Jewish life in Uzhorod revived during perestroika. Jews could go to the synagogue without fear that someone would see them. When Ukraine gained independence the Jewish life began to develop rapidly.
- Traditions 11756
- Language spoken 3019
- Identity 7808
- Description of town 2440
- Education, school 8506
- Economics 8772
- Work 11672
- Love & romance 4929
- Leisure/Social life 4159
- Antisemitism 4822
-
Major events (political and historical)
4256
- Armenian genocide 2
- Doctor's Plot (1953) 178
- Soviet invasion of Poland 31
- Siege of Leningrad 86
- The Six Day War 4
- Yom Kippur War 2
- Ataturk's death 5
- Balkan Wars (1912-1913) 35
- First Soviet-Finnish War 37
- Occupation of Czechoslovakia 1938 83
- Invasion of France 9
- Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact 65
- Varlik Vergisi (Wealth Tax) 36
- First World War (1914-1918) 216
- Spanish flu (1918-1920) 14
- Latvian War of Independence (1918-1920) 4
- The Great Depression (1929-1933) 20
- Hitler comes to power (1933) 127
- 151 Hospital 1
- Fire of Thessaloniki (1917) 9
- Greek Civil War (1946-49) 12
- Thessaloniki International Trade Fair 5
- Annexation of Bukovina to Romania (1918) 7
- Annexation of Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union (1940) 19
- The German invasion of Poland (1939) 94
- Kishinev Pogrom (1903) 7
- Romanian Annexation of Bessarabia (1918) 25
- Returning of the Hungarian rule in Transylvania (1940-1944) 43
- Soviet Occupation of Bessarabia (1940) 59
- Second Vienna Dictate 27
- Estonian war of independence 3
- Warsaw Uprising 2
- Soviet occupation of the Balitc states (1940) 147
- Austrian Civil War (1934) 9
- Anschluss (1938) 71
- Collapse of Habsburg empire 3
- Dollfuß Regime 3
- Emigration to Vienna before WWII 36
- Kolkhoz 131
- KuK - Königlich und Kaiserlich 40
- Mineriade 1
- Post War Allied occupation 7
- Waldheim affair 5
- Trianon Peace Treaty 12
- NEP 56
- Russian Revolution 351
- Ukrainian Famine 199
- The Great Terror 283
- Perestroika 233
- 22nd June 1941 468
- Molotov's radio speech 115
- Victory Day 147
- Stalin's death 365
- Khrushchev's speech at 20th Congress 148
- KGB 62
- NKVD 153
- German occupation of Hungary (18-19 March 1944) 45
- Józef Pilsudski (until 1935) 33
- 1956 revolution 84
- Prague Spring (1968) 73
- 1989 change of regime 174
- Gomulka campaign (1968) 81
-
Holocaust
9685
- Holocaust (in general) 2789
- Concentration camp / Work camp 1235
- Mass shooting operations 337
- Ghetto 1183
- Death / extermination camp 647
- Deportation 1063
- Forced labor 791
- Flight 1410
- Hiding 594
- Resistance 121
- 1941 evacuations 866
- Novemberpogrom / Kristallnacht 34
- Eleftherias Square 10
- Kasztner group 1
- Pogrom in Iasi and the Death Train 21
- Sammelwohnungen 9
- Strohmann system 11
- Struma ship 17
- Life under occupation 803
- Yellow star house 72
- Protected house 15
- Arrow Cross ("nyilasok") 42
- Danube bank shots 6
- Kindertransport 26
- Schutzpass / false papers 95
- Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943) 24
- Warsaw Uprising (1944) 23
- Helpers 521
- Righteous Gentiles 269
- Returning home 1090
- Holocaust compensation 112
- Restitution 109
- Property (loss of property) 595
- Loss of loved ones 1724
- Trauma 1029
- Talking about what happened 1807
- Liberation 558
- Military 3322
- Politics 2640
-
Communism
4468
- Life in the Soviet Union/under Communism (in general) 2592
- Anti-communist resistance in general 63
- Nationalization under Communism 221
- Illegal communist movements 98
- Systematic demolitions under communism 45
- Communist holidays 311
- Sentiments about the communist rule 930
- Collectivization 94
- Experiences with state police 349
- Prison/Forced labor under communist/socialist rule 449
- Lack or violation of human and citizen rights 483
- Life after the change of the regime (1989) 493
- Israel / Palestine 2190
- Zionism 847
- Jewish Organizations 1200
Displaying 36841 - 36870 of 50826 results
Kurt Sadlik
I am very pleased that my younger granddaughter identifies herself as Jew. Olga has attended a Jewish school for two years. I told her that there was such a school and she wanted to go there. I took her there for the first time since she was a little shy, but then she began to go there every Sunday. Olga took part in their performance at Purim. They sing and dance at school. This year [in 2003] Olga attends an evening club at Hesed [21] where they study Ivrit.
