Some books may entertain, others inform, still other edify. But every book enriches the mind. The mind of the reader, certainly. But also, the mind of the author – some of whom are inspired by writing a book to write others.
On Nash Holos, through our Ukrainian Jewish Heritage series, we have been fortunate to review many intriguing and fascinating books on topics involving Jews, Ukrainians, and their interactions.
In 2018, I compiled a list for your summer reading pleasure. Two years, and eight more books later, I did it again.
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 the standard. Well-known jazz legends such as Charlie Parker and Miles Davis studied his technique.
Yale Strom is himself an accomplished klezmer musician and historian. He is credited as a pioneer in the revival of klezmer. Strom had already published several books on the genre when by happenstance he ran into a great-grandson of Dave Tarras in New York. That encounter inspired Strom to write a biography of the iconic musician.
Fleeing pogroms in Russian-occupied Ukraine, Tarras and his wife arrived in America in 1920. He got a job working in his brother-in-law’s fur shop because he did not think he was good enough to make a living as a musician in America. But within three years he was supporting his growing family playing his clarinet.
He would go on to become the most acclaimed klezmer musician in the United States. During his career he made hundreds of recordings, on labels such as Columbia and RCA Victor.
The book contains many touching anecdotes by family members, musical colleagues and proteges. There is newly discovered biographical material, rare photos, the musical scores of 28 of Tarras' original klezmer tunes arranged for violin and clarinet, a glossary of Yiddish terms, a bibliography, detailed footnotes and discography. Plus a copy of a handwritten note by Tarras a few years before he passed away.
Dave Tarras influenced several generations of klezmer musicians, and will no doubt continue to influence generations to come. In the 1970s Dave Tarras was "rediscovered" and came out of retirement to do one last studio recording and tour. It was a huge hit with seniors who recalled the heyday of klezmer. But it also attracted a smaller crowd of young musicians who would form the nucleus of a revival of Yiddish culture.
In 1984, Dave Tarras was honored by the National Endowment of the Arts with a National Heritage Fellowship.
On the August 24, 2018 episode of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage, I shared the story of Dave Tarras and his wonderful music, as well as this book. If you missed it, or would like to hear it again, check out our audio archive. August 24, 2018. Just search for it on our podcast feed. There’s also a link to the audio with the transcript which you can find at the Nash Holos website.
Jews and Ukrainians: A Millennium of Co-Existence
by Paul Robert Magocsi and Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern, is a comprehensive historical account of the relationship between Jews and ethnic Ukrainians, both in Ukraine and the diaspora.
This book attempts to fill the gap of what Jews and Ukrainians know about each other. It begins with an examination of how “Stereotypes, Perceptions and Misperceptions,” often based on blatant prejudice, cloud the relationship between Ukrainians and Jews, which goes back a thousand years.
The first Jewish settlers moved to Ukrainian lands as maritime merchants from the Mediterranean Basin. They settled in the coastal towns of the Black Sea along with Greek colonists.
During the time of Kievan Rus, Jews started arriving from central Europe and settling in central and northern Ukrainian towns. There are references to Jewish settlers in the literature of the period.
Jews and Ukrainians continued to live together in the land that is contemporary Ukraine for hundreds of years despite rule by foreign governments. By 1900, Jews made up nearly 9% of the population of modern day Ukraine, and ethnic Ukrainians 74%. Today, just .02% of Ukraine’s population is Jewish, and lives in major centres. The world of shtetls in Ukraine —with thriving Jewish communities and commerce—is forever gone.
This volume is full of intricate information, insightful historical analysis, detailed graphics and maps, as well as very relevant photographs. At times, the detail almost seems encyclopedic, but the writers manage to make each and every section relevant and readable.
Those new to Ukrainian studies will learn a great deal about Ukraine’s history and culture. Those who have studied both Ukrainian and Jewish culture will appreciate the commentary and the analysis of historical events. Researchers will definitely appreciate the extensive list of resources at the end of this book.
Magocsi and Petrovsky-Shtern have written an impressive book packed with encyclopedic detail while being as easy to read as a magazine. Jews and Ukrainians: A Millennium of Co-Existence is available at Amazon.
In September of 1941, this scenic area of forests and ravines in Kyiv, which translates into English as Grandmother’s Ravine, became a global symbol of the Holocaust. Once known as the “Switzerland of Kyiv” today Babyn Yar is synonymous with unfathomable cruelty and unprecedented loss of life.
