Stories continue to surface about people in Ukraine and surrounding areas who saved Jews from the Nazis during the Holocaust in WWII. Each one of them is heart-rending and inspiring in its own unique way. But one story that has emerged very recently is particularly astonishing. It is the story of a Crimean Tatar woman who saved the lives of 88 Jewish children not once, but twice. First from the Nazi Gestapo, and again two years later, from the Soviet secret police, the NKVD. The story has come to light as the result of a film recently released in Ukraine and screened in Canada and the United States. The film recounts events of the Holocaust, but through the prism of another genocide—the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars—which itself has come to light only recently. In April of 1944, Soviet forces regained control of Crimea after more than two years of Nazi occupation. But almost immediately after the peninsula was liberated, it faced a new wave of repression from its liberators. In May of 1944, on orders of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, Crimean Tatars were deported en masse. Many died in transit or were killed by the NKVD, the Soviet […]

Passover commemorates the exodus of Jews from Egypt over 3000 years ago. The timeless and universal message of this holiday is that slaves can go free, and the future can be better than the present. Passover, or Pesach, as it is called in Hebrew, is truly a festival of freedom. Passover begins in the middle of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month on the Jewish liturgical calendar. It lasts for seven days in Israel, eight in the diaspora. On the Gregorian calendar, Passover generally corresponds with late March or early April. This year, 2019, Passover begins on Friday evening April 19th, which coincides with Good Friday on the Gregorian calendar. Passover ends Saturday evening, April 27th, the day before Easter Sunday on the Julian calendar. Passover is also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In preparing for Pesach, Jews clean their homes and vehicles, removing every trace of leaven (or chametz, in Hebrew). This act symbolizes the haste with which the Jews left Egypt. They did not even have time to let the bread rise. It is also a symbolic purification ritual— removing the puffiness of arrogance and pride, which separates us from one another, and our Creator. […]

Purim is a holiday Jews observe in memory of an ancient Jewish victory. The story of Purim is recounted in the Book of Esther in the Bible. It’s a story of treachery and warfare in ancient Israel, but it has eerie parallels with the bloody 20th century in Europe. About twenty five hundred years ago, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. He banished the Jewish people from Israel to Babylonia. Fifty years later, Babylonia was defeated by Persia, the most powerful kingdom in the world at that time. Achashverosh was the second Persian king, also known as Xerxes the Great. One day he threw a lavish party and ordered his queen, Vashti, to dance at the extravagant feast. She refused, which infuriated the king. On the advice of his counselors he deposed and banished her, as an example to other women who might be emboldened to disobey their husbands. The king now needed a new queen. So he sent his men in search for someone even more beautiful than Vashti. In the capital city, Shushan, a Jewish orphan named Hadassah lived with her uncle Mordechai, the leader of the Jews. She was kind and […]

Most Jews in the diaspora can trace their ancestry to the Pale of Settlement. But what exactly IS the Pale of Settlement? It’s a term that often comes up when reading about or researching the history of Jews in Eastern Europe. Obviously, it’s a territory where Jews lived, and were in fact confined to live within. But where exactly was it? Who created it—and why? And what was it like to live in the Pale of Settlement? Well in answer to those questions, to say “it’s complicated” is a bit of an understatement. So, let’s take a look at some historical data to uncomplicate it a bit. The Pale of Settlement was an area of 25 provinces in Czarist Russia. It was established by Empress Catherine II of Russia, also known as Catherine the Great, in 1791. You could perhaps say it was an unintended consequence of the partitions of Poland. This is a sad and troubling period of history for this once large and formidable empire. Since before the time of Christ, Jews had lived in this area where they intermarried with, and eventually converted, the Khazar people. But the main migration of Jews into the area began much […]

In this edition of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage, we’ll be speaking again with Julia Korsunsky, the executive director of RememberUs.org, a nonprofit organization based in Massachusetts. We were first introduced to RememberUs.org when we learned about their project of planting metasequoia trees at mass grave sites of Holocaust victims. These include her own great-grandparents and many other relatives. By their very nature, these trees are appropriately symbolic for this purpose. They’re resilient, able to adjust to different climates, enduring, strong and perdurable, just like the Jewish people. Thought to be extinct, the metasequoia was discovered in fossils in the 1940s. Today, metasequoia trees can be found in botanical gardens and parks around the world as well at a growing number of Holocaust killing sites. The trees have been planted at several sites in Ukraine and the project continues. However, it is just part of a larger endeavor. As Julia explained in our interview, which aired in June of 2018. In mid December, she shared some exciting news about the second phase of the project, the opening of a new museum. Pawlina: So Julia, you’ve been hard at work there at Remember Us, since we last talked. And this is something that you […]