We observe Sabbath at home and have a festive meal. Olga lights candles and prays over them. My daughter Irina observes it with us. Regretfully, my other grandchildren don’t care about their Jewish identity. Olga enjoys her studies and I hope she will learn everything a Jewish girl is supposed to know while I am with them.
Since Hesed was established in Uzhorod in 1999 our life became easier. Hesed takes care of Jews: from infants to old people, it provides a big assistance to Jews of all ages. There are clubs of interest and everybody can find interesting things to do there.
Young people become more interested in the Jewish life. My granddaughter is an example of this interest. We observe Jewish holidays in Hesed, they are wonderful: bright and joyful. There is a computer club and foreign languages clubs. There are no age restrictions. They provide diapers and baby food to mothers with babies and support old people.
I am deputy chairman of social assistance in Hesed. Hesed provides money to buy medications for elderly people on a monthly basis. They also make arrangements for free treatment in hospital, if necessary. Relatives don’t need to bring medications to a hospital. Hesed pays for all necessary medications. There are doctors in Hesed. We have a therapeutic office of physical training in Hesed. There is a free swimming pool. Swimming helps older people to stay healthy.
There is a free barber and hairdresser in Hesed. There is free manicure. They also help invalids. Handicapped receive free wheel chairs. They are very expensive and people cannot afford to buy them. There are all kinds of supporting devices for ill people that are very important.
Old people receive food packages and hot meals delivered to their homes. Hesed does necessary repairs of private houses, fixes leaking roofs. Hesed also supplies gas to those that use gas in containers. There are three-day recreation camps for parents and children. Children can go to a health camp in Hungary for one month. Children like it there a lot. I cannot imagine life without Hesed and what we would do without considering the reality of today.
Young people become more interested in the Jewish life. My granddaughter is an example of this interest. We observe Jewish holidays in Hesed, they are wonderful: bright and joyful. There is a computer club and foreign languages clubs. There are no age restrictions. They provide diapers and baby food to mothers with babies and support old people.
I am deputy chairman of social assistance in Hesed. Hesed provides money to buy medications for elderly people on a monthly basis. They also make arrangements for free treatment in hospital, if necessary. Relatives don’t need to bring medications to a hospital. Hesed pays for all necessary medications. There are doctors in Hesed. We have a therapeutic office of physical training in Hesed. There is a free swimming pool. Swimming helps older people to stay healthy.
There is a free barber and hairdresser in Hesed. There is free manicure. They also help invalids. Handicapped receive free wheel chairs. They are very expensive and people cannot afford to buy them. There are all kinds of supporting devices for ill people that are very important.
Old people receive food packages and hot meals delivered to their homes. Hesed does necessary repairs of private houses, fixes leaking roofs. Hesed also supplies gas to those that use gas in containers. There are three-day recreation camps for parents and children. Children can go to a health camp in Hungary for one month. Children like it there a lot. I cannot imagine life without Hesed and what we would do without considering the reality of today.
In 1971 I left the distillery and went to work at the alarm systems non-governmental security department. In 1973 I received a three-room apartment from my work. I’ve lived in this apartment for 30 years.
I’ve never faced any anti-Semitism after World War II. I’ve always identified myself as a Jew. I learned fluent Russian. I worked in the environment of plain people who express themselves with curse language for the most part. I learned this curse language as well. It never occurred to them that I might be a Jew since they knew that Jewish men never cursed for their fear of God. My principle was ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do’. I had to get adjusted.
However, I was aware of everyday and governmental anti-Semitism in the USSR. My Jewish acquaintances had problems with getting a job or entering higher educational institutions. There were many such examples and I knew that there was more to it than we could think of. It started during Stalin’s rule and couldn’t have been initiated by some lower officials.
