember about Olga’s husband is that his name was Boris. He perished at the front during the Great Patriotic War [2]. She raised two daughters: Zhanna and Sopha, who live in Australia now. Olga worked as an accountant. She died in the early 1970s. My mother’s sister Dora’s Jewish husband Lazar Sneider had two daughters from his first marriage. Lazar was a logistics official and provided well for Dora. During the Great Patriotic War they were in evacuation in Siberia where Lazar died. Dora didn’t return to Kiev after the war, but stayed where they lived during the war. Mama wrote her occasionally and I know that Dora died in the early 1960s. My mother’s brother Mikhail perished at the front. Grigoriy lost his arm to the war. He was single and lived near us. Grigoriy died in the middle of the 1970s. I lived in aunt Sonia’s family few years after the war. Their son disappeared and they had no information about him. Sonia and her husband Ruvim died in the middle 1950s.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Isabella Karanchuk