April 29. My fellow travelers and I have time to stroll through the streets of Chernivtsi (Czernowitz). As always, it is wonderful to be here. In October last year I wrote about the lost synagogues of the city. Berti Glaubach then made me aware of an error. Now I have a chance to correct my mistake.
April 28. We drive through Bukovina: Storozhynets, Davidivka, Vyzhnytsia and Vashkivtsi. We are in search of the traces of a Bukovinian celebrity – Joseph Schmidt. And of course, there is a lot along the way to see.
April 26. Chortkiv is our last stop in Galicia, a former center of Hasidism. Then we travel further south, into the Bukovina and towards Chernivtsi (former Czernowitz).
April 25. We travel further through Eastern Galicia. Berezhani, Pidhaitsi, Buchach, Chortkiv – remains of synagogues, cemeteries and rabbinical courts.
April 24. Zigzag through Galicia: From Brody via Zolochiv, Pidhirzhi and Rohatyn to Berezhani. On the way are spectacular monuments – but also very sad places.
Our first day of travel on the roads of Galicia. We want to start things slowly. From Lviv to Brody is 80 kilometers. In between, we will make a stop in Busk. In both places we are mainly interested in the Jewish cemeteries.
Next to the village of Lysynychi – now a suburb of Lviv (Lwow, Lemberg) – tens of thousands of people were murdered by the SS and their helpers. No one knows how many. The numbers vary between 50,000 and 200,000. The victims were mainly Jews, but also members of the Polish resistance, Russian prisoners of war and thousands of Italian soldiers who were massacred by the Germans after the capitulation of Italy. Does something commemorate these crimes and their victims in the forest of Lysynychi? Today I was there.
This is a poem by Tom Berman, the great-grandson of Lazar Igel, the first Rabbi of the Czernowitz Temple. Tom died a few days ago in the Galapagos islands; it was a life-long dream of him to go there. Tom survived Nazi dictatorship over huge parts of Europe through the “Kindertransport” to England. His family was erased. The poem reflects this. Tom immigrated to Israel and became an internationaly known scientist. He survived the time of persecution by 68 years.
Tomb of Lazar Igel at Czernowitz Jewish cemetery
From April 21 to May 5 I go to Ukraine again. With me are two good friends, an old camera, a bunch of black and white films, a lot of travel plans and one of the most terrible books I have ever read. I hope to report from the trip while traveling. Do you have recommendations?
Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ARSP) expects 13 to 15 volunteers for a summer camp from September 26 to October 8 in Chernivtsi (former Czernowitz). Participants in the age of 40+ will not only work but also explore the history of the city.
Vanished World 