My wife was very concerned about our daughters. I was thinking about this, too, and resolved this issue in the manner that occurred to me at the moment. I submitted a report to a militia office that I had lost my passport. I was fined and had to wait for some time until I obtained a new passport where my nationality was identified as Slovakian. I believed that I had a right to protect my children from this state with whatever means available. Besides, frankly speaking I did not quite worship a Soviet passport.
When Khrushchev [16] at the Twentieth Party Congress [17] denounced the cult of Stalin and spoke about the crimes of the Soviet regime I had a dual feeling. Of course, it was a criminal regime and a criminal leader: I went through it myself. But Khrushchev and others who were blaming Stalin had been on top during his rule. Couldn’t they do anything? Why did they keep quiet? Were they so much scared of Stalin or Beriya? [18] There were many more than Stalin and Beriya. They were afraid and didn’t want to lose their post or life.
I don’t believe anybody. Khrushchev made a good beginning and how did it end? Promises to catch up with and surpass America? With what: with slogans and empty stores where it was always a problem to buy even a pair of socks? Could I believe him? Nowadays I don’t have much hope either that Ukraine will become free, wealthy and independent. Things are different in reality.
I don’t believe anybody. Khrushchev made a good beginning and how did it end? Promises to catch up with and surpass America? With what: with slogans and empty stores where it was always a problem to buy even a pair of socks? Could I believe him? Nowadays I don’t have much hope either that Ukraine will become free, wealthy and independent. Things are different in reality.
After the release from the camp I didn’t observe any Jewish traditions, although I felt the need to do so. My wife didn’t care about religion while I wanted to talk with someone in Yiddish, observe a Jewish holiday and pray on Sabbath, but I didn’t get a chance in the North or in Kazakhstan. There were very few Jews there. There were not even ten for a minyan and there was no synagogue in Novosibirsk or Petropavlovsk.
Naturally, I didn’t join the Party and nobody ever suggested that I did considering that I was a former convict. However, I would have never joined this disgusting Party anyway. What can one say? This Party destroyed everything good, nice and decent and built its world of fear, violence and tyranny on the ruins!
,
After WW2
See text in interview
We often spent vacations at the seashore.
When I found my cousin we traveled to Slovakia every now and then. For residents of Subcarpathia traveling to Slovakia was easier than for the rest of the USSR.
Most of my friends in Uzhorod were Jews. It wasn’t just a coincidence since I looked for Jews in every place I came to. However, Soviet citizens were reluctant to make new friends. It wasn’t their fault, I understood that any person might happen to be a KGB informer and people tried to secure themselves. When I approached a man of Semitic appearance whether he was a Jew he rushed to reply ‘no’ and go away.
For me nationality was always important. I believed that I could have more trust in Jews and I thought that only with them I could feel at ease. Perhaps, this was something subconscious since Russians, Ukrainians and other nations living in the USSR were different to me while Jews were always Jews whether they were in the USSR or Slovakia.
For me nationality was always important. I believed that I could have more trust in Jews and I thought that only with them I could feel at ease. Perhaps, this was something subconscious since Russians, Ukrainians and other nations living in the USSR were different to me while Jews were always Jews whether they were in the USSR or Slovakia.
When I lived in Uzhorod my neighbor became my friend. There was a synagogue in Uzhorod and my neighbor offered me to go to the synagogue together. I was happy to go with him. He introduced me to others at the synagogue.
They didn’t like the name of Kurt and began to talk that I wasn’t a Jew. I didn’t look like a Jew. Then the senior man came. I talked to him in Yiddish. I said I could present an immediate proof that I was a Jew. He allowed me to stay for a prayer.
I felt hurt: I didn’t think they could treat a man who came to the synagogue in this crude manner. However, I understood that they were afraid of traitors and informers since life in this country taught everyone to be on guard.
My wife also asked me to stop going to the synagogue since the state persecuted religion and she was afraid that it might not be good for the children, either. I resumed going to synagogue after my wife died in 1993.
They didn’t like the name of Kurt and began to talk that I wasn’t a Jew. I didn’t look like a Jew. Then the senior man came. I talked to him in Yiddish. I said I could present an immediate proof that I was a Jew. He allowed me to stay for a prayer.
