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Mukachevo is located in a very picturesque area at the southwestern foot of the Carpathian Mountains. The town stands on the Latoritza River, 40 kilometers northwest of Uzhhorod. Mukachevo was rather big according to Subcarpathian standards. At the beginning of the 20th century its population constituted 32,000 people. Half the population was Jewish. There were also Hutsuls [Ukrainians in Subcarpathia], Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks and other nationalities. People were friendly, tolerant and respectful toward each other’s customs and religion. There were never any Jewish pogroms [4] in this area.
There were at least twelve synagogues and about ten prayer houses and a yeshivah in Mukachevo. There was a Jewish school and a Jewish grammar school. The Jewish school gave religious and general education and the grammar school only provided general education and quite a lot of Jews weren’t very happy about it. There was a house where two shochetim worked. There were always bunches of children there, whose mothers sent them to have their chickens or geese slaughtered.
On Saturday all Jews went to the synagogue. All stores were closed. The local non-Jewish population knew that they had to do their shopping on Thursdays and Fridays. Jews owned almost all trading business in town. There were a few non-Jewish stores on the outskirts of the town, but it was inconvenient to do the shopping there because of the distance. There were Jewish farmers and entrepreneurs, doctors, teachers and lawyers, but there weren’t so many of them. Subcarpathia is the place of woodcutters. The majority of the residents of Subcarpathia were involved in the wood industry. The Jews owned the majority of timber storage facilities. However, most of the Jewish families were poor like everywhere else. Many Jews were craftsmen: tailors, shoemakers, tinsmiths, carpenters; there were also Jewish women who made wigs. The craftsmen worked very hard to provide for their families. They lived in the center of the town for the most part. Land was less expensive on the outskirts and it mainly belonged to farmers. The craftsmen had to live in more populated areas to have more clients.
There was a big Jewish community in Mukachevo. The members of the community supported and helped each other. Every family was supposed to have matzah, chicken and gefilte fish on holidays and the community made sure that every family had these. They made contributions to buy medications for the poor and dowry for girls from poor families. They did much more than was necessary to help people.
There were at least twelve synagogues and about ten prayer houses and a yeshivah in Mukachevo. There was a Jewish school and a Jewish grammar school. The Jewish school gave religious and general education and the grammar school only provided general education and quite a lot of Jews weren’t very happy about it. There was a house where two shochetim worked. There were always bunches of children there, whose mothers sent them to have their chickens or geese slaughtered.
On Saturday all Jews went to the synagogue. All stores were closed. The local non-Jewish population knew that they had to do their shopping on Thursdays and Fridays. Jews owned almost all trading business in town. There were a few non-Jewish stores on the outskirts of the town, but it was inconvenient to do the shopping there because of the distance. There were Jewish farmers and entrepreneurs, doctors, teachers and lawyers, but there weren’t so many of them. Subcarpathia is the place of woodcutters. The majority of the residents of Subcarpathia were involved in the wood industry. The Jews owned the majority of timber storage facilities. However, most of the Jewish families were poor like everywhere else. Many Jews were craftsmen: tailors, shoemakers, tinsmiths, carpenters; there were also Jewish women who made wigs. The craftsmen worked very hard to provide for their families. They lived in the center of the town for the most part. Land was less expensive on the outskirts and it mainly belonged to farmers. The craftsmen had to live in more populated areas to have more clients.
There was a big Jewish community in Mukachevo. The members of the community supported and helped each other. Every family was supposed to have matzah, chicken and gefilte fish on holidays and the community made sure that every family had these. They made contributions to buy medications for the poor and dowry for girls from poor families. They did much more than was necessary to help people.
Period
Location
Mukachevo
Ukraine
Interview
Tilda Galpert