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Recording Content:
The first part of the tape is a formal interview with Polina (Pesel-Ester) Izrailovna Iuris, born 1949 in Chernivtsi. [00:00 – 00:39:12]
The second part of the tape is a formal interview with Froim Kalmanovich Bukshtein, born 1923 in Novoselitsa. (Part 1 of 5. See MDV 445, MDV 446, MDV 447, and MDV 448) [00:39:12 – 01:00:43]
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00:00:00
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The first part of the tape is a formal interview with Polina (Pesel-Ester) Izrailovna Iuris, born 1949 in Chernivtsi. Iuris shows family photographs, before the team sets up the interview with her. |
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00:03:32
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The formal part of the interview begins. Iuris provides personal information and talks about her family. Iuris’ mother was born in Tatarbunary and her father, who worked at the main post office in Chernivtsi, was born in 5:41, 13:50, 14:00, 29:48 Moldova. Before the war, her parents owned a shop in Moldova. Iuris left Moldova and moved to Kolomyya in the immediate postwar period. Iuris grew up with a stepbrother. |
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00:11:09
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Iuris discusses her childhood memories and talks about her parents. She explains that her grandmother told her to speak Yiddish at home and Russian with her Jewish and non-Jewish friends to avoid being made fun of. After the war, her parents moved from Moldova to Chernivtsi, into a house, formerly part of the Chernivtsi ghetto. |
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00:16:15
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Iuris talks about Sabbath celebrations at home and her family. She remembers that her parents frequently attended synagogue. She then talks about traditional weddings after the war. She put up a wedding canopy at her own wedding. Iuris raised two sons, one of whom lived in Israel for four years. |
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00:21:56
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Iuris discusses postwar Yiddish culture in Chernivtsi, including newspapers and theater. She then talks about her relatives in America and shows letters written in Yiddish and describes a family photograph. |
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00:31:16
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Iuris talks about holiday celebrations, including Passover. She then explains how to make gefilte fish. |
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00:35:37
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Iuris briefly talks about her life in the immediate postwar period. She lived in Kolomyya, before moving to Ivano Frankivsk in 1970 as a result of her husband’s work assignment. Iuris then talks in Russian about her family. |
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00:39:12
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The second part of the tape is a formal interview with Froim Kalmanovich Bukshtein, born 1923 in Novoselitsa. Bukshtein provides personal information and talks about his life before the war in Novoselitsa until 1940. He studied at a religious school (cheder) for six years and also attended a Romanian school. |
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00:44:13
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Bukshtein talks about his family and contemporary religious life. Bukhstein serves as assistant rabbi. He then discusses the history of the region and prewar Jewish life in Novoselitsa. Bukhshtein recalls many non-Jews speaking Yiddish. He then lists Zionists organizations, including Hashomer Hatzair, Betar, and Poale Zion. Bukshtein was a member of the youth organization Hashomer Hatzair and recalls its activities to prepare chalutzim (young pioneers preparing aliyah to live in agricultural settlements). Bukhstein’s cousin made aliyah in 1935. |
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00:50:05
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Bukshtein talks about the Sovietization of Ivano Frankivsk in 1940 and his life during this period. He worked as a tailor and was sent on a work assignment to Mykolayiv at a 51:28 construction site. Bukshtein explains how he and other tailors were called away by the Jewish director of a tailoring factory. He maintains that most workers at the factory were Jewish and the young workers were called to a meeting in 1940, held in Yiddish. Bukshtein states that his plans for returning home for vacation were interrupted as World War II broke out. |
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00:54:57
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Bukshtein talks about his life during the war. His family was imprisoned in the Stanislav ghetto and Bershad ghetto. His mother, sister, and brother survived the war because they were imprisoned in the Romanian-occupied Bershad ghetto, according to him. The leadership of the tailoring factory in Mykolayiv was evacuated to Siberia. The workers were responsible for their own evacuation. Bukshtein describes how he followed with his friend the echelons with factory evacuees, including factory machinery, and traveled for one month to Novosibirsk, Russia. He further evacuated to Bolotnoye, where the tailoring factory was reestablished for the Soviet war effort. Bukshtein was drafted into the Red Army in Novosibirsk at the end of 1941. Bukshtein states that he joined his Jewish friend, who volunteered as a “westerner” and was sent to the military authority in Siberia 59:25, whereas the other draftees became soldiers. He explains how the military commander was upset about their visit because they were not allowed to serve as minors in the Red Army. |
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