October | 2013 | Vanished World

Should Austria’s capital Vienna be part of a blog that deals with the Jewish heritage of Eastern Europe? Necessarily, because Vienna was not only the gateway from Central Europe to the eastern provinces of the Habsburg Empire, it was also the gateway to the West for many Jewish immigrants in search of a better future. A travel report.

Rossau Cemetery

Central Cemetery

Plaque in Leopoldstadt

Palais Ephrussi

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Sylvia de Swaan was born in Czernowitz (Chernivtsi) in 1941. The worst time, if one were Jewish. Today she is a successful photographer in America. Sylvia has returned to take pictures – more than once. Images of trains, rails, her hometown, nightmares. Powerful images. In August 2013 she was in Czernowitz again and I was lucky enough to meet her. Once more we had many intensive conversations and experiences. A good reason for an interview a few monthes later, to see how her new works grow.

The Burial Chapel, Czernowitzi 2013 ©Sylvia de Swaan

Ilia, a history major, interviews people in Nepolokivtsi, UA about their memories of WWII and the Jewish people who once lived here. 2013 ©Sylvia de Swaan