The last part of my journey with the German TV team began on 30 August in Mohyliv-Podilskyi, took us on to Chernivtsi – finally a reunion with one of my favourite places! – and back to Lviv. On the way back, we made short stops in Halych and Burshtyn.
Sharhorod and Chernivtsi (not Chernivtsi in Bukovina) were typical Podolian shtetls. Even after the war, there were still substantial Jewish communities, because both places were part of the Romanian occupation zone “Transnistria”, where the chances of survival were higher than in the German “Reichskommissariat Ukraine” or the “Generalgouvernemant”. After 1991, most of the Jews left the successor states of the Soviet Union. What remained behind is their material legacy. Soon, in Sharhorod and Chernivtsi there may not much be left of that.
On the morning of 27 August, the TV crew and I left Ternopil for the south-east. The journey of the next two days would take us to Skalat, Hrymailiv, Husiatyn, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Shatava and Dunaivtsi. Some of these places were unfamiliar terrain even for me.
March 5, was nearly the last day of our one week trip through Ukraine and Moldova. Coming from Sharhorod, we bridged 400 kilometers at that day until we reached Ternopil in the evening – with Jewish heritage sites in Sharhorod, Luchynets and Khotyn on our way.
We returned from Moldova to Ukraine on March 4. It was truly a day of miracles. We saw the stunning Jewish cemeteries of Edineț, Otaci, Chernivtsi (Podolia, not Bukovina) and Mohyliv-Podilsky. We found the synagogue in Chernivtsi, left behind by Jews leaving the former Soviet Union after 1991. In Sharhorod we talked to Hryhoriy Saulko, who wants to restaurate the magnificent synagogue of his hometown and already started to do.
May 24 was the longest day of our journey. 400 kilometers on Ukrainian roads can be challenging for drivers and passengers but we were glad to find the roads in much better condition than expected. Our route included the impressive Jewish cemetery of Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Khotyn fortress and Jewish heritage sites in Buchach and Chortkiv. Originally not planned was a stop in Kamianets-Podilskyi – one of the largest mass killing sites from the time of the German occupation.
To travel to Berdychiv was my desire since a long time. Today my friends and I went from Zhytomyr to Berdychiv – having a look on the Jewish heritage sites of both cities. Berdychiv’s Jewish cemetery is one of the most spectacular sites I’ve ever seen.
Our little group continued its trip through Galicia today. We have been to Hrymailiv, Sataniv, Husiatyn, Chabarivka and Probizhna. A long day on the road. Many things we experienced are connected to the destruction of Jewish life in the region – the Holocaust and the post-war erasure of remaining testimonies of Jewish presence. If stones could speak…
Our journey to Ukraine and Moldova goes on. The wish of my friend Sylvia to visit Bessarabia gave me a good pretext to return to Chişinău (Kishinev). While our friends Marla and Jay returned to Lviv yesterday, Sylvia and I took the bus to the Moldovan capital. Today we were out for a long day trip to Transnistria, a break-away ‘state’, only aknowledged by Russia. We visited Dubăsari (Dubasari), Raşcov (Rashkov) and Rîbniţa (Rybnitsa).
About two weeks ago I received the scans of the films I shot during the trip to Bessarabia/Moldova in March and April. Since then I spend most of my evenings with going through the images, select those of which I think they are worth to work on, and to correct them. A quite time consuming but also satisfying work. Here is now a very first selection of images from Chişinău, Făleşti, Tirgul Vertiujeni, Mărculeşti, Călăraşi in Moldova and Mohyliv-Podilskyi in Ukraine. More is going to come during the next weeks.
Vanished World 