Young Jewish Boys photographed in the Kharkov Synagogue. Photo taken by Ted Margulis, August, 1994
Imagine walking the very same streets that your parents, grandparents or your great grandparents walked somewhere in Eastern Europe --- or one of the other countries where they had once lived. Imagine the sights ... the sounds ... and the smells that must have been there .... before you became a part of this world. Well, I did imagine and it finally happened for me in 1995 when my wife and I traveled to Talnoye, Ukraine.
Yes, there was a "time" when Jewish life compared more like the Sholom Aleichem stories we've all read. A time when making a living and studying Torah were the only important goals a Jew could hope to (and pray to) achieve. Yes, imagine all this ... and if you can't actually travel to the "old country" ... then the next best thing is to research your family and their history. The many sites listed in my web site will help you feel a sense of those days past.
From how to send money --- to the names of various departments of government, you will find it on this web site. If I have missed something, let me know. My goal is to make this site one of the most valuable and comprehensive web sites you will ever discover in your constant search for more information about your family and their lifestyle!
Ukraine borders the Black Sea and is between Poland and Russia. Comparably speaking, it is slightly smaller than
Texas. My personal impression ofUkraine, after traveling through the country and visiting
Kiev, Berdichev, Kharkov and Talnoye, is that it is huge and crude
Ukraine, known as the Breadbasket of Europe, with a population of 50.1 million people today, had much Jewish genius, tradition, cuisine, music, philosophy, literature, leadership and achievements that had previously emerged from this land.
It is a fact that prior to being called
Ukrainians, Ukrainians were called Rusynsaccording to a statement in the book "Ukraine, A History" by Orest Subtelny on page 69 and 307. http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/up.html
Ukraine is the biggest country in Europe with the exception of Russia. It is larger than
France by territory and has the second biggest population - 50.5 million - after
Russia with an estimated Jewish population of around 500,000. Check out this web site for more information - http://www.un.kiev.ua:8080/dis_ukr/
The name
"Ukrainiec" (Ukrainian) first became known in the beginning of the 20th century. Information about the history can be found at http://www.kresy.co.uk/russin.html
Ukraine was known originally as "Little
Russia" (Malorossiia) and came under Russian control through a
voluntary union signed in 1654. Officially, Russia was then
known as Muscov.
Jews were inUkraine before the Spanish Inquisition. They traveled directly fromPalestine, through Syria, Kurdistan, Dagestan, Kuban to Crimea. In their travels, they even converted the
Khazars to Judaism. Their descendants still live in Ukraine today and are known today as
Karaimes. Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews were a loose group until the pogroms of Bogdan Chmielnik and his Cossacks between the years1648 and 1656.
The Cossacks, who lived in the Ukraine, overran Poland, and for whatever unjustifiable reason, vented their wrath on the Polish Kingdom, aided by their Tartar compatriots from the Crimea. The first major pogroms occurred after March, 1881 in Chernigov, Katerynoslav, Kherson, Kiev, Odessa, Poltava and Tavriya Guberniyas... and then spread throughout the Pale of Settlement and the Kingdom ofPoland. Cossack is the English spelling of the people - in Russian it is spelled Kazak, and in Ukrainian it is Kozak. It is a Turkish word meaning free person.
Unfortunately for the Jews, after the Cossacks conquered Poland, they started to look for the King ofPoland, but there was no King at that particular time, so the Cossacks had to show their ire and frustration on someone. They picked the Jews, some of whom had been money factors and tax farmers for the Polish nobility in Ukraine. They slaughtered the Jews in huge numbers and with great cruelty. Jews preferred to surrender to the Tartars who then sold them into slavery, rather than be tortured and murdered by the Cossacks.
The Cossacks did their terrible deeds, not only in Poland, but as well in Lithuania. When it was all over, the Jews who survived had been reduce to a destitute state. All of their homes, schools, Talmud Torahs, books and torah scrolls were reduced to ashes. An interesting article on Cossacks is in the National Geographic, Vol. 194, No. 5 dated November, 1998.