I felt hurt: I didn’t think they could treat a man who came to the synagogue in this crude manner. However, I understood that they were afraid of traitors and informers since life in this country taught everyone to be on guard.
My wife also asked me to stop going to the synagogue since the state persecuted religion and she was afraid that it might not be good for the children, either. I resumed going to synagogue after my wife died in 1993.
In Liptovsky Mikulas I got to know that almost all my relatives of my family and friends perished in a camp near the town and were buried in a common grave near the old Jewish cemetery. My aunt Cecilia’s two sons and a daughter, my mother’s brother Iosif and his daughter, and my aunt Adelina’s three sons and their families perished in the camp.
Boris Slobodianskiy
I used to organize parties for war veterans. I invited actors and other people of art. They didn’t charge us and I wasn’t paid for my organizational activities. We didn’t even have money to buy flowers for our guests, but they enjoyed being our guests. These were interesting parties. I am used doing things for others and I think it is very important.
We have meetings at our club for war veterans at 11am every Monday. We talk about Jewish culture, literature, read literature works and listen to music. We discuss the history of the Jewish people, traditions and holidays. We have many books and other materials prepared for the future radio programs and meetings of veterans of the Great Patriotic War.
We’ve scheduled a meeting with Joseph Burg, a Jewish writer, to celebrate his jubilee, a memorial day to honor the memory of the Jews shot in Chernovtsy on 8th July 1941, the 90th anniversary of the birth of the Jewish actress and singer Sidi Tahl, the 60th anniversary of the death of Joseph Shmidt, a wonderful Jewish tenor who perished in a concentration camp, celebration of Jewish holidays and many other events.
We find common graves of Jews shot during the Great Patriotic War to install monuments on them. There are many such places in Chernovtsy region where Jews were killed by the Germans as well as by the local population.
My wife and I have lived a beautiful life. This year we’ve celebrated our golden wedding. We love each other and are in agreement with one another. Our daughter and granddaughter need us, and so do many other people. They tell us that they need us.
We have meetings at our club for war veterans at 11am every Monday. We talk about Jewish culture, literature, read literature works and listen to music. We discuss the history of the Jewish people, traditions and holidays. We have many books and other materials prepared for the future radio programs and meetings of veterans of the Great Patriotic War.
We’ve scheduled a meeting with Joseph Burg, a Jewish writer, to celebrate his jubilee, a memorial day to honor the memory of the Jews shot in Chernovtsy on 8th July 1941, the 90th anniversary of the birth of the Jewish actress and singer Sidi Tahl, the 60th anniversary of the death of Joseph Shmidt, a wonderful Jewish tenor who perished in a concentration camp, celebration of Jewish holidays and many other events.
We find common graves of Jews shot during the Great Patriotic War to install monuments on them. There are many such places in Chernovtsy region where Jews were killed by the Germans as well as by the local population.
My wife and I have lived a beautiful life. This year we’ve celebrated our golden wedding. We love each other and are in agreement with one another. Our daughter and granddaughter need us, and so do many other people. They tell us that they need us.
, Ukraine
I can’t say that I am a religious man. I worked on Saturday and we didn’t observe Sabbath, but nowadays my wife and I celebrate Sabbath with our friends in Hesed. I go to the synagogue on Jewish holidays and on the death dates of my relatives to say prayers for them. My wife and I celebrate Jewish holidays sometimes at home and sometimes at Hesed.
, Ukraine
In 1987 an association of the Jewish culture was organized in Chernovtsy. I became a member of the council of this association. I took a great effort in the revival of the Jewish culture by arranging lectures and concerts. At that time some people were in opposition to these activities. My wife and daughter were concerned about my safety. They feared that I might be attacked or there might be a pogrom during a lecture, but there were no such incidents.
Later I became leader of the group of the International Ukrainian Union of War Veterans and Ties with Israel. A year ago I was elected as a member of the Presidium of the Jewish Council of War Veterans of Ukraine. I work with all Jewish war veterans.
The most important work is renaissance of the Jewish identity. I have established a radio program in Yiddish – ‘Yiddishe Wort.’ It’s a monthly program and we do not pay for its broadcast. About once in three months we broadcast a Jewish program on TV. There are about 400 generals of Jewish nationality, the Minister for Armaments during the war was a Jew. There were many outstanding design engineers and we identify their names.
