Thank you Alfred for describing the entry of the Soviet military into Czernowitz
in the summer of 1940.
I was too young at the time to notice it.
But papers and documents of my parents which I still have, lead me to believe
That the coming of the Russians was not unexpected.
One of the documents is a sworn and notarized testimony by my maternal grandfather,
Which states that my father was an "agricultor" (worker in agriculture) and
A " licenciat" in Mathematics.
I think that this document was drawn up, so that my father could prove
that he was not a "Burjui". He certainly was not an "Agricultor".
Mimi
Sent from my iPad
On Jun 28, 2015, at 7:16 PM, "Alfred Schneider" <asfred_at_comcast.net> wrote:
> Three scores and fifteen years ago, on this date, the lives of the inhabitants of Czernowitz, my hometown, changed forever. The thirteen years old Jewish boy may not have fully grasped what was happening on that day, but the venerable senior of today, whose memory is still functioning, would like to reminisce with the few survivors of his generation now dispersed in many parts of the world.
>
> It came suddenly. Though only a short distance from the former border with Poland, a country that no longer existed, we lived with the unreal belief that Romania will maintain its neutrality and will not be drawn into the war. The radio news on the evening before informed us that the USSR had given Romania an ultimatum to immediately return Bessarabia, once part of Czarist Russia. As reparation for the Romanian exploitation of Bessarabia, Romania was requested to also turn over the Northern Bukovina, including the provincial capital of Czernowitz.
>
> Throughout the night, there was an endless movement of military and civilians on the streets, mostly in the direction of the railroad station. The Romanian presence disappeared almost instantaneously, and red flags appeared on many buildings. There was sporadic looting in the city, but the interregnum generally proceeded without violence. (I remember a humorous incident on the Waaggasse, where an inebriated individual, presumed to have been a member of the "Hausmeister" cast, was trying to push uphill a barrel with red wine. Since he made frequent stops to reduce the contents of the barrel, its integrity was compromised and the gutters were suddenly filled with red wine).
>
> As the day moved on, Red Army troops started to move into the city. A lonely Central Asian looking soldier was placed at the corner of Ringplatz and Herrengasse with a WWI version of a submachine gun on wheels. Trucks with Red Army soldiers with banners greeting the Liberated Bukovina were followed by infantry soldiers singing Moskva Moya and Try Tankisty. As the end of the day approached, communist propaganda units appeared, distributing printed material in several languages, including Yiddish, and movie projectors were set up on the Ringplatz. There was a euphoric atmosphere in the city and the concern about our future had not yet become our primary preoccupation. Today, seventy-five years later, "vom Winde verweht" in Atlanta, I cannot help but wonder at the innocence and confusion we experienced on that balmy June day in Czernowitz.
>
> Alfred (Fred) Schneider
>
> Professor Emeritus
>
> Georgia Tech and MIT
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Received on 2015-06-30 10:28:40