Much of the above information was gleaned from an article written by Len Yodaiken, Kibbutz Kfar Hanasai, in Israelshoshly@canaan.co.il and edited it for this web site. There is more to this interesting story and hopefully I will be able to bring the full story to these pages in the future.
During the 1930s, keep in mind in your research, that all of western Ukraine was either located in Poland and/or Czechoslovakia.
Stalin, in 1932 raised Ukraine's grain procurement quotas by 44 percent. The results left the people in a starving situation. Information about this period, with a graphic description can be found at http://home.talkcity.com/LibertySt/spacegirly/intro.htm
In 1939 the Jewish population of Ukraine was 1.5 million (1,532,776) or 3% of the total population of Ukraine. One half to two thirds of the total Jewish population of Ukraine were evacuated, killed or exiled to Siberia (Reitlinger, page 251). Ukraine lost more population per capita than any other country in the world in WW II.
TheJewish Community of Ukraine is the fourth largest in the world, after the US, Israel and Russia, and currently numbers approximately 550,000. Since 1989, 200,000 Ukrainian Jews have emigrated to Israel.
There are authentic documentation that mentions a flourishing Jewish Community in Kiev in the tenth century.
There are perhaps 9,000 or more inhabited places in Ukraine. The location of each is made more difficult by the fact that many alternate names are, and have been used, including Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, German and Magyar names. One of the best links to find the location of your family shtetl is using either the Map blast site http://mapblast.com/mblast/index.mb
Another newly developed site dealing with all things Jewish Ukraine.
The prime objective is to facilitate access to records of former Russian EmpireGuberniyas now in Ukraine; Podolia, Volhynia, Kiev, Poltava, Chernigov, Kharkov, Kherson, Taurida and Yekaterinoslav. http://www.jewishgen.org/Ukraine/
"Galina does searches in the Odessa State Archives for our members at a group rate. Vital (B, M, D) records (most?) survived all the wars and cover Jews for the years 1875-1922. Generally, the first surname (no limit on given names) searched costs about $68 (if any are found) and about $23 if nothing found. Additional surname searches are a few dollars less for each. Her success rate is about 65% in finding something. These searches are only "partial" or "limited" searches for 25 year periods at these low fees. Members may sign up for new searches but may wait another year as the "list" is long. Higher rates apply for a 47 year search." The previous information was obtained from a post to UKR-ODESSA-GEN-L@rootsweb.com posting on November 24, 2001 by Arthur Blutstein.
Further general information is available at http://www.world66.com/ where you will find all kinds of information about Ukraine and other countries and subjects.
Yad Vashem has a large library on the Ukrainian Jewry during the Holocaust. Yad Vashem has a branch in Givataiim, "Volhynia House," located at
10 Korazin Street PO Box 804 Givataiim 53108 Israel
Most books, CDs, etc. can be ordered through my link to Amazon.com by clicking here > Jewish Genealogy
"100 Evreiskikh Mestechek Ukrainy" (100 Jewish Shtetls of the Ukraine) The first volume which has been published concerns only the towns of Podolia and can be purchased from a bookseller in the US.
"A History of Ukraine" - authored by Paul Robert Magocsi and published in 1996
"A Travel Guide to Jewish Russia & Ukraine" - authored by Ben G. Frank and published by Pelican Books. Useful information for the Jewish traveler. Describes the Jewish communities the author encountered as he traveled in the footsteps of a twelfth century rabbi and includes numerous photographs and an index.
