The Jewish population of Ukraine before the Second World War was over 2.5 million. Now the current population is only around 100,000. A whole world with its very own culture, rules, and customs was decimated in the Holocaust. Decades later, descendants of survivors, along with friends and supporters, are working hard to piece together remnants […]
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Ukrainian Jewish Heritage: Hava Nagila—the song, the story and the movie
Hava Nagila. The words are Hebrew for Let Us Rejoice. They also comprise the title of one of the most recognizable and well-known songs in the world. And little did I know just how appropriate a theme song it would turn out to be for a radio series called Ukrainian Jewish Heritage! This Jewish folk song […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: Memoir by Holocaust survivor Jack Glotzer
Rohatyn is a city in western Ukraine with a centuries-old Jewish heritage that was almost completely destroyed by the Holocaust and its aftermath. Like many cities and towns across Ukraine, however, work is being done in Rohatyn to restore the historical memory of its once-vibrant Jewish community. Two people are central to this restoration effort. […]
Continue readingKnyzhka Corner Book Review: The Empress of the East
In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Leslie Peirce’s Empress of the East, the biography of Roxelana, a captive slave who became the wife of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Empress of the East is a profoundly insightful look at one of the most mysterious figures of the sixteenth century. Roxelana was a […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: Dave Tarras, the Ukrainian-born man who became known as “the Benny Goodman of klezmer”
Dave Tarras: The King of Klezmer by Yale Strom chronicles the life and work of a Ukrainian-born man who became known as “The Benny Goodman of Klezmer.” He was the individual most responsible for the development of a uniquely American style of Jewish klezmer music. From 1925 until his death in 1989, Dave Tarras set […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage – Interview with Dave Bloom
Dave Bloom is a member of the board of an organization dedicated to preserving the story of two Jewish communities and surrounding areas in Ukraine. One of them is called Drohobycz and the other is called Boryslaw. Recently a synagogue was restored in this area and Dave has kindly agreed to join us by Skype […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: Summer Reading Roundup Part 2 of 2
This week, part 2 of our 2018 Summer Reading List. This list is a compilation of books that have been reviewed on Ukrainian Jewish Heritage here on Nash Holos. Books can entertain, inform, edify. But they always enrich minds – those of the reader but also of the author – some of whom are […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: Summer Reading Roundup Part 1 of 2
What is summer without reading? I can imagine no greater pleasure than sitting down with a good book—or two—on a lazy summer afternoon at the beach or by the pool, on a shady deck, or sprawled out on a lush green lawn. Here on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio, we have been fortunate to learn […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: A chat with Julia Korsunsky of RememberUs.org
-An interview with Pawlina Today we’ll be speaking with Julia Korsunsky, whose story we first heard on Nash Holos last year. Julia is the Executive Director of RememberUs.org, a non-profit organization based in Massachusetts. Her organization is involved in commemorating mass grave sites of Holocaust victims, which include her great grandparents and many other relatives. […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: Interview with Alti Rodal, Co-Director of UJE. Part 2 of 2
-An interview with Pawlina Regular listeners to Nash Holos will be familiar with the name Ukrainian Jewish Encounter. This Toronto-based privately organized multinational initiative sponsors the long running series on the show, Ukrainian Jewish Heritage. This series of vignettes, cultural capsules and interviews has opened a window on this hitherto little known aspect of the […]
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