This is what I call renaissance of the Jewish identity – that we call them by name. We make programs with outstanding Jews: design engineers, professors, heroes, etc. This program is dubbed in Ukrainian. People write us letters. The broadcast has spread to Chernovtsy, Ivano-Frankovsk, Lvov, Ternopol and Khmelnitsk regions.
Later I became leader of the group of the International Ukrainian Union of War Veterans and Ties with Israel. A year ago I was elected as a member of the Presidium of the Jewish Council of War Veterans of Ukraine. I work with all Jewish war veterans.
The most important work is renaissance of the Jewish identity. I have established a radio program in Yiddish – ‘Yiddishe Wort.’ It’s a monthly program and we do not pay for its broadcast. About once in three months we broadcast a Jewish program on TV. There are about 400 generals of Jewish nationality, the Minister for Armaments during the war was a Jew. There were many outstanding design engineers and we identify their names.
This is what I call renaissance of the Jewish identity – that we call them by name. We make programs with outstanding Jews: design engineers, professors, heroes, etc. This program is dubbed in Ukrainian. People write us letters. The broadcast has spread to Chernovtsy, Ivano-Frankovsk, Lvov, Ternopol and Khmelnitsk regions.
, Ukraine
My wife and I never considered moving to Israel for several reasons. Firstly, we are attached to our home and are content with what we have. I served in the army for five years and then worked at the same enterprise for 43 years. We prefer stability to new experiences. I had a low salary, but I learned to make use of what I had.
My work and my party activities were most important for me. I was a member of the bureau of the town committee of the Communist Party. I was also a leader of a group of 40 lectors, including university professors. Or group traveled all over the Chernovtsy region holding lectures. People are looking for places where they can earn more now, but we never looked for more than we could get. People respected me and I appreciated it. I was invited to all celebrations in town.
In Israel I would have faced a language problem. I would have been isolated there. My friends were trying to convince me to move to Israel telling me that I would find a job and that even if I couldn’t find a decent job at the beginning I could work as a janitor. But I don’t want to have a job like that – I am an important person here and have many things to do.
In 1999 I went to Israel with a delegation of war veterans from Ukraine. We traveled around the country. Israel is a beautiful country. There are hardworking people there. It’s hard to imagine that this prosperous country was built in a stone desert. I wish these people a peaceful life and prosperity. I visited our relatives: 23 families of my relatives and 16 families of my wife’s relatives live in Israel. Only my sister Sheiva lives here, the rest of my relatives moved to Israel.
When perestroika [16] began we saw the difference immediately. Mikhail Gorbachev [17], the new Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, was the first Soviet leader in a long time that began to build up relationships with Israel. There were associations of friendship and cultural ties with Israel established.
My work and my party activities were most important for me. I was a member of the bureau of the town committee of the Communist Party. I was also a leader of a group of 40 lectors, including university professors. Or group traveled all over the Chernovtsy region holding lectures. People are looking for places where they can earn more now, but we never looked for more than we could get. People respected me and I appreciated it. I was invited to all celebrations in town.
In Israel I would have faced a language problem. I would have been isolated there. My friends were trying to convince me to move to Israel telling me that I would find a job and that even if I couldn’t find a decent job at the beginning I could work as a janitor. But I don’t want to have a job like that – I am an important person here and have many things to do.
In 1999 I went to Israel with a delegation of war veterans from Ukraine. We traveled around the country. Israel is a beautiful country. There are hardworking people there. It’s hard to imagine that this prosperous country was built in a stone desert. I wish these people a peaceful life and prosperity. I visited our relatives: 23 families of my relatives and 16 families of my wife’s relatives live in Israel. Only my sister Sheiva lives here, the rest of my relatives moved to Israel.
When perestroika [16] began we saw the difference immediately. Mikhail Gorbachev [17], the new Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, was the first Soviet leader in a long time that began to build up relationships with Israel. There were associations of friendship and cultural ties with Israel established.
, Ukraine
Upon graduation from the university I was appointed as production manager. Besides, I was secretary of the party unit of the plant until I retired. I was an enthusiastic activist. I arranged meetings to criticize underperforming employees and stimulate advanced employees. We arranged socialist competition between employees and shops. People were infatuated with the enthusiasm of building communism and a happy future for their children and grandchildren.
