Ukraine: On Watching the Land of My Ancestors At War

Some of my Ancestors.....

My grandparents, Avram and Esther Kovalevsky (z”l), were born in the Ukrainian city of Zolotonosha – not far from Kharkov. My grandmother (a brilliant woman) received her MA in history from the University of Kharkov- not a small feat. As a Jewish woman, she was prohibited from attending classes. She studied on her own and passed all her exams with high honors. My grandfather received his MBA in Germany from the University of Leipzig.

After returning from his studies abroad, Avram married Esther in the early 1920’s. They hoped to build a home and raise a family in the city of their birth, but after a series of violent, anti-Semitic pogroms in Zolotonosha, they fled Ukraine on foot – journeying for several months until they arrived in Leipzig to begin a new life in a “civilized” country where they thought Jews would be safe.

My Grandmother's Family in Ukraine.  She is in the top row - far left.

My grandfather started a business selling wholesale hosiery and soon was very successful. My mother, Sophia Kovalevsky, was born in Leipzig in 1926. The Kovalevsky’s, despite their education and economic status, were never accepted by their German neighbors. They were considered foreigners- “Ostjuden” (Eastern Jews) who were ostracized by the German Jews who snubbed them and the general populace who were raised on the Jew-hating mother’s milk that paved the way for Hitler's ascension to power.

After the rise of Nazism, my grandparents’ dream of a safe haven fell apart. The Kovalevsky’s would have to flee again. Since they were not German citizens, their Soviet passports, in an ironic twist, saved their lives. In December of 1938, shortly after Kristalnacht – the “Night of the Broken Glass,” they left behind their comfortable life in Leipzig and came to America. By that time, the number of German refugees admitted into the United States was miniscule. The blatant anti-Semitism of the State Department prior to WWII has been well documented. The only reason they were able to get a visa was due to the fact that no one was able to leave the USSR, and quotas for Russian Jews at that time were not filled.

My Mother and Grandparents in Germany

I share this small piece of my family’s history while the world watches as Russia invades Ukraine. The names on my television screen of the cities currently under bombardment:  Kharkov, Kyiv, L’vov, and others are familiar to my ears. My grandmother – never one to wax nostalgic or dwell in the past - would, on rare occasions, share happy stories of her childhood in Zolotonosha with my sister and me. Despite the anti-Semitism that she endured and the horrors she witnessed, it was clear that she deeply loved her birthplace and the life she left behind. She never quite fit in anywhere else - whether in Germany or the United States.

My story is not unique. Many American Jews trace their history back to the former Pale of Settlement – the lands set aside for Jews to live in poverty and constant danger from official anti-Semitism and the murderous pogroms caused by rampaging Cossacks and other Jew-haters. Most of my mother’s family was murdered in Ukraine – both by Hitler’s forces and willing local collaborators. The graves of my ancestors bear witness to the horrors of our history.

To see these cities now prominently displayed as they face the brutal onslaught of Putin’s overwhelming force brings a variety of emotions. The fact that Ukraine now has both a president and a prime minister who claim Jewish ancestry, as well as the fact that just a few months ago the Ukrainian Parliament passed a law outlawing Anti-Semitism is a remarkable turn of events. Add to this the obscenity of Putin’s “anti-Nazi” ravings.  Currently, there are over 200,000 Jews living in Ukraine. Compared to the 1.6 million murdered in the Shoah, this is a small number.  And yet, this place that destroyed my family has now become a symbol of resistance to totalitarianism and a victim of megalomaniacal greed.

As we watch in horror as innocent people are slaughtered, let us strive to learn from our history. Totalitarianism and demagoguery pose real dangers to us all. As people who strive to live in peace, we also have learned the painful lessons of the past. If we do not call out atrocity – wherever it lives – we forsake both our birthright and our sacred responsibility towards all of who are created in God’s image.

If you would like to help support the Ukranian Jewish community, consider donating to one of the following organizations:

Jewish Colorado Fund for Ukraine:  https://www.jewishcolorado.org/jewishcolorado-ukraine-emergency-fund/

The World Union For Progressive Judaism:  https://wupj.org/give/ukraine/

Natan - an Israeli disaster relief NGO working with Doctors on the ground in Poland - helping Ukrainian Refugees:  https://www.facebook.com/NATANAID/

Pray for the peace of Ukraine.

Pray for the lands of our ancestors.

May sanity be restored before it is too late.