[Cz-L] Photos from Arthur Rindner - Czernowitz, Bukovina
Dear Friends: After finding the Czernowitz Club, I want to
share with you some photographs I took during my recent visit to
Czernowitz. I was born in Czernowitz prior to WWII. The Germans occupied
the area and we were expelled and forcefully marched to TRANSNISTRIA. At
the end of the war we were liberated by the Russians, and returned to
Czernowitz by foot.
At the entrance of the city of Czernowitz, my aunt, Tante Fanny waited for
us for days. She had heard from other returning refugees that we were
liberated and that we were walking home. She stood there, at the entrance
to the city waiting for us to return. On seeing us arrive, she was so
emotional, and began to cry from happiness. I will never forget the
meeting, she immediately took me to a Conditorei and bought me a Chocolate
Kugel. This was the first taste of chocolate I had had in my few years,
and I can still taste it to this day.
I was registered to go to school; the languages in the school was Russian
and Yiddish. Czernowitz was occupied by the Russians and my father told
the authorities that we were Romanians, so we were allowed to cross the
border to Romania. We lived for about 2 years in Seret and later on we
immigrated to Israel. Many years later I was posted to Leningrad (St.
Petersburg) by my company. I was restricted and not allowed to leave
Leningrad without permission. I very much wanted to visit Czernowitz but
several requests were denied. Finally, on my last request I received
permission.
I arrived by train from Lviv (Lemberg) the same train station where we had
left 40 years earlier. On arrival in Czernowitz, the first thing that I
did was to visit my Grandmothers house. We lived there after returning
from concentration camp. I walked to my school, returning through the
Volkspark, to my grandmothers home. The hole in the fence where I used to
make a short cut was still there, suddenly I heard music. An orchestra was
playing in the gazebo in the middle of the park, just as it used to do
when I lived there. Nothing has changed, chills went up and down my spine
and it seemed as though time had stood still, I was back where I had
begun. The old paths in the park were unchanged. Life had stood still for
40 years. I walked down the Hauptstrasse to the Ringplatz, gazed at the
town hall, walked to the Herrengasse, found the Russischegasse, the street
where I was born but could not find the hospital.
The following day I visited the town where we lived before the war, about
30 Km south of Czernowitz called Storojinets. I could not remember where
we lived, I was only 3 years old when the Germans invaded and expelled
us. I found an old man who remembered my father and he told me where our
house was. It is now the Town hall of the city. I was unable verify
this. I hope you enjoyed my story and the photographs, and if there is
anyone who would like to chat with me please do so.
Arthur Rindner
Note from Carl Ulrich: Since pictures cannot be posted on our List, I
have suggested to Arthur that he send the pictures to Jerome Shatten so
that they can be posted on our other web site which at:
http://members.shaw.ca/czernowitz/
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Received on 2005-04-07 06:14:59
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: 2006-01-08 17:00:18 PST