In the last episode of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage, we spoke with Marla Raucher Osborn, who discovered her Jewish roots a few years ago in the western Ukrainian city of Rohatyn. Shortly thereafter, she and her husband left their home in California and relocated to Lviv, in western Ukraine, where they now run an NGO called Rohatyn Jewish Heritage. This NGO, or non-government organization, is dedicated to restoring Rohatyn’s centuries-old Jewish heritage, which was almost completely obliterated by the Nazis during the Holocaust. In the last episode of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage, Marla shared with us the reasons behind her driving passion for this work, a bit about the centuries-old history of Rohatyn’s Jewish community, and some of the different projects she and her organization are tackling. She also introduced us to one of the people who plays a key role in her organization. In this episode, part 2 of our interview with Marla Raucher Osborn, we ‘ll find out more about this man so critical to her work. Marla will also provide a bit more detail about the challenges her Rohatyn restoration project faces, in particular Jewish cemeteries, and locating headstones—or what is left of the countless headstones that had been […]
Continue reading
Ukrainian Jewish Heritage: Marla Raucher Osborn talks about her Rohatyn restoration project. Part 1
A few years ago, Marla Raucher Osborn discovered her Jewish roots in the western Ukrainian city of Rohatyn. She and her husband have since left their home in California and relocated to Lviv, in western Ukraine, where they run an NGO called Rohatyn Jewish Heritage. This NGO, or non-government organization, is dedicated to restoring Rohatyn’s centuries-old Jewish heritage which was almost completely obliterated by the Nazis during the Holocaust. It’s a daunting project. Of Rohatyn’s Jewish community which numbered in the tens of thousands before WWII, only a few remain today. Remnants of synagogues, cemeteries, and other visible symbols of this once thriving and vibrant community lie scattered across the area, buried in asphalt and concrete foundations, in forests and fields. Marla has dedicated her life to finding and restoring as many of these remnants as she can. Recently, she kindly agreed to share her story with Nash Holos listeners. Pawlina: So how did you end up starting this whole Rohatyn adventure? You and your husband do this, and this is kind of your life’s work now. How did you get started? What brought you to Rohatyn? Marla: It’s a good question. I like to say I was […]
Continue readingVictor’s Vignettes: The Music Of My Childhood — 1966-1975
Victor’s Vignettes … Stories about Life in soviet and post-soviet Ukraine. -by Victor Sergeyev Mikolayev, Ukraine The Music Of My Childhood — 1966-1975 When it came to music listening in soviet Ukraine, we always had choices. We could tune in on radio receivers to hear soundtracks of the two available TV channels, the state-controlled Moscow channel and the pro-Moscow Kiev channel. Or we could create a cultural environment of our own … underground. Of course, the latter choice was by far the most popular. Not that it was easy. In official stores only government-sanctioned goods were available for purchase. So radio receivers came without 19 and 25 meter bands, to block transmissions of Voice of America and BBC channels. But where there is a will, there is always a way. There was the black market, occasional trips abroad, and of course we could always build our own radios. As well, there were old WWII trophy German radios around, or you could buy good Japanese tape recorders with built-in radios. As I said, we had choices. My home town of Nikolaev is a sea port … and for me, it was a window to the world. The seamen always brought home […]
Continue readingNash Holos Nanaimo 2014-0118 Hour 1
Ukrainian Jewish Heritage: Harry Lang, Yiddish newspaper reporter in Ukraine 1933 • Knyzhka Corner Book Review: Conflict in Ukraine by Serhy Yekelchuk • Cultural Capsule: The Three Feasts of Ukrainian Christmas • Ukrainian Proverb of the Week • Great Ukrainian music! Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio airs live in Nanaimo on Wednesdays from 11am-1pm PST on CHLY 101.7FM, broadcasting to the north and central Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, northwest Washington State and Greater Vancouver listening areas. Your host for this hour: Pawlina.