I wasn’t paid for such activities, but I got involved in them willingly. These activities took much of my leisure time, but I felt an urge to do them. In 1960 I was elected a deputy of the town council and held this position for 13 years. People trusted me to deal with their problems.
I never faced any anti-Semitism. People treated me with respect. When in the 1970s Jews were moving to Israel there were demonstrations of everyday anti-Semitism. I was a member of the party town committee. I went to the secretary of the town committee and told him that the situation had worsened significantly: Jews couldn’t find a job, enter higher educational institutions and suffered abuse. Of course, I put myself at risk. But I knew that the secretary was a decent and honest man and secondly, I just couldn’t help speaking my mind in this situation.
The secretary of the party town committee arranged a meeting with directors of enterprises, human resource managers and secretaries of party units. The secretary of the town committee invited the chief of the KGB office in Chernovtsy. This chief spoke at the meeting indicating that Jews were not traitors or parricides. They are citizens of the USSR like people of all other nationalities. The secretary of the town committee stated that if he ever heard of refusal to employ a Jew he would bring a guilty manager to justice.
It was at my initiative that this happened. I was head of a group of 40 lecturers at the town committee. We lectured on international education of the Soviet people. We tried to explain that if a Jew behaved wrongly it was his own fault that should not be transferred to all other Jews.
I wasn’t paid for such activities, but I got involved in them willingly. These activities took much of my leisure time, but I felt an urge to do them. In 1960 I was elected a deputy of the town council and held this position for 13 years. People trusted me to deal with their problems.
I never faced any anti-Semitism. People treated me with respect. When in the 1970s Jews were moving to Israel there were demonstrations of everyday anti-Semitism. I was a member of the party town committee. I went to the secretary of the town committee and told him that the situation had worsened significantly: Jews couldn’t find a job, enter higher educational institutions and suffered abuse. Of course, I put myself at risk. But I knew that the secretary was a decent and honest man and secondly, I just couldn’t help speaking my mind in this situation.
The secretary of the party town committee arranged a meeting with directors of enterprises, human resource managers and secretaries of party units. The secretary of the town committee invited the chief of the KGB office in Chernovtsy. This chief spoke at the meeting indicating that Jews were not traitors or parricides. They are citizens of the USSR like people of all other nationalities. The secretary of the town committee stated that if he ever heard of refusal to employ a Jew he would bring a guilty manager to justice.
It was at my initiative that this happened. I was head of a group of 40 lecturers at the town committee. We lectured on international education of the Soviet people. We tried to explain that if a Jew behaved wrongly it was his own fault that should not be transferred to all other Jews.
, Ukraine
I remember Stalin’s death in March 1953. Many people were crying and I didn’t hide my tears. I was secretary of the party unit of the plant at that time. I was involved in organization of memorial meetings and spoke at them. Stalin was my idol and symbol and I believed in him like he was God. I couldn’t imagine life without him. After the Twentieth Party Congress [15] I began to see things in a different light. But at that moment it was the biggest sorrow of my life.
, Ukraine
On 22nd May 1959 our daughter Polina was born. Her Jewish name is Pesia-Perl after my mother and my wife’s grandmother on her mother’s side. My mother’s parents looked after our daughter until she turned five. I took the girl to them in the morning and my wife picked her up after work.
Polina spoke Yiddish before she went to the kindergarten. Our daughter studied successfully at a secondary and music school. After finishing school she finished Pedagogical Music College and now she teaches music at school in Chernovtsy.
My wife and I were very happy that Polina married a Jewish man. Our granddaughter Marina is 20 years old. She finished a Jewish secondary school and Polytechnic College. They live with us and my wife and I are happy about it.
Polina spoke Yiddish before she went to the kindergarten. Our daughter studied successfully at a secondary and music school. After finishing school she finished Pedagogical Music College and now she teaches music at school in Chernovtsy.
My wife and I were very happy that Polina married a Jewish man. Our granddaughter Marina is 20 years old. She finished a Jewish secondary school and Polytechnic College. They live with us and my wife and I are happy about it.
