[Cz-L] Waiting to get out of there.

Thanks to all, who replied to my question as to when and how, those who were
born in Czernowitz and survived the war, managed to get out of the USSR.

Those who answered my question, wrote (I abbreviate some answers):

Frieda Tabak: We left Cz in the fall of 1945 for Poland.
  
Kurt Nachman: My mother left legally in 1945 to "reunite" with her my
brother in Bucharest. At that time there was a short period of "open
borders" with the East Block countries for family reunion after the war. It
was quite straightforward - you only had to demonstrate that you have
family in satellite countries.
I myself remained in Czernowitz and left for Rumania in 1955.

Gabi Rinzler: I left with my parents in April of 1946 via Siret. that night
they closed the border.

Asher Turtel: I was about 4 years old, our family had planned to try to
cross the border illegally. One evening we put our few belongings
on a truck (me seating with my mother on the truck behind the drivers cabin)
and headed to the border. Arriving there we discovered that there are
soldiers (Rumanian? Russian?) there. The next day we returned the same way
and succeeded to cross and arrived to Seret. The reason for doing it
illegally, was that the Russian authorities demanded everyone to enlist and
my father was sure that there will be executions according to those lists.

Lucca: I left Czernowitz with my parents in 1946. All our belongings were
placed on a cart drawn by a single tired horse.

Eytan: My mother left Bucharest for Prague, on her way to Paris and then the
USA on September 10, 1947. My father (born in Lipcani but raised in
Czernowitz) left for Palestine in 1944 on a smuggler's boat.

Please excuse me if I missed anyone.

As I remember the events of 1944, 1945 and the possibilities for leaving
the Soviet "Paradise" and our hometown of Czernowitz which had become
Czernovtsi, were these:
Before the liberation, the only Jewish people who could leave Czernowitz,
were those who had been subscripted by the Romanian authorities for "munca"
(work) on the highway, or rail being built somewhere in the south of
Romania. One of my uncles, Yehoshua (Schiku) Steinmetz, was somewhere on
munca, my parents found a way of bribing the authorities and he managed to
get to Palestine in 1944, I believe, before Romania's surrender. Possibly,
he was on the same boat as Eytan's father.

Even though, greatly relieved at no longer being under Romanian fascist
rule, most Czernowitz Jews had learned their lesson in 1940-41 and wanted to
get out. Some were afraid of being drafted into the Soviet army in 1944 and
early 1945, some had good reasons to be afraid they would be sent to the
Dombas region, some just had had enough of "Tovaresh Stalin".

During the early summer of 1945, the border was opened briefly to allow
those who claimed to be from southern Bucovina, to return to their homes.
All those who wanted to leave had to gather in Tereblesti, from where they
would be allowed to cross to Siret. My family and I and some other family,
rented a horse and cart to take us to Tereblesti. At Hliboka we were joined
by other Czernowitzers, who worked at the Methyl Alcohol (Spirtus )factory
in that village. From Hliboka to Tereblesti we walked in order to spare the
horse. As I was told, 12000 Jewish Czernowitzers waited a few days in
Tereblesti, before being allowed to cross the border. During that waiting
period, most people slept in one large barn and a number of babies were
born, also a number of death occurred. Each person was searched for jewelry
and money, before being allowed to cross, gold watches, in particular were
confiscated by the border guards. Hasty arrangements had to be made to have
someone from Romania to come with a cart to the border, in order to pick up
the Czernowitzers crossing on foot.

Of those who could have left at that time, but chose to remain, some were
waiting for the return of relatives from the interior of the USSR, some did
not want to leave their homes, some may have had various personal reasons.

I have no definite knowledge of the number of native Jewish Czernowitzers
who remained in town after 1945, but estimate the following: Before 1940,
there were about 50 000 Jews in Czernowitz. I think that about 2000 were
deported to Siberia in 1940-41. Up to a thousand, either left with the
Russians when the war started, or were murdered by the Romanian army and
gendarmes. About 20 000 received permission to stay in town during the war.
Of the approximately 27000 who were deported to Transnistria, only about
17 000 returned and some of these were drafted into the Soviet army and died
shortly afterwards. In 1944-45 a few hundred managed to cross the border
Illegally. This would mean that in 1945 there were in Czernowitz about 36000
native Jewish Czernowitzers. If 12 000 crossed into Romania in 1945 and a
similar number in 1946, then about 12 000 would have remained.

If anyone has correct, accurate numbers, instead of my estimates, please
make these know.

Mimi
    
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Received on 2011-03-12 15:02:37