Andrea Chalupa’s Orwell and the Refugees traces the amazing connection between George Orwell’s classic novel Animal Farm and Ukrainian refugees in the displaced persons camps of postwar Germany and Austria. Animal Farm carries the message of hope that someone in the West knew the truth about the Soviet Union, that someone understood the unimaginable horrors Ukrainians and others endured behind the Iron Curtain. When Andrea Chalupa’s grandfather Olexji Keis, her grandmother Alexandra and uncle Vitalij immigrated to the United States in 1951, one of their few possessions was a Ukrainian translation of Orwell’s masterpiece Animal Farm. It had been published in Munich in 1947 by a group of Ukrainian refugees at a small press called Prometej. The remarkable story of the collaboration between the world-renowned novelist George Orwell and these Ukrainian refugees is the focus of Chalupa’s book Orwell and the Refugees. After spending years writing Animal Farm, George Orwell could not find a publisher brave enough to publish it during World War II since it was viewed as anti-Soviet satire. The book was not welcome in the literary world because the West needed Stalin to fight Hitler. As well, many leading intellectuals still believed in the Russian Revolution. Orwell […]
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Ukrainian Jewish Heritage: Passover (2015)
Passover is a festival of freedom. It commemorates the exodus of Jews from Egypt over 3000 years ago. The timeless and universal message of this holiday is that slaves can go free, and the future can be better than the present. Passover, or Pesach, as it is called in Hebrew, begins in the middle of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month on the Jewish liturgical calendar. It lasts for seven days in Israel, eight in the diaspora. On the Gregorian calendar, Passover generally corresponds with late March or early April. This year, 2015, Passover begins Friday evening April 3rd, and ends Saturday evening, April 11th. Passover is known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In preparing for Pesach, Jews clean their homes and vehicles, removing every trace of leaven (or chametz, in Hebrew). This act symbolizes the haste with which the Jews left Egypt. They did not even have time to let the bread rise. It is also a symbolic purification ritual— removing the puffiness of arrogance and pride, which separates us from one another, and our Creator. The eating of matzo, or unleavened bread, is very important to Jews during this time. The scrupulous ritual avoidance of […]
Continue readingKnyzhka Corner Book Review: Orphanage 41 by Victor Malarek
In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we look at Orphanage 41 by Victor Malarek. Although Victor Malarek has written six non-fiction books, Orphanage 41 is his first novel. Mykola Yashan, the 19-year old protagonist of this novel, is forced into a voyage of nightmarish self-discovery. After the sudden death of his parents in an automobile crash, his entire world falls apart, “Because everything I’ve been told, all I’ve ever known, has turned out to be a big lie.” (p. 48) Mykola leads a very sheltered life. He is a third year student in civil engineering at the University of Alberta. As an only child, he is the “centre of his mother’s universe,” (p. 12), but he has a very complicated relationship with his father, Dr. Stepan Yashan, “a respected scholar in the expat Ukrainian community.” Mykola cannot understand why his father resents him so much. After his parents’ death, Mykola discovers a shocking secret. He was adopted from an orphanage in Ukraine. This discovery forces him to start a search for answers about his past. Mykola begins his search with his 1993 adoption papers signed by Natalka Matlinsky, director of Orphanage 41 in Lviv. As Mykola begins to follow the […]
Continue readingBook Review: Putin’s Putsches by Maria Lewytzkyj
In this edition of Knyzka Corner: Maria Lewytzkyj’s book Putin’s Putsches – Russia, Ukraine and the Near-Abroad Conflict. Maria Lewytzkyj defines “Putsch” as “a violent attempt to overthrow a government.” She explains that Vladimir Putin’s “hybrid war” against Ukraine is a blatant attempt to destabilize the current government. She also tells the stories of ordinary people who are struggling to survive Putin’s “putsches.” It is ironic that Lewytzkyj begins her book with the words of Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy, “Anything is better than lies and deceit!” Based on research from many sources as well as conversations, Lewytzkyj describes the devastating effects of Putin’s actions on the Ukrainian people. She tells readers that, “They are true heroes to me for practicing the rights and freedoms they fight to preserve.” Tatyana Zarovnaya, a journalist for “Newspapers in Ukrainski” and the website Gazeta.ua, was reporting on the conflict in Donetsk when she was attacked by pro-Russian separatists and labelled as a “Provacateur.” Fearing for her life, she moved to Kiev to live as an internally displaced person. Anna Pavlychko, a mother and aviation company manager in Crimea, was a Jewish-Ukrainian who actively supported the Maidan movement. She was intimidated by pro-Russian activists, witnessed the […]
Continue readingKnyzhka Corner Book Review: Sliding on the Snow Stone by Andy Szpuk
SLIDING ON THE SNOW STONE. Szpuk, Andy. That Right Publishing, 2011. 238 p. ISBN 1466305681 When Andy Szpuk asked his father about his earliest memory, he replied, “Russian soldiers carrying corpses away.” After hearing about his father’s life, Szpuk decided that this story must be told. Sliding on the Snow Stone gives readers a glimpse into the incredible determination that kept the Ukrainian nation alive throughout centuries of foreign oppression. As Sliding on the Snow Stone begins, it is 1932 and five-year old Stepan realizes that his tiny village near the town of Vinnitsya has changed forever. Soviet soldiers are picking up the bodies of his starving neighbours on the road. Stepan’s description is heart wrenching, “They began by taking away all our grain, and once they’d done that, they stripped rural Ukraine of all its food produce. There was nothing left to eat. Of course, back then I didn’t know all that. I was just a boy.” Stepan’s family manages to survive during the Holodomor because of their cow’s milk. However, all around them people are dying and eating anything they can find – even human flesh. Meanwhile, Soviet soldiers are freely eating and drinking. The Ukrainian will […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage – Tisha B’Av
