A Day of Miracles

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Christian Herrmann under Bessarabia, Jewish Cemeteries, Podolia, Synagogues

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.

Edineț Jewish cemetery

Otaci Jewish cemetery

Mohyliv-Podilsky Jewish cemetery

Chernivtsi (Podolia) Jewish cemetery

Chernivtsi (Podolia), former Jewish neighbourhood

Chernivtsi (Podolia), synagogue in the former Jewish neighbourhood

Sharhorod Great Synagogue

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Otaci’s Jewish Cemetery

Posted on May 29, 2018 by Christian Herrmann under Bessarabia, Jewish Cemeteries

We left Moldova’s capital Chişinău in the morning of May 23, 2018, and headed north towards the border to Ukraine. Before border crossing we had a stop in the town of Otaci which was known as a transit point for deportees to the Romanian camps and ghettos in Transnistria during World War II. What is often failed to see, is that Otaci looks back on a long Jewish history. The cemetery in the nearby village of Vălcineţ is a reminder.

Otaci Jewish cemetery

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Bessarabia in Black and White (Vol. 3)

Posted on June 26, 2016 by Christian Herrmann under Bessarabia, Jewish Cemeteries

Here is the next selection of analog black and white photos from the trip to Bessarabia/Moldova in spring 2016. I’m glad to have time to work on the images, without interruptions by further journeys. This set contains pictures of Jewish heritage sites in Alexandreni, Bălţi (Beltsy), Lipcani, Orhei, Otaci (Ataki), Rybnitsa and Vadul-Raşcov (Vadul Rashkov). As many Moldovan towns and cities have been fully destroyed in World War II, the cemeteries are often the last voices of the Jewish history.

Lipcani Jewish cemetery

Alexandreni Jewish cemetery

Bălţi (Beltsy) Jewish cemetery

Orhei Jewish cemetery

Otaci (Ataki) Jewish cemetery

Rybnitsa Jewish cemetery

Vadul-Raşcov (Vadul Rashkov) Jewish cemetery

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Bessarabia in Black and White (Vol. 2)

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Christian Herrmann under Bessarabia, Jewish Cemeteries, Synagogues

I continued to work on the analog black and white images of the trip to Bessarabia/Moldova in March/April. Here is the result, including photos of Jewish heritage sites in Orhei, Otaci (Ataki), Prodănești (Prodaneshty), Raşcov (Rashkov), Rezina, Soroca and Zguriţa (Zguritsa). More is coming.

Rezina Jewish cemetery

Raşcov (Rashkov) synagogue

Orhei Jewish cemetery

Otaci (Ataki) Jewish cemetery

Prodănești (Prodaneshty) Jewish cemetery

Soroca Jewish cemetery

Zguriţa (Zguritsa) synagogue

Zguriţa (Zguritsa) Jewish cemetery

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From Soroca to Otaci

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Christian Herrmann under Bessarabia, Jewish Cemeteries, Synagogues

From Soroca we went further north to Zguriţa (Zguritsa) and Otaci (Ataki). In both places there are Jewish cemeteries and former synagogues. Both cemeteries have a special magic – the one due to its picturesque location, the other due to the age and the artistic quality of the gravestones.