"Archival Sources for Ukrainian-Jewish Genealogy" - authored by Dr. Sallyanne Sack and published by Avotaynu - http://www.avotaynu.com
"The Bones of Berdichev" authored by John and Carol Garrard, is the story of the life and fate of Vasily Grossman, a Russian Jewish agnostic, whose life is changed after reporting the horrors of the war and the Holocaust. Published by The Free Press, New York ISBN 0-684-82295-4
"Brave Old World" - a story about a onetime great Hassidic center in Ukraine
"The Complete Works of Isaac Babel" - authored by Isaac Babel who was born in Odessa in 1894. His first years were spent in Nikolayev. To get a good read for those who want to get the feel of a Jew's life and outlook during those times, Anita Citron anitac1@erols.com recommends reading this book in a posting to the UKR-ODESSA-Gen-L@rootsweb.com on 11-21-2001. The book was reviewed in the NY Sunday Times Book Review pages. http://www.stanford.edu/ Type in 'Babel' in the search box
"Encyclopedia of Ukraine" - this information book may well be available either at your local library or through inter-library loan. The Encyclopedia is available for purchase at http://www.yevshan.com
"Essays of History of Jews in Ukraine - authored by J. Chonigsman and A. Naiman and published in 1992 in Kiev. This book traces events of Jewish life from the days of Khazars up to the end of WW II. ISBN No. 5-77-07-31-15-X
"Exile in the Foothills of the Carpathians. The Jews of Carpatho-Rus and Mukachevo, 1848-1948" - authored by Professor Yeshyahu A. Jelinek and published by the Goldstein-Goren Diaspora research Center, Tel-Aviv University in 2003 in Hebrew. The Hebrew title: "Hagola Leragley Hakarpatim - Yehudey Karpato-rus' Vemukachevo, 1848-1948" ISBN 965-338-057-5
"From a Ruined Garden" - authored by Kugelman and Boyarin
"The History of Lemkovyna" - authored by I. F. Lemkin
"Into Auschwitz, For Ukraine" authoredby Stefan Petelycky deals with the many Ukrainians who have had their lives subjected to the tyrannies of Soviet Communism and German Nazism. For more information visit http://www.infoukes.com/uccla
"Jewish Heritage Report" - an article written by E. Sololova reports his personal experiences in "Search of Jewish Cemeteries in the Ukraine" is in the Winter 1997/98 issue
"Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova" - authored by Miriam Weiner and published in 1999, offers town-by-town listings of archives, from Birth, Marriage, Divorce and Death records to voter and taxrolls, draft registrations and property listings going back, in some cases, to the 1700s.
Jewish Roots Department Attached to Jewish Religious Community in Kiev - information on Tourism, Genealogy, Entombment search, Chassidic places, Communities, Holocaust, etc. an interesting commercial site http://www.jewroots.com/contactus_eng.htmBuy
from Amazon.com
"Jewish Tombstones In Ukraine and Moldova" - in both Russian and English. Published in 1993 by Image Publishing House in Moscow. ISBN # 5-86044-019-7
"Jewish-Ukrainian Bibliography" - a selected annotated bibliography of resources in English by Andrew Gregorovich - 2nd Edition. Toronto: Forum, 1999 116 pages http://www.infoukes.com/forum/bibliography.html
"Jews in Ukraine" (A Historical Investigation) authored by Matvy Shestopal who was a respected faculty member at the Taras Shevchko University of Kiev. He was purged from the University in the period of ideological wars in the 1960's and died in the 1970s. His manuscript was hidden by loyal students and published in Kiev in 1999. a middle section from the three pages shown in Ukrainian is provided in English translation at http://www.ukar.org/shest01.shtml
"Lists of WW2 deaths by Oblast" Knyha Pamiati Ukrainy translated to "Commemorative Book of Ukraine". You will need someone who can read Ukrainian to help research the names in this list.