Nearly 34,000 Kyivan Jews perished in Babyn Yar at the hands of the Nazis in late September of 1941. Over the next two years, tens of thousands more people, Jews and non-Jews, were murdered there.
The contributions to this volume are based on documentary sources and academic research.
Babyn Yar: History and Memory, is the result of the collaborative effort of scholars from various disciplines in Canada, France, Israel, the Netherlands, Ukraine, and the United States working with editors Vladyslav Hrynevych and Paul Robert Magocsi.
These scholars were compelled by the desire to inform the world about the history of one of the most terrible human tragedies, and also to underline the importance of preserving its memory.
At the center of the book of course is the history of a Nazi crime. But this history is a departure point for a deeper discussion. The book covers the politics of memory and forgetting… from the Stalinist period to the present day, and the cultural memory of Babyn Yar. Yet there is a generational aspect to the reinterpretation of this tragedy. Every generation does this in its own way—as it must. Because the past is not some construct set in stone, forever fixed in place. It is instead a dynamic phenomenon open to new discoveries.
This book examines some of these new discoveries, and the context in which they are reached. It is available in both Ukrainian and English editions. The English edition of Babyn Yar: History and Memory is available on Amazon.
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In 2018, Alti Rodal expanded on the exhibit’s narrative to explore the multi-dimensional relationships between Ukrainians and Jews inhabiting the lands of today’s Ukraine.
The book is divided into two sections – “Antiquity to the Partitions of Poland” and “Two Parallel Eras – the ‘Long Nineteenth Century’ (1772-1914).”
The first section examines the interactions of the two peoples beginning in antiquity, moving to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth period, and concluding with an examination of Hasidism and Hebrew/Yiddish publishing on Ukrainian lands.
The issues discussed include Jewish settlement in Ukrainian lands, Ukrainian serfdom, Jewish co-operation with Polish magnates, Khmelnytsky’s uprising and the consequences for both Jews and Ukrainians, the Uman massacre, the rise of the Uniate church, and the rise of Hasidism.
The second section of this book focuses on the experience of Ukrainians and Jews in the Russian empire, as well as the Austro-Hungarian regime up to 1914. It deals with difficult topics such as the pogroms in the Russian empire; however, it also highlights trends in Ukrainian-Jewish political and civic co-operation.
There is a focus on the cultural renaissance experienced by both Ukrainians and Jews during this period. This section concludes by examining emigration to North America.
Although this volume may be compact in size at only 169 pages, it is full of relevant information, insightful historical analysis, detailed maps and graphic elements, as well as historically significant paintings and photographs.
Readers of all ages will learn a great deal about Ukrainian and Jewish history, culture, religion, economics, and demographics in the land that is contemporary Ukraine. A Journey through the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter: From Antiquity to 1914 is available free of charge from the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter in PDF and print, at their website.
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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 these horrific events.
Three books published in the early part of this century make a good start at beginning to fill that gap.
Two of these books were written by a Roman Catholic priest. Father Patrick Desbois has devoted his life to researching the Holocaust, fighting anti-Semitism, and furthering relations between Catholics and Jews.
This book documents Father Desbois' very first efforts to uncover the truth about events in Ukraine during the years 1941-1944.
After discovering that his grandfather had been a prisoner of war and witnessed mass murders of Jews, Desbois decided he needed to seek justice for these people. He travelled through Ukraine interviewing aging witnesses who described the horrific massacre of Jews.
Desbois is a masterful writer who captures the imagination and draws readers into his experiences. His sense of justice for those who cannot speak for themselves is compelling.
A decade later, he published a sequel titled In Broad Daylight – The Secret Procedures behind the Holocaust by Bullets
It continues the gruesome narrative, explaining how Jews were killed in broad daylight with the co-operation of their non-Jewish neighbors.
In Broad Daylight—The Secret Procedures behind the Holocaust by Bullets continues this gruesome narrative based on over 4000 interviews, as well as recently released Soviet archival materials. This book explains how Jews were killed in broad daylight with the co-operation of their non-Jewish neighbors.
Desbois writes with both clarity and purpose, drawing even reluctant readers into a narrative about man’s inhumanity to man, and the process behind it.
In Broad Daylight is a very difficult book to read, but at the same time, it is an important addition to the history of the Holocaust.