, Ukraine
We didn’t observe any Jewish traditions – I was a communist and it was not appropriate for me to follow any Jewish rules. This was a period of struggle against religion and even more so – with Zionism. Part-time agents of the KGB [14] were near the synagogue all the time. They took no notice of older men, but if they saw a younger man they photographed him, identified who he was and informed his management at work. A communist might have been expelled from the Party or fired.
However, my wife’s parents strictly observed Jewish traditions and celebrated Sabbath and Jewish holidays. We visited them on holidays and attended their seder at Pesach. My wife used to joke saying that even though I didn’t celebrate holidays at home I was a co-participant of my in-laws’ celebrations. My wife and I celebrated Soviet holidays, arranged parties, sang Soviet songs and enjoyed ourselves.
However, my wife’s parents strictly observed Jewish traditions and celebrated Sabbath and Jewish holidays. We visited them on holidays and attended their seder at Pesach. My wife used to joke saying that even though I didn’t celebrate holidays at home I was a co-participant of my in-laws’ celebrations. My wife and I celebrated Soviet holidays, arranged parties, sang Soviet songs and enjoyed ourselves.
, Ukraine
In 1952 I met my wife-to-be Dora Melman. She was born in the Romanian town of Faleshty in 1930. Her father, Wolf Melman, was a leather specialist and her mother, Golda Melman, nee Shnaiderman, was a housewife. My wife’s parents were religious people. They observed all Jewish traditions.
After the World War II they moved to Chernovtsy. Dora graduated from the Faculty of Biology of the University and worked as a teacher of Biology at a school in Chernovsty. Her distant relative was my colleague and he introduced me to her.
We got married in 1952. We didn’t have a wedding party. We had a civil ceremony and our parents organized a small dinner to celebrate. We invited our closest relatives to the dinner party.
From the plant where I worked I received a room in a communal apartment [13]. It was a dark and damp room, but we felt happy to have it. My wife spoke Yiddish and Romanian when she was a child. She began to study Russian in 1940. Dora and I spoke Yiddish at home.
After the World War II they moved to Chernovtsy. Dora graduated from the Faculty of Biology of the University and worked as a teacher of Biology at a school in Chernovsty. Her distant relative was my colleague and he introduced me to her.
We got married in 1952. We didn’t have a wedding party. We had a civil ceremony and our parents organized a small dinner to celebrate. We invited our closest relatives to the dinner party.
From the plant where I worked I received a room in a communal apartment [13]. It was a dark and damp room, but we felt happy to have it. My wife spoke Yiddish and Romanian when she was a child. She began to study Russian in 1940. Dora and I spoke Yiddish at home.
, Ukraine
My younger sister Sheiva lives in Chernovtsy. After the war she finished Business College and worked as an accountant at a plant. She married a Jewish man, a former inmate of a ghetto. Her husband was foreman at a textile factory.
They had twins: a boy and a girl. They are 45 now. Their son moved to America over ten years ago and their daughter lives with her parents. She is single. She lost her job recently due to major reduction of staff. My sister Sheiva had an infarction. She is 72 and her husband is the same age.
They had twins: a boy and a girl. They are 45 now. Their son moved to America over ten years ago and their daughter lives with her parents. She is single. She lost her job recently due to major reduction of staff. My sister Sheiva had an infarction. She is 72 and her husband is the same age.
, Ukraine
Throughout this time we had no information about Haya. My mother continuously wrote letters to evacuation agencies, but Haya wasn’t registered in any of them. We believed our sister to be dead, but our mother said she was sure that Haya was alive. My mother died in 1958, some time before we heard from Haya.
It turned out that Haya was captured by Germans at the beginning of the war. She said she was Ukrainian and they let her go. She came to Poyany after we had left. Our neighbors, a Romanian family, took her to Romania as a niece of theirs. She lived all these years with a different name in Romania.
She married a German man, born in Romania and resident of Romania. He knew that Haya was Jewish, but it was no problem for him. They had two sons. In the 1950s my sister and her family moved to Germany. My sister didn’t face any anti-Semitism living in Germany after the Great Patriotic War. Her husband died there and my sister and her sons still reside in Düsseldorf. Her sons are electronic engineers.
It turned out that Haya was captured by Germans at the beginning of the war. She said she was Ukrainian and they let her go. She came to Poyany after we had left. Our neighbors, a Romanian family, took her to Romania as a niece of theirs. She lived all these years with a different name in Romania.
