For some elderly Jewish residents of eastern Ukraine, 2022 was not the first time in their lives that they were forced to flee their homes. Eight decades after running from the invading German army as children in 1941, some of the same people — by now well into their old age — found themselves fleeing once again, this time from the invading Russian military.
Michael Gold, who edits the Ukrainian Jewish newspaper Hadashot, has been interviewing Jewish refugees since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion for the Exodus 2022 project, which records the testimonies of Ukraine’s Jewish community in the wake of the Russian invasion. Gold chose some of the most moving stories he’s collected for Novaya Europe’s readers.
The stories of Holocaust-survivor refugees from the Russian-Ukrainian war stand out even against the horrific backdrop of the armed conflict, and not only because the youngest of them is well over 80. These are people who, in their declining years, were forced to flee violence unleashed on them by a country whose language and culture they rightfully considered their own.
In June 1941, the image of the enemy was obvious and unambiguous, especially for Jews. But in February 2022, the invaders dressed up their invasion of a neighbouring country as concern for its Russian-speaking population and a need for Ukraine to undergo “denazification”. The reality, however, was starkly different. None of the local Jewish community had ever felt the need to flee mythical “Ukrainian Nazis”, but when the approach of their Russian “liberators” could be felt, they knew it was time to leave.
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Michael Gold, who edits the Ukrainian Jewish newspaper Hadashot, has been interviewing Jewish refugees since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion for the Exodus 2022 project, which records the testimonies of Ukraine’s Jewish community in the wake of the Russian invasion. Gold chose some of the most moving stories he’s collected for Novaya Europe’s readers.
The stories of Holocaust-survivor refugees from the Russian-Ukrainian war stand out even against the horrific backdrop of the armed conflict, and not only because the youngest of them is well over 80. These are people who, in their declining years, were forced to flee violence unleashed on them by a country whose language and culture they rightfully considered their own.
In June 1941, the image of the enemy was obvious and unambiguous, especially for Jews. But in February 2022, the invaders dressed up their invasion of a neighbouring country as concern for its Russian-speaking population and a need for Ukraine to undergo “denazification”. The reality, however, was starkly different. None of the local Jewish community had ever felt the need to flee mythical “Ukrainian Nazis”, but when the approach of their Russian “liberators” could be felt, they knew it was time to leave.
Read more...