Father Patrick Desbois’ two books, Holocaust by Bullets and In Broad Daylight provide a stark and very necessary reminder that we need to learn from history so that these events will never be repeated.
Vossler’s relatives came from this area and were known as the Volksdeutsche, a German minority living outside Germany. His search for the truth about the events of these massacres, and the role of the Volksdeutsche is the core of this book.
Ron Vossler was a literature professor in North Dakota when he became interested in the murders of Jews in the Transnistria area. His relatives came from this area of Ukraine. As a young person, he knew very little about these events because no one ever talked about them in North Dakota. However, the Volksdeutsche culture and history were very important in the community.
After a visit to his elderly Volksdeutsche relatives in California, Vossler becomes aware of a very close family connection to a famous Nazi. At first, Vossler does not want to face his community’s connections to the Holocaust. However, he soon becomes obsessed with learning the truth about the past.
His obsession took him on a trip to Ukraine where his research revealed not only extensive evidence of Volksdeutsche involvement in the Jewish massacres, but also, the involvement of his own family members.
Hitler’s Basement is a heart-breaking but intensely compelling book. The details are graphic, with descriptions of ovens, bone fragments, rapes, and massive shootings. There are stories of Volksdeutsche villagers sheltering Jews and saving them, but also stories of young Volksdeutsche men participating in the mass murders.
This very personal memoir is an important addition to the historical record about the open-air Holocaust of the Jews by the Nazis in Ukraine which Father Patrick Desbois wrote about.
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Paulina’s story begins in Cuba in 1968. She is part of the engineering team designing a top secret submarine base for Soviet nuclear submarines. Told in two volumes, this fascinating true-life story explores many topics including: Stalin’s final years, Fidel Castro’s Cuba, and the dangers of defecting.
Paulina does not shy away from describing the complex political realities of life in the Soviet Union. Her home city of Odessa is full of beautiful buildings and talented people. However, the constant fear of Soviet repression rules their lives. Children are forced to denounce their parents for any supposed anti-Soviet activity resulting in arrest and punishment in a Gulag prison camp.
Beginning with her birth in 1945 in postwar Odessa, Paulina’s Jewish family is subjected to constant scrutiny by the KGB. Despite the death of her mother from Stalin’s imposed famine of 1946-1947, Paulina is an optimistic child who loves difficult tasks. Jokingly, adults tell her, “To you any sea is only knee deep.” This Odessan motto, which is the title of the book, becomes a powerful tool in her life.
Paulina manages to keep a low profile and stay out of politics. Despite many obstacles, she skillfully uses the Soviet system to study engineering at the National Marine University of Odessa where she meets her future husband, Eduardo, a Cuban citizen.
A few years later, they and their two children are sent to Cuba to work under the Castro regime. As Volume 1 ends, Paulina narrowly escapes being raped by her superior who then proceeds to make life difficult for her. She must decide whether to face the dire consequences or defect from the Soviet Union with her children. Her choice was clear, but very dangerous.
In Volume 2 of The Sea is Only Knee Deep, Paulina continues the harrowing story of her defection to Canada. She must divorce her husband Eduardo to cut her connection to Cuba. All her plans depend on travelling by air to Gander, Newfoundland.
When she reaches Gander, she runs across the tarmac with two small children to reach safety. After a grueling immigration process, Paulina is granted asylum in Canada.
There is a great deal of technical detail about Paulina’s top secret engineering work on the nuclear submarine base in Cuba which was the cause of the undisclosed second Cuban missile crisis beginning in 1969. Paulina also describes Cuban life during the 1960’s, and gives readers insight into Fidel Castro’s idiosyncratic leadership style.
Readers will experience the terror that Paulina experienced in her defection process as well as her precarious situation in Soviet Ukraine and later in Cuba. Her strength of character comes through clearly in her highly descriptive, candid, and clearly written autobiography.
These two self-published volumes of The Sea is Only Knee Deep by Paulina Zelitsky and her second husband Paul Weinzweig provide an interesting look at rarely discussed historical aspects of the Soviet Union, Cuba and Canada.
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You can find the full Summer Reading List on the Nash Holos blog.
Transcripts and audio files of this and previous episodes of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage at the Nash Holos website. They’ll include links to interviews done with the authors of several of these books on separate episodes of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage.
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