"Manya's Story" - a story about the Polevoy Family experiences living in and around Talnoye in the early 1900s - authored by Mrs. Gray and according to Borders Book stores, there are about 2,000 copies at the publisher's warehouse $20.00 - also available at Amazon.com
"Memory of Fallen Soldiers from WWII" (Knyha Pamiati Ukrainy - Commemorative Book of Ukraine) lists names by town of people killed. The book can be purchased from a Ukrainian Bookstore or you can search the Library of Congress catalogue (on-line) and do a search for Knyha Pamiati Ukrainy. There are 300 volumes, each containing about 15,000 names for a total list of 4,500,000 soldiers. Not all oblasts have started, or finished, this tribute. Each volume has about 1,500 family names of fallen, or missing, soldiers, arranged by village, Raion, and Oblast.
These figures indicate that more soldiers died per capita, than any other nation lost in WW II and if you add another 8 million civilians lost, you have more people who died from the Ukraine, than any other country.
"Origins and Meaning of Ukrainian Surnames" compiled by Gregory Gressa from texts by Jeff Picknicki, University of Manitoba, and additionally, works of John-Paul Himka & Frances A. Swyripa, University of Alberta as well as other contributors.
"The Road from Letichev - the history and culture of a forgotten Jewish community in Eastern Europe". Authored by David A. Chapin and Ben Weinstock ISBN for volume i: 0-595-00666-3; Volume 2: 0-595-00667-1. k and published by Universe.com, Inc. in Lincoln NE. http://www.iUniverse.com
This book covers the following towns: Derazhnia, Letichev, Medzhibozh, Mikhalpol (Mikhampol, Mikhalovka), Staro Zakrevsky Meidan, Volkovintsy, Zinkov, Butsni (Butsnevtsy) and these towns are discussed: Proskurov (Khmelnytsky), Kamenets-Podolski, Bar, Ushitsa, Dunaevtsy, Yarmolinitsy, Zhmerinka, Vinnitsa, Kiev, Staro Konstantinov, Okupy, Felshtin (Gvardeyskoye), Litin, Gaysin
"Roll Call Lest We Forget" - a list of names of Ukrainian causalities from WW I as compiled by Lubomyr Luciuk, Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association and published by The Kashtan Press, Kingston, Ontario, Canada ISBN 1-896354-19-X
"Secrets of Berdichev" - the book focuses on the community as a whole, rather than on individuals. Some names to appear. Alan Shuchat, a landsman whose family came from Talnoye where my father came from as well, has identified some of the chapter and translated them into English in a JewishGen Digest dated 12/11/00 Message 16.
"SomeArchival Sources for Ukrainian Jewish Genealogy" - authored by Aleksander Kronik - This book can be purchased through my link with Amazon.com at the left side bar.
"TheShtetl: Image and Reality: Papers of the Second Mendel Friedman International Conference in Yiddish," edited by Gennady Estraikh and Mikhail Krutkov and published by Legenda, University of Oxford in 2000. ISBN 1-900755-41-6 There are references to Berdichev entitled "Berdechev in Russian Literary Imagination:" From Israel Aksenfeld to Friedrich Gorenstein
"Treasures of Jewish Culture in Ukraine". The 145 page book is an album of pictures of traditional Jewish artwork. There is accompanying text in Ukrainian, English, and Hebrew.
"World of Our Fathers" - authored by Irving Howe. I found the book difficult to read, but very informative
"World War II in Ukraine" - the Ukrainian experience in World War II with a brief survey of Ukraine's population loss of 10 million by Andrew Gregorovich. http://www.infoukes.com/history/ww2/
One of the links will take you to "Jewish Holocaust in Ukraine," another to a report on the crimes in Katyn and Vinnytsia`
Books Resources
Most books, CDs, etc. can be ordered through my link to Amazon.com by clicking here > Jewish Genealogy
Mosty - a web page where you will find descriptions of books dealing with various Ukrainian topics http://mosty.homepage.com/
An excellent site to find information about most European countries is at http://searcheurope.com
and type in the name of the country you wish to research in the search field. This site is a great source to find information for almost every European country. Another valuable site to help find a person, maps, etc. is http://www.webhelp.com/home
and type in the name of any country you wish to research. This service is free.
