The good times are implanted in you, and you don’t want to forget them. I bless God for the happy times that I will never forget. Even though it has been such a long time, I feel that I am in Czortkow and living through this all again. I am trembling because these memories are so vivid to me. My darling Gloria, I have informed you a little bit about my city, the city where your grandmothers were born, your parents were born, and also you, my precious one. I attended Beth Yankov while I was attending public school. There were also a Seminary, (a teacher’s university), a business school called Handlufka, and a Hebrew School, Beth Yankov, a religious school for girls. The war broke out and the schools were closed. I attended the high school, but only for a short time. With good marks we were able to be accepted for higher education. We had all the privileges that the Polish High School had. We also had a Polish High School (Gymnasium), and a Jewish High School which was organized a few years before the war. Wizhnotzev Synagogue was the one where my parents were discovered, and then driven to the outskirts of the city where they were killed. Officev’s Synagogue was the one that your father’s parents attended for the High Holy Days. We also had a bet midrash, a cheder for boys. Another large synagogue in the middle of the city, the Stretener Synagogue, was Rabbi Shapiro’s synagogue. Gloria, that was the synagogue where your grandfather, Rabbi Meir Leib Mayer, was the cantor during the High Holy Days, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. One large one was called the Rabbi Friedman Synagogue. That was where we shopped.Ĭzortkow had six synagogues. There were also livestock, chickens and geese. Ukrainian women came from their villages with all kinds of fresh vegetables, milk, eggs, butter and fruits. On the sides we had stands with all kinds of fresh food. Around the Bazaar were small stores, selling groceries and other merchandise. I also remember that we had only one watchmaker who could fix it when it stopped. The clock was very punctual, marking every hour of the day. I remember so clearly that large clock in the center of town. It was located in the center of the city, on Rynek Street. We had a special place for shopping, which was called the Bazaar. They said that some people make promises, but don’t keep them. I promised that if they would help us to survive, they would get it. After the liberation, I signed over an apartment to Palania and Ruzka, the sisters who saved our lives. In order to go to our houses, we had to pass a bridge. My parents owned properties on Wygnanka Street. Some names of the streets in Czortkow were Rynek, Sobieskiego, Mitzkewicha, Paololskov, Nadzechna, Stary Czortkow, Gurna Wygnanya and Wygnanka. Organizations were established, and help was given to them. Many Jews owned properties and large businesses. Some lived in the villages around Czortkow. The majority of the Jews were spread throughout the city. The population was mixed: Poles, Ukrainians and Jews. After the war there were only 80 survivors. The only crime that we committed was that we were born Jews.īefore the war, Czortkow was a city of about 30,000 people. They were watching and enjoying our pain. They joined the Nazis in Ukraine, and together started to destroy us. Our neighbors of so many years suddenly changed and became murderers. We, the Holocaust survivors, had only one wish: to be able to live and to be able to tell the world what had happened to us. I will tell her about my experiences, and the horror I lived through during the Second World War and the Nazi Occupation. Therefore, I will share and tell her all about my wonderful home, my devoted parents, and the wonderful parents of her father who loved her so very much. It pains me very much that my darling devoted Gloria is deprived of the love and devotion of her grandparents. I am the only family member who survived the Holocaust. I was named after my father’s mother, Fruma Mayer. The city is still in existence today, but it is dead without the Jews. Anne Frank Biography | 1998 Holocaust Book.Holocaust Picture Book – The Story of Granny Girl as a Child.
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