Continue readingKnyzhka Corner Book Review: Making Bombs for Hitler
Knyzhka Corner: Ukrainian stories, in English. Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk. MAKING BOMBS FOR HITLER. Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2012. 186 p. ISBN 978-1-4431-0730-3 Available at Chapters, Amazon and Barnes and Noble Reviewed by Myra Junyk In this edition of Knyzhka Corner, we will be discussing Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch’s novel, Making Bombs for Hitler. The novel begins in 1943 as Lida and her younger sister Laryssa are separated after the Nazis take over their village. Lida is sent to a work camp to become an Ostarbeiter or forced labour worker, and Laryssa disappears. Will they ever be re-united? Nine-year old Lida struggles to survive in the horrible conditions of the Bavarian work camp. She is warned by older girls in her barracks that Germans don’t like young workers so she pretends to be thirteen years old. She develops a strong friendship with her fellow slave labourer Luka. She must eat subhuman food, wear the clothing she was captured in, and go barefoot. Luckily, she is selected to work in the camp laundry where her expert sewing skills are put to use. Her life is much easier than that of others who must work on farms and in factories. When she comes to the […]
Continue readingNash Holos Nanaimo 2016-0511 Hour 1
Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio airs live in Nanaimo on Wednesdays from 11am-1pm PST on CHLY 101.7FM, broadcasting to the north and central Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, northwest Washington State and Greater Vancouver listening areas. Your host for this hour: Pawlina
Continue readingNash Holos Vancouver 2016-0507
Tribute to mothers and grandmothers on this week’s show: Victor’s Vignettes: Baba’s Sayings • Knyzhka Corner Book Review: A Promise Kept by Andy Semotiuk (A tribute to his mother) • Special commentary: Oksana Poberezhnyk shares the many Ukrainian words for mother and grandmother • Ukrainian Proverb of the Week • Great Ukrainian music on a Mother’s Day theme!
Nash Holos Nanaimo 2016-0504 Hour 2
Special feature commentaries: Пам’яті Дмитра Гнатюка (In Remembrance of Dmytro Hnatuk) • Події сторічної давності на горі Маківка. Січові Стрільці. (Brave Sich Riflemen who won the battle on Mount Makivka) • Історія пісні “Журавлі” (“Чуєш, брате мій” — Ukrainian military song about cranes) • The Year of Manitoba’s Ukrainian Canadian Cultural Heritage • Події в Одесі 2014-го року (Remembering Odesa 2014) • Ukrainian gymnast wins recent World Championship in Toronto • Upcoming event – the 2016 Annual BC Ukrainian cultural festival in Mission • Great Ukrainian music by: Dmytro Hnatiuk • Zhuravli • Vladimir Vysotsky • Vopli Vidopliasova • Kvitka • Nina Matvienko • Tsymbala Students of Steven Chwok Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio airs live in Nanaimo on Wednesdays from 11am-1pm PST on CHLY 101.7FM, broadcasting to the north and central Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, northwest Washington State and Greater Vancouver listening areas. Your host for this hour: Oksana.
Continue readingNash Holos Nanaimo – 2016-0504 Hour 1
Ukrainian Food Flair: Cooking with caraway • Feature commentary: BBC World Service 30th anniversary Chornobyl special • Victor’s Vignettes: My Baba’s sayings • Upcoming local events • Ukrainian Proverb of the Week • Great Ukrainian music! Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio airs live in Nanaimo on Wednesdays from 11am-1pm PST on CHLY 101.7FM, broadcasting to the north and central Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, northwest Washington State and Greater Vancouver listening areas. Your host for this hour: Pawlina.
Continue readingNash Holos Nanaimo 2016-0518 Hour 2
Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio airs live in Nanaimo on Wednesdays from 11am-1pm PST on CHLY 101.7FM, broadcasting to the north and central Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, northwest Washington State and Greater Vancouver listening areas. Your host for this hour: Pawlina
Continue reading