Remember that the western portion of Ukraine was under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1722 to 1918, and under Polish rule within that empire, and later, for a good portion of that time. Immigrants arrived with documents and papers in German, Polish, Rumanian or Russian, because the language used on the documents was the official language of whatever government was ruling Ukraine at the time.
Focused mainly on US research. Another excellent place to use as a search engine is http://www.stpt.com/
Use this source to find maps of cities and towns in the Ukraine as well as other countries.
During Soviet days, Ukrainian cities carried Russian names, and since the Russian language doesn't have an "H" in the alphabet, a "G" was used in its place.
Global Gazetteer is a great web site. It is a directory of 2,880,532 of the world's cities and towns, sorted by country and linked to a map for each town. A tab separated list is available for each country. www.calle.com/world/
Help in finding information about a specific village or city can be found at the Getty Vocabulary Program- just type in the name of the town or city. If nothing shows up, try typing in another name of a town nearby that may be larger. http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/tgn/
There are over 900,000 records for places arranged in hierarchies representing all nations of the modern world and including vernacular and historical names, coordinates, place types and other relevant information. This is one powerful web site for researchers.
The second site is in English and it states that on 22 February the Ukrainian government resolved to hold a national census between 5 and 14 December 2001. The last census was held in 1989 when Ukraine was still a part of the former Soviet Union. At that time the population of Ukraine was 51.45 million.
However, during the last seven years, Ukraine's population has been continuously decreasing, and the birth rate is lower than the mortality rate. Statistical data for the first half of 2000 showed that there were 49.5 million people in Ukraine. According to the State Statistics Committee, by 1 January 2001 the Ukrainian population shrank to 49,291,200 - check this and a lot more information out at http://www.ce-review.org/01/8/ukrainenews8.html
All Ukrainian Jewish Congress - is the largest Jewish organization in Ukraine and their web site offers a lot of background information http://www.jewish.kiev.ua/index.htm
Phone Codes - Ex USSR Phone Codes for Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Byelorussia, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Uzbekistan - you not only will see the phone code for each town (loads slowly) but also the proper spelling of the town name http://phonecodes.narod.ru/N/N.htm
The Archives in Ukraine do not have a master name index where they can determine surnames for you. This is the reason why it is essential to know the birthplace of your ancestor as historical records are archived by locality ... and then by religion.
The birthplace of your ancestor can be determined from one of several documents including immigration records, alien registration applications, naturalization papers, civil and church records, social security card applications, military records, etc.
The country of Ukraine is made up of Oblasts (equivalent to our States or Provinces) and Raion (equivalent to our Counties or regions). There are presently 25 Oblasts and a number of Raions in each Oblast. In most cases there are at least 12 Raions in an Oblastand sometimes as many as 26. Addresses and phone number for the 25 Oblasts can be found at http://lemko.org/genealogy/oblasts.html
Note:If you write to the Oblast (province/state) Archives address, if they would not have the information, they would probably send it on to the appropriate Raion (country/region) Archives on your behalf, but you might need to name the Raion when you are writing to the Oblast Archives requesting information on an appropriate village or town; in other words, you would write to the Oblast Archives that you need information on ( ) village in ( ) Raion in ( ) Oblast in Ukraine.
To communicate by letter with anyone in Ukraine, or to request information on an ancestor from an Archives in Ukraine, one should know the appropriate modern Raion and Oblast of the ancestral village or town and the Russian Guberniya or Austrian Crown Colony.
There are a number of ways to find the proper address of your ancestral home. One is to look in the 'Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World,' which lists the longitude and latitude of the location and should also list the Raion and Oblast. You might also find the village on maps links on my pages or in Atlases in your local library. More information can be found at http://lemko.org/genealogy/oblasts.html
The Ukrainian Archival system for family research is made up of:
the Main Archives in Kiev
the Central State Historical Archives in Kiev (TsDIA-K) for eastern Ukraine
the Central State Historical Archives in L'viv (TsDIA-L) for western Ukraine
the Oblast Archives in the 25 Oblasts
the registry of Vital Statistics Archives (Reyestratsiya akriv Hromadianskoho Stanu (RAHS) usually the same number in an Oblast as the Raions and usually based in the capital city of the Raion. These are Archives for civil records from the past 75 to 100 years.
