In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing The Battle for Ukrainian – A Comparative Perspective, edited by Michael S. Flier and Andrea Graziosi. The Battle for Ukrainian – A Comparative Perspective, published by the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, outlines the difficult history of the Ukrainian language. In June 2014, the […]
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Knyzhka Corner Book Review: Ukraine’s Nuclear Disarmament – A History
In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Yuri Kostenko’s book Ukraine’s Nuclear Disarmament – A History. Ukraine’s Nuclear Disarmament – A History, published by the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, outlines the factors which led Ukraine to sign the Budapest Memorandum in 1994. This agreement denuclearized the country. It also questions […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: Hannukah in Ukraine and around the world
Hanukkah is a joyous holiday, celebrated every year by Jews around the world with the lighting of candles on a candelabra called a menorah, or hanukkiya* in modern Hebrew. Traditional Hanukkah treats include potato latkes, called plyatsky or deruny in Ukrainian, and sufganiyot, doughnuts with jam, called pampushky in Ukrainian. There is also a tradition to give Chanukeh gelt—coins, and […]
Continue readingKnyzhka Corner Book Review: Wretched Land by Mila Komarnisky
Wretched Land tells the epic story of Dmytro and Khrystina Verbitsky as they live through the horrors of early 20th century Ukraine. Their love for the land and their family of ten children keeps them together through wars, famine, invasions, and collectivization. Readers will experience, “An unforgettable journey into the heart and soul of a […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage Book Review: Rebbe
In this edition of Ukrainian-Jewish Heritage, we will be discussing Joseph Telushkin’s biography, Rebbe – The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, The Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History. Rebbe examines the life and teachings of one of the most prominent and respected Jewish scholars of our time. Born in 1902 in Nikolayev […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: Part 4 —Currencies of Israel and Ukraine
Welcome to the final episode of our 4-part series on the currencies of Ukraine and Israel. In Episode 1, the focus was on the respective histories of the currencies of these two states. In Episodes 2 and 3, we focused on eight prominent Jews born in Ukraine who were depicted on Israel’s currency. In this […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: Part 3—Currencies of Israel and Ukraine
In the last two episodes of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage, we learned that several Jews from Ukrainian territories were awarded one of Israel’s highest honors: their portraits depicted on the state’s banknotes and coins. And that Ukraine has returned the favour. In Episode 1, the focus was on the respective histories of the currencies of Israel […]
Continue readingKnyzhka Corner Book Review: The Stories Were Not Told
In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Sandra Semchuk’s book on the internment of Ukrainians in Canada, The Stories Were Not Told – Canada’s First World War Internment Camps. From 1914 to 1920, thousands of individuals who had immigrated to Canada from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany and the Ottoman Empire were unjustly […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: Part 2—Currencies of Israel and Ukraine
The State of Israel was created and built by Jewish settlers who came mainly from Eastern Europe. Among them were quite a few natives of Ukraine, then ruled by the Russian & Austro-Hungarian Empires. Today’s episode of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage, Part 2 of our series on the currencies of Ukraine and Israel, features Jews from […]
Continue readingUkrainian Jewish Heritage: Hitler’s Basement
In this edition of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage, we will be discussing Ron Vossler’s memoir Hitler’s Basement. Much has been written about Nazi concentration camps, but little has been written about the Nazi massacres of Jews on Ukrainian soil, and the peasants who witnessed and participated in these horrific events. In Hitler’s Basement, Ron Vossler reveals […]
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