[Cz-L] Reunion / Mimi's Questionnaire

Dear All.

I have been following the discussion on the reunion with great interest, and
thought I would put in my two-pennyworth. I think it is worth asking the
question - what would each of us be hoping to gain from a reunion?

For me, the purpose would be to see something of the city where my family
came from, in the company of other Czernowitzers, and hopefully to mutually
gain an increased awareness and understanding of pre-war Jewish Czernowitz.
It is therefore not simply an opportunity to meet friends one has made via
the List - and not simply a chance to visit Czernowitz - but the hope that
by accomplishing both these objectives simultaneously, we might achieve a
synthesis which would clarify and enlighten us as to the significance of
Jewish Czernowitz, and its role in our individual lives or in our family
history.

I agree with Simon's comment that the currently planned itinerary seems to
have quite a different emphasis from the reunion that was originally
envisaged, and about which we are excited. I am not at all happy that the
title of the event is "The 65th Commemoration of the Deportation ..." etc
etc. This seems to imply that the Commemoration is the main purpose of the
trip. Whereas for me, the purpose is quite different - I have tried to
explain it above.

For me personally I would not travel to Czernowitz to commemorate the
Holocaust or to celebrate "survival and life". The wartime period is only
one aspect of Czernowitz's Jewish history, and I am more interested in the
German-speaking Jewish culture that made Czernowitz special in the Austrian
and Romanian periods.

I fully agree with Mimi's plan to canvas opinion. In answer to her
Questionnaire:

1) When would you like the reunion to be and for how long?

I think a full seven days in Czernowitz is a good idea, and should give
enough time for everything that we would like to achieve, without being
unduly rushed. May or June sounds fine. Mimi's observations about the
climate in May are encouraging.

2) Are you interested in group travel arrangements to the reunion? From
where?

Possibly - depends on connections and cost for travelling from London.
Personally I am attracted by the idea of flying to Bucharest, and then
travelling to Czernowitz by train. All my family's journeys to/from
Czernowitz in the 1920s and 30s - to Eisenau, Warsaw, Bucharest, Vienna,
Prague - were by train. Arriving in Czernowitz by train would therefore be
a positive reminder of those times. (And I enjoy travel by train!)
Bucharest seems a more relevant destination than Lemberg or Kiev, because of
Czernowitz's Romanian connections in the pre-war period when my mother lived
there.

I do note Helmut's comments on the day train! Maybe there is a night train?
Perhaps this would be more convenient.

I would ideally like to spend a little time in southern Bukowina (Eisenau
and Campulung) - this might be fitted in as a break in the journey to / from
Bucharest.

3) Are you interested in group accommodation (hotel) arrangements?

Yes. Quite possibly we could get some sort of discount if all the rooms are
booked together. And in any case, as far as I can make out there are only
two hotels to seriously consider (Cheremosh and Bukovina), so the rooms
might as well be booked together. If we stay in the same hotel it will be
much more sociable. And it will be much more convenient, if we want to use
any conference facilities for lectures, discussions etc.

In some ways I would rather stay at the Bukovina because (I gather) it's in
walking distance of the town centre. However, maybe the facilities at the
Cheremosh would be more suitable. This needs careful consideration.

4) What collective tours, visits, lectures or other activities would you
like the group to plan?

This is of course the crucial question! A suitably imaginative programme
could make the whole experience particularly special.

There would be a lot of time in the seven days to explore the city and share
memories occasioned by what we see. I personally would be interested in the
following.

* Time for exploring the town. I think that walking around in smallish
groups would be much more rewarding than an organised tour to "see the
sights". There will be places of interest and relevance to each
participant - and it will also be interesting to be in the company of other
people who are discovering places relevant to themselves. There is of
course a dilemma here, in that we can't be in everybody's company at the
same time, otherwise we will have an enormous group which will be
impractical and less congenial.

Places of personal interest to me that I would like to see include the
various addresses where my family lived (if I can identify them), the Hotel
Bristol where my grandmother used to serve early-morning drinks, the Hotel
de Europe where my aunt met her future husband, the pharmacy where my uncle
used to work, the Meisler Schule, my mother's secondary school Olcea Doamna
(spelling?).

* I would like to see Sadagora. Hopefully we can thoroughly explore the
remains of the synagogue and the rabbinical court - not just the grave of
the rabbi!

* Visit(s) to the cemetery. I think there are two separate purposes here:
(1) to find individual graves of interest to the participants, (2) general
exploration to get the "feel" of the place, and see the jungle (probably
rather picturesque) that we have been told about. The first would obviously
have to be done individually. The second could be done collectively. If
many people want to see individual graves, this would benefit from
organisation in advance, to ensure that there is adequate time for all the
relevant graves to be made accessible.

* I would like to see the nearby beauty / leisure spots which my mother
used to visit - in particular Cecina, and the bathing area by the Pruth.

* I would be quite interested in a quick tour of the University at the
Residenz.

* (inspired by Reinhold Czarny) Visit to the archives in the Herz-Jesu
Kirche - the treasures there sound fascinating! Again this is probably more
an activity for individuals or small groups. Though perhaps in a larger
group we could be given some sort of guided introduction to indicate what is
where, and how to go about finding it.

* I would like to see the interior of the Theatre, ideally by attending a
performance - maybe a concert or opera - a play in Ukrainian might be a bit
difficult!

* I would like to visit the synagogue - though I would not particularly
wish to attend a service. Some sort of meeting with members of the Jewish
community might be interesting.

* Re the "Mayor and Dignitaries", I wouldn't necessarily be dismissive of
some sort of meeting with city officials. A visit by a large number of
"old-time Czernowitzers" might be a notable event for the city. I think it
is perhaps more a question of "what we could do for them", rather than "what
they can do for us". What I mean is that if we can in any way help to
reinforce the view of modern Chernivtsians that the Jewish aspect of
Czernowitz is an important part of the city's history, that would be
something worthwhile.

* And finally - some sort of programme of lectures / discussions, if
properly focussed, could really help to enlarge our overall experience.
This will need a lot of thought and ideas. As a suggestion, I might be able
to contribute a talk by my mother on life in 1930s Czernowitz.

I may think of additional things but I shall stop at this point so as not to
miss Mimi's "deadline"!

With best regards to all,

David
Received on 2005-08-27 14:28:54