[Cz-L] May 31, 2011 in Czermowitz

May 31

I traced more of my parents life here...walking along Dr. Reiss Gasse locating apartments of ghost relatives, finding what I think was the Turnhalle where my father played and the Ford Agency, and on to the Jewish Apprentice Home where my father lived for a while. I found and walked through the building which housed the Morgen Blatt where my grandfather worked. He never survived Bershad and I have always longed to meet him. In a small way, I did today.

Next, I located 4 Gregor Gasse where my father lived for a brief time before leaving Czernowitz.

We met Zoya and spent 2 hours in the Jewish museum where we had enlightening discussions with Natasha and the artist Nuttelman. We became aware of a Jewish concert to be held at the Philharmonia this evening. With Zoya and her colleague, we had a coffee across the street form the theatre.

Next we walked past the Morganroth building and the Hoffman school to the old jail, past L3, and onto my mother's address where she lived before the deportation- 8 Isopescu. A young student, studying English at the university let us enter the building. With Zoya's help a neighbor contacted the resident of the apartment who will let us visit tomorrow morning.

We walked through the Volksgarten and back to the center. We stopped at a nice pizzeria across from the Palace Hotel where we ate sautéed cabbage, potatoes with mushrooms, potato pancakes, farmer cheese cakes, and potato pirogi. At least we do not get the same stares in restaurants when we pronounce that "we do not eat meat" that Jonathan S. For received in the movie "Everything is Illuminated".

We started to walk the route from where my mother resided in the ghetto to the train station and stopped. I said, "Why should I reenact death when here is so much to live for". So we went to the Philharmonia to try to see the concert. We waited in the square until the doors opened. We tried to get in without tickets but were unsuccessful, until we saw Natasha who enabled our entry. We sat in the balcony and watched a splendid Klezmer-Hasidic concert conducted by Leff Feldman. We personally went and thanked Mr. Feldman.

After walking out, we thanked Natasha who was standing in front of the Philharmonia. She introduced us to the author Margaret Bartfeld Feller who I communicated with in my poor version of Czernowitz-German. Coincidentally she believes she went to school or was a friend of my mother, Blanka End, before WWII. I will follow-up.

We also met and had a drink with a young, lovely, non-Jewish couple who teach at the university. The young man, whose name is Dr. Benjamin M. Grilj (from Grats, Austria) has written a book which is being published about 25 letters which deportees wrote in the winter of 1941 from Transitria,. These letters were undelivered and sequestered by the Romanians. He is conducting research on the influence of changes in the Romanian and Austrian constitutions on the lives and fate of Jews in the Bukovina.

We also heard an unpleasant rumor (hopefully just a rumor) about changing tides and sentiments of intolerance in Lviv. In particular we were told some worrisome things about a restaurant on the site of a former synagogue which phonetically is called "Shidivska Knaipa". I will not relate the very disturbing tings I was told about this restaurant, hoping the whole thing is not true.

Would it be fitting to have a memorial established in Czernowitz to remember those who suffered and died in Tranistria? Apparently, the young people here may not be taught about this school. One would like to think that being reminded of the past may help foster tolerance of others.

I must say, my stay here has been "bitter-sweet" and it is very fitting that I have seen many things through "cracked glass".

Please excuse any of my spelling and grammatical errors at this late hour.
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Received on 2011-05-31 17:13:21