Download: UJH-2014-0803-Tisha B’Av Tisha B’Av is a fast day that commemorates the destruction of the two Temples in ancient times, as well as more recent tragedies befalling the Jewish people. It is sometimes referred to as “The Ninth of Av, since it falls on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. On the secular calendar it usually coincides with late July or mid-August. Tisha B’Av vividly recalls devastating tragedies in Jewish history, so it is known as the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. The first great tragedy occurred in 586 B.C.E. when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the First Temple built by King Solomon, the most important place in ancient Judaism. The Temple was re-built on the site of the First Temple, and completed in 516 B.C.E. This second temple was destroyed during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. The destruction of the two Temples took place on the same day — the ninth of Av — about 656 years apart. These two events were so devastating that the ancient rabbis declared the anniversary of the Temples’ destruction a day of mourning. This is the origin of Tisha B’Av. Other tragedies have occurred on this […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage – Babyn Yar
Babyn Yar is a ravine on the outskirts of Kyiv that has become a symbol of the Holocaust. There more than 100 thousand perished during the Nazi occupation, including 40,000 Jews. Babyn Yar was first mentioned in historical accounts in 1401, in connection with its sale by a “baba” (which means an old woman), to the Dominican Monastery. Over the course of several centuries, the site was used for various purposes including military camps and at least two cemeteries, among them an Orthodox Christian cemetery and a Jewish cemetery. The latter was officially closed in 1937. On September 19, 1941 the Nazis occupied Kyiv. Ten days later, on Yom Kippur, they began the mass murder of Jews at Babiy Yar. The city’s Jews obeyed a Nazi order to assemble there, expecting to be deported, as Nazi propaganda intended. According to German records, in just two days nearly thirty four thousand Jews were killed. The killing continued for months. The majestic ravine quickly became a mass burial site of Jews, Gypsies, Ukrainians, Russians, Hungarians, and others …civilian hostages, prisoners of war, patriots and partisans, including Ukrainian Nationalists. The Nazis spared no one … not children, the elderly, nor pregnant women. Patients […]
Continue readingLydia Kotliarevska – Righteous Gentile
The Tkuma Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies in Dnipropetrovsk contains a number of materials concerning “Righteous among the Nations”. This honorary title is given to the people of different nations who rescued Jews during WWII, from 1939 to 1945. The procedure is monitored by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, a special committee established at the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority. Among the materials at Tkuma is the tremendous heroic story of Lidia Kotliarevska, who rescued Jews during the Nazi occupation of Dnipropetrovsk. Lidia Kotliarevska had been involved in an underground organization and had worked as a nurse in German hospital. She carried out her underground activity jointly with Boris Sondak, a Ukrainian Jew who she hid in her flat. Sondak was responsible for blowing up a bridge on the Dnipro River to halt the progress of the Nazis. In 1942 he and his comrades were arrested and executed. During the Dnipropetrovsk occupation she also sheltered a Jewish family, Tatiana Rabovskaya and her sons Viktor and Nikolay. The older son cared for his younger brother and Lidia’s young daughter Aleksandra. In November 2002 Yad Vashem notified Lidia Kotliarevska that she had received the honorary title of Righteous among the Nations for […]
Continue readingUnique programs at Tkuma Institute for Holocaust Studies
The Tkuma Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies in Dnipropetrovsk is widely known throughout Ukraine and abroad for its work devoted to Jewish history in Ukraine, Holocaust studies, and the problems of international relations. Since its inception the Tkuma Institute has been actively involved in publishing scientific monographs and textbooks, and conducting international scientific conferences and educational seminars. As well, domestically Tkuma implements many cultural and educational projects. These include Sunday university and the Dnipro historical club. Sunday University take place every third Sunday of the month and address issues in Jewish history, the history of Ukraine and World History. In 2012 and 2013 lectures, conversations and “round tables were scheduled on a variety of topics designed to deepen understanding of the origins of xenophobia, the background of the Holocaust, and the causes of religious confrontations. The main objective of the project is to cultivate an attitude of tolerance and cross-cultural understanding. At Sunday University there are also lessons on Jewish traditions, philosophy, psychology, and other topic of a cultural and historical nature. The idea of the “Sunday University” lectures series at “Tkuma” is not new. Dr. Igor Shchupak, Director of the Institute and Museum, had conducted similar programs in different […]
Continue readingTkuma Institute for Holocaust Studies – Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
The creation of the Tkuma Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies in Dnipropetrovsk dates back to 1999. At the time it was called the Tkuma Scholarly-Educational Center and it was the first national center for studying and teaching the history of Ukraine’s Jews and the Holocaust. The institute’s name is derived from a religious moshav – a communal settlement – in southern Israel. Tkuma was established as a kibbutz in early October, 1946. The first residents were immigrants from Eastern Europe who survived the Holocaust. Its name reflects the resurrection of Israel. The Hebrew word Tkuma in fact means “resurrection.” An important achievement of Tkuma is the creation of the Museum “Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine.” The opening ceremony of the Museum was the 16th of October 2012 in Dnipropetrovsk. On this date the Tkuma Center was re-named the Tkuma Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies. The mission of the Institute is forming and strengthening the Jewish national identity, as well as improving Ukrainian-Jewish relations in Dnipropetrovsk and throughout Ukraine. Today Tkuma is widely known in Ukraine and abroad for its work devoted to Jewish history in Ukraine, the Holocaust, and the problems of international relations. Since its inception it has […]
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