Re: [Cz-L] Resilience

Hi Mimi,

I was not trying to say that the Ukrainians were worse than, say,
Lithuanians or Latvians. Neither was I belittling the courageous
behavior of those of them who helped their Jewish neighbors risking
their own lives. I simply wanted to add a perspective to the point of
view that the Ukrainians must have been BETTER than others because of
the highest number of the Righteous Gentiles among them, which I
disagree with.

And of course, most of the Czernowitzer deportees to Transnistria came
from relatively affluent circles (at least, compared with most
Bessarabians). That, coupled with the language barrier, did not bode
well for them in the harsh conditions they found themselves in at
Transnistrian camps. Nothing to do with inferiority or superiority.
That being said, there is little doubt in my mind that many
Czernowitzers in different circumstances would, probably, look down on
the Bessarabian "shtetl" Jews...

Did not mean to ruffle any feathers, just spoke my thoughts...

Best, Greg Fedner.

On Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 4:32 PM, <mirtaylo_at_indiana.edu> wrote:
> Dear Greg,
>
> I welcome your participation in this discussion and am glad
> that you joined the Czernowitz-List.
> I have heard from one of my friends, born in Chernovtsi around 1955,
> that she had to put up with a lot of Anti-Semitism; mostly from
> government and state agencies. On the other hand, her parents
> who now live in the US, have remained in contact with Ukrainian friends
> who still live in Chernivtsi.
> There is no question that Ukrainians from the Western Ukraine
> participated in the killing of Jews during WW2. Were they worse than
> the Latvians or Lithuanians? Or the Croatians and Slovaks?
> Depends on what was revealed and what we know.
>
> But the fact that many Ukrainians saved Jews, when it was dangerous
> for them to do so, should not be belittled.
> Dutch, Scandinavian and English newspapers camouflage
> Anti-Semitism as Anti-Israel diatribes. This coming
> from well educated and well fed peoples upsets me more
> than when it comes from poor people in poor countries.
> Those who condemn Israel, because they claim they feel sorry
> for the Palestinians, do not seem to be bothered
> by the suffering of the Kurds at the hands of the Turks
> and Syrians, nor the Tibetans at the hands of the Chinese.
>
> As to comparing the adaptation of Czernowitz Jews in Transnistria
> to the adaptation of Bessarabian Jews:
> Czernowitz Jews had had a better standard of living and had had
> to put up with less hardships than Bessarabian Jews,
> and that is why it was harder for most of them to adapt
> to the conditions in the camps. This is not an indication
> of inferiority or superiority.
>
> Mimi
>

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Received on 2013-01-28 22:02:31