She married a German man, born in Romania and resident of Romania. He knew that Haya was Jewish, but it was no problem for him. They had two sons. In the 1950s my sister and her family moved to Germany. My sister didn’t face any anti-Semitism living in Germany after the Great Patriotic War. Her husband died there and my sister and her sons still reside in Düsseldorf. Her sons are electronic engineers.
, Ukraine
My mother took my sister Sheiva from the children’s home after the war and returned home with her. Our new house in the village was robbed and disassembled to bricks stolen by villagers. Our relatives helped my mother and Sheiva to move to Chernovtsy. My mother went to work at the human resource department at a plant.
After demobilization I came to my mother and sister in Chernovtsy. I liked the town. I went to work as personnel inspector at the textile plant where my mother was working. Later this plant was modified into a garment factory. I worked there until retirement. I was a former military and a party member and I was employed without any problems.
I went to complete my secondary education at an evening school. I finished higher secondary school and entered the faculty of economy at the university where I studied by correspondence. Upon graduation from the university I became production manager.
After demobilization I came to my mother and sister in Chernovtsy. I liked the town. I went to work as personnel inspector at the textile plant where my mother was working. Later this plant was modified into a garment factory. I worked there until retirement. I was a former military and a party member and I was employed without any problems.
I went to complete my secondary education at an evening school. I finished higher secondary school and entered the faculty of economy at the university where I studied by correspondence. Upon graduation from the university I became production manager.
, Ukraine
I became a member of the Communist Party in 1948. It was easy to become a member of the Communist Party in the army. I was eager to become a party member and couldn’t imagine my life without the Party. In 1950 I demobilized.
, Ukraine
In Kata-Kurgan I went to study at a professional school. After finishing it I got a job as a tinsmith at the machine building plant. From there I was mobilized to the construction of the longest channel in Middle Asia. There were only men working there. Most of the construction employees were local Koreans. People were dying of malaria and other diseases in the hundreds. I was glad to go to the army from there when I turned 18 in 1944.
Upon completion of my military training I was sent to the front at the beginning of 1945. I participated in the storm of Zeelov hills and the storm of Berlin. At the beginning of the war I was senior sergeant and I finished the war in the rank of lieutenant. I was awarded the Order of Combat Red Banner [11] for my participation in the storm of Berlin. The fascists tried to resist our attacks desperately, but all sides understood that the war was coming to an end. I was wounded in my head and had to stay in hospital, but then returned to the front.
I celebrated Victory Day [12] in Berlin and from there I was sent to the border of Czechoslovakia. There were remaining fascist units in the woods in Czechoslovakia and we were to clean up the area. The Czechs were happy that we came, because the Germans were killing them. Later I returned to Germany and continued my service in the Soviet occupational units until 1950.
When we returned to Berlin we were exhausted, dirty and worn out. We got washed and received new uniforms to march along the streets signing songs. I served in Chemnitz for about two years and then in a fortress in a wood near Berlin. Our task at that period was to guard nationalized enterprises, convoy shipments and support the development of public economy in the Soviet territory of Germany.
Upon completion of my military training I was sent to the front at the beginning of 1945. I participated in the storm of Zeelov hills and the storm of Berlin. At the beginning of the war I was senior sergeant and I finished the war in the rank of lieutenant. I was awarded the Order of Combat Red Banner [11] for my participation in the storm of Berlin. The fascists tried to resist our attacks desperately, but all sides understood that the war was coming to an end. I was wounded in my head and had to stay in hospital, but then returned to the front.
I celebrated Victory Day [12] in Berlin and from there I was sent to the border of Czechoslovakia. There were remaining fascist units in the woods in Czechoslovakia and we were to clean up the area. The Czechs were happy that we came, because the Germans were killing them. Later I returned to Germany and continued my service in the Soviet occupational units until 1950.
When we returned to Berlin we were exhausted, dirty and worn out. We got washed and received new uniforms to march along the streets signing songs. I served in Chemnitz for about two years and then in a fortress in a wood near Berlin. Our task at that period was to guard nationalized enterprises, convoy shipments and support the development of public economy in the Soviet territory of Germany.
, Ukraine