Before the War: Our Ukraine Travels from a Jewish Perspective (Part 1)

BY ALAN SISSELMAN

In 2019, Alan Sisselman wrote an article summarizing a visit to Poland he took with his wife, Roberta Levine. In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and accompanying propaganda denying the existence of Ukrainian culture, we find it more important than ever to relay Alan and Roberta’s experiences in Ukraine. Today we share Part One of a two-part article, the second half which will appear in the May issue of the Jewish Journal.

To deny the existence of Ukrainian culture is to deny the existence of Jewish culture in Ukraine since an estimated 1.3 – 2.5 million Jews lived in Ukraine prior to World War II. The estimates widely fluctuate based on what borders were used to define this huge region. The current Jewish population estimate ranges from 50,000 to 100,000. Historically, a large portion of the Pale of Settlement, the region where Eastern European Jews were allowed to reside, was located within the current borders of Ukraine.

It is important to note that all the cities and sites we were able to visit are in immediate danger of attack from Russian military forces via artillery, tank and air bombardment, and missile strikes. We are aware that Kiev has already experienced extensive damage, Odesa has begun to experience the effects of war and Kherson is on the front lines of fighting. Upon arriving in Ukraine, we checked into our river cruise ship at the Port of Kiev on the Dnipro River, the major river in Ukraine, cutting through the middle of the country from Belarus in the north to the Black Sea in the south. The river makes a wide arc to the southeast before heading southwest to the Black Sea. The Dnipro River has some similarities to the Mississippi River in terms of being a critical highway of commercial transportation made possible through its modern system of multiple river locks.

It is documented that Jews have lived in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, as far back as the 10th century. Kiev’s oldest functioning synagogue, known as the Great Choral Synagogue (also called the Podil or Rozenberg Synagogue), is located adjacent to the port in the historic Podil District. Originally built in 1895, it was partially destroyed and then rebuilt after World War II. Interestingly, what appeared to be an upscale kosher restaurant was located next door but, unfortunately, we never had the opportunity to dine there. Also located in the neighborhood is the Chernobyl Museum, a fascinating place dedicated to keeping the memory of the Chernobyl disaster alive. The museum consists of three spacious rooms full of photos, gear, and uniforms from the Chernobyl disaster. Anything and everything related to the events surrounding the incident are documented, including the nuclear reactor’s design flaws, the attempted Soviet cover up, and the short and long-term impacts on people and the environment.

Later, we visited Babi Yar, the site of Nazi mass executions during World War II of primarily Jewish women, children, seniors and disabled.

The entire area was once a very large ravine which had since been filled in. At that time of the atrocities, most of Kiev’s men were serving in the Soviet army and were not present when this massacre occurred. During the bus trip to the northwestern sector of Kiev where Babi Yar is located, our guide described the details of the massacre based on the experiences of Dina Pronicheva, a Jewish eyewitness who miraculously survived the ordeal and lived to tell her terrifying story. We stopped at several sites of both Jewish and Soviet memorials. The Jewish displays included sculptures and photo displays describing the events that had occurred. The modest statue of Tatiana Markus, Hero of Ukraine, paled in comparison to her story, a Jewish woman who worked in the resistance and poisoned a number of Nazi officers. Adjacent to Babi Yar site was an enormous television station antenna which was damaged during the recent Russian attack on Kiev.

The next day, we rode the metro train to Tolstoy Plaza in central Kiev. We first visited the Brodsky or Central Synagogue. This synagogue is much larger than the Podil Synagogue and was also constructed before 1900. A few blocks away we spotted a relief of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in front of the tenement she once occupied as a child. Nearby was the small but fascinating Sholem Aleichem Museum. The museum contained many photos and possessions of the famous Yiddish writer. The staff was friendly and spoke mostly Ukrainian and Yiddish. Time did not allow us to visit other notable attractions in or near Kiev including the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, the Caves Monastery (Kyevo-Pecherska Lavra), or Mezhyhirya, the opulent estate north of the city that was financed by corruption and built by a former unpopular president, ousted during the 2014 Maidan Revolution. (Part 2 of this story will appear in next month’s Jewish Journal.)

Alan Sisselman and his wife, Roberta Levine, have resided in the Buffalo area for over 35 years and are members of Temple Beth Tzedek. They have a keen interest in Eastern European Jewish culture and perform klezmer music in their band, West of Odesa.