UKRAINA 252601 Kyiv 24 Solomyanska Street Main Archival Administration Attention: Dr. Ruslan Y. Pirig, Director Telephone: 380/44/277-4522 Fax: 380/44/277-3655
Central State Historical Archives in Kiev and L'viv
UKRAINA 252601 Kyiv 24 Solomyanska Street Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in
Kyiv Attention: Olga Mazychuk, Director
UKRAINA 290006 L'viv 3a Plaza Soborna Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in
L'viv Attention: Orest Iaroslavoych Matsiuk, Director
Rates for research vary, but this guide may help: billing research time: $15.00 to $100 per hour/assignment; Photocopying: $10.00 per page for 1 to 2 pages, more than 2 pages it is $5.00 per page.
Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine - L'viv Branch
UKRAINA 290008, L'viv - 8 pl. Soborna, 3-a Tsentralnyi derzhavnyi istorychnyi arkhiv Ukraony, L'viv (TsDIA-L) Director: Orest Iaroslavoych Matsiuk Deputy Director: Diana Peltc E-mail archives@cl.lv.ukrtel.net Tel/Fax: 011-380-322-72-35-08 (Ph. 72-30-63)
http://www.huri.harvard.edu/abb_grimsted/
Ivan Svarnyk, Archivist & Historian states that they welcome inquiries in either Ukrainian or English. The archives staff prefer to be contacted directly so they do not lose out on work.
A short article quoted individuals who state that the L'viv State Archive will be closed for an indefinite period beginning May 30, 2005 and was caused by a problem with the theft of documents from the Archive. A press release in English can be found at http://www.archives.gov.ua/Eng/Archives/Lviv.php
Chernivtsi
Director of the Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine
Located in
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Mail to Derzhavnyi Arkhiv Ivano-Frankivsk
Oblasti, 284000, Ivano-Frankivsk, vul. Sahaidachnoho 42A, UKRAINA Phone (38-03422) 63403 http://www.rootsweb.com/~ukrwgw/ivano/index.html
Inventory includes property records for many towns with the current borders of Western Ukraine and Eastern Poland according to a posting by Miriam Weiner on 6/28/04 to Gesher Galicia SIG forum
Director is Orest Laroslavoych Matsiuk; Deputy Director (Directress) is Diana Peltc archives@cl.lv.ukrtel.net who, it has been noted, forwards personal researcher requests to a "freelancer" who then increases the price, but the cost is still relatively reasonable archives@cl.lv.ukrtel.net Hours are Monday through Friday 9 to 3 pm. http://lemkos/
then select
Genealogy and then Archives.
If possible, it is recommended that any correspondence be written inUkrainian.
According to Patricia Kennedy Grimsted in "Archives and Manuscript Repositories in the USSR", Princeton University 1988, the
L'viv Archives holds Land Census Registers taken under Joseph II (1785-1788) and Francis I (1819-1820). L'viv also has record books of land courts(zems'kyi sud, tabula of land "kraiova tabulia) and registration of property "knyhy zapysu mainovykh documentiv" although no dates are give for these.
http://www.huri.harvard.edu/abb_grimsted/
Has forms to use in requesting documentation. There is a fee charged of $40.00 for research by the consulate which applies only to information on consulate employees, or for all documentation. Their address is 3a Soborna area, 29008, Ukraine. They also have a web site.
