Jerusalem Center for Documentation of Diaspora Heritage in cooperation with "Petersburg Judaica" had published
a historical guide:
"ONE HUNDRED SHTETLS OF UKRAINE"
Issue 2. Jewish communities of Podolia.
(St. Petersburg 2000)
Authors: B. Luckin, A. Sokolova, B. Khaimovitch.
In Russian with English Summary.
The impact of the remarkable culture of Eastern European Jewry on the Jewish world today should not be underestimated. Theirs was a unique civilization, which still thrived less than a century ago. Vibrant and diverse, it encompassed the whole range of human endeavors from spiritual inquiry and creative expression to science and commerce. It has now vanished from the towns and shtetls of Eastern Europe and lifeless stones are all that can be seen after hundred of years of Jewish history. The time has come to "collect these stones" for unless we try to save this invaluable heritage today, tomorrow it may be too late.
The western part of Ukraine, in particular Podolia, is a rich repository of the materials remains of Jewish culture. Jews, who formed the majority of the local urban population and who were its most active component, had a powerful influence character of the Podolian shtetls. Today we are able to savor the unique character of these Jewish communities through the shtetl streets, stately synagogue buildings, and old cemeteries crowded with carved tombstones that have miraculously survived the ravages of the 20th century.
This second volume of the historical guide to the Jewish communities in the series One Hundred Shtetls of Ukraine is a groundbreaking work. It is the first ever study of the Jewish regional history of southeast Podolia (now southern Vinnitsa Province). Local Jewish communities were not totally annihilated during World War II since most of this region was incorporated into Rumanian Transnistria. There we met with Jews, heard Yiddish on the streets, and took part in Shabbat prayers. Today one can still see material remains of the Jewish past that time and people are proceeding to destroy. This is why we felt it urgent to describe the Jewish communities of the particular region, which introduced new colors of their own into the overall mosaic of the past we are attempting to restore bit by bit. The very names of the shtetls themselves - Bratslav, Tulchin, Shargorod, Bershad - evoke vivid associations. A total of 31 communities are described in this volume of One Hundred Shtetls of Ukraine.
The authors have done their utmost to provide a complete picture of the Jewish life of the region, presenting precise and comprehensive historical and cultural information in a readable and entertaining style. The guide contains about four hundred photographs, both contemporary and archival, together with dozens of historical and topographical maps and charts. This material, together with excerpts from folklore and historical documents - most of them never before published - assist the reader in reconstructing a vivid picture of those places, then and now.
The guide begins with introductory articles on: "Podolian Jews in the 17th - 18th centuries" by B. Luckin, "The architecture of Podolian shtetls within the context of traditional culture" by A. Sokolova, and "The folk art of the South Podolia" by B. Khaimovitch. An extensive reference section concludes the book, comprising indexes, a glossary of terms, a chronology of Jewish history in Podolia, and a detailed list of literary and archival sources.
More than ten years ago, the three authors of this guide participated in an informal seminar on Jewish history and then helped found the Jewish University in Leningrad. These landmark events inspired the authors to begin their own investigations into different aspects of the Jewish history and culture, which they have continued ever since. They share a common goal - to present the great heritage of Eastern European Jewry and to make it accessible to its heirs worldwide.
This series is intended for a diverse audience including both professionals and lay-people interested in the study of Jewish history, folklore, art, architecture and genealogy, as well as history teachers in Jewish schools and colleges. It will also be of invaluable assistance to tourists, pilgrims, and tour guide planning to explore the Jewish Ukraine.