The
Consulate General of Ukraine in New York
240 East 49th St.
(between 2nd and 3rd Avenues)
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 212 371 5690
Business Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 pm, 2 pm to6pm http://www.ukrconsul.org/
The
Consulate General of Ukraine in Chicago 10 E Huron Street
Chicago, IL. 60611
Phone: 312 - 642 4388 http://www.ukrchicago.com/
Ukraine Main Archives
UKRAINA 252601, Kiev-110, MSP vul. Solomyanska, 24 Holovne Arkhivne Upravlinnia Ukrainy Attention: Georgiy Papakin, International Department
http://www.huri.harvard.edu/abb_grimsted/
You can also contact the
Consulate General of Ukraine in New York or the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, D.C. to request documents from the
Ukraine. In Canada, contact the Consulate General of Ukraine in Toronto.
Tip: When doing your own research in Ukraine, ask to speak to the director first, as this shows respect as a foreigner visiting their business.
Babyn Yar (Babi Yar) - (The name means 'Old Woman's Ravine')
Within a few days of capturing Ukrainian cities like Lutsk, Zhitomir and Berdechev in the summer of 1941, over 33,000 Jews were killed in this natural ravine formed during the Ice Age and near an old Jewish cemetery.
The German Einsatzgruppen C and D were assigned the responsibility of killing Jews and Political people. The group was commanded by SS Standartfuehrer Paul Biobel. Biobel's unit killed 33,771 Jews in less than two days - never equaled in any other death camp. After the war, Biobel was tried at Nuremberg and hanged on June 8, 1951.
At the start of the war, Babi Yar was a ravine and outside of Kiev, but since shortly after the war, the area became incorporated into the city. There is a "Book of Remembrance" edited by Joseph Vinokurov (& Kipnis & Levin) was published in 1983 by Publishing House Peace, Inc. PO Box 6162, Philadelphia, PA 19115.
This book lists names and ages of victims and includes photographs and short essays. Today it looks almost like a lovely park with massive stone works and is now in he middle of a residential area.
Bank Transfer Costs - The cost of transfers by TT (Bank Wire) has two parts. One where you pay to send money from your end. This cost is around $10. The second part is the cost from the corresponding bank (the destination country bank) These charges are high. Bankers Trust Company of New York offers a transfer service, among others.
BRAMA - an interesting and informative commercial site that offers free access to Maps, photos, history, Embassy addresses, Armed Forces Information, Consulates and more http://brama.com/
Cadastral Surveys - is a survey of land plots, who owns them and their value.
Carpatho-Rusyn Knowledge Base - provides information pertaining to Carpatho-Rusyn Culture, History, Genealogy, etc., as well as links to other web sites of interest http://www.carpatho-rusyn.org/
Carpathian Location Photos and Data - plus links to other sites of interest including a general location guide; sightseeing trips; L'vivphotos, history and more http://www.ooyava.com/karpaty.html
Carpathian Root seekers Guide To The Homeland - a list of Carpatho-Rusyn villages based on the 1910 Hungarian census for the Presov Region and Sub Carpathian Rus'; today located parts of Slovakia, Ukraine and Romania. http://carpatho-rusyn.org/villages.htm
Carpati - a documentary film about the remnant Jewish community in the Carpathian Mountains today. Meet Zev, the Jewish ice cream man of a remote village in Ukraine's Carpathian Mountains, and journey with Zev as he goes home to his birthplace, carrying a Torah to the shul in which he grew up -- located only 50 miles away -- a place he has not been back to in 50 years. This is a documentary feature shot and edited by David Notowitz and direct and written by Yale Strom. Narrated by Leonard Nimoy www.remember.org/carpati
Chief Rabbi of Ukraine - Ya'akov Bleich. He has urged the pope to open Vatican archives so that children who were born Jewish, but were saved and raised by Catholics during WW II, could learn about their origins.
Consulate General of Ukraine, 240 East 49th Street, New York, New York 10017 - There is a $20 charge for ordering civil documents for each Birth, Marriage, Divorce, Death and Education document you request. This site is also linked to many, many other sites for other countries and other types of information. http://www.maxpages.com/poland/Ukrainian_Research
Consulate of Ukraine in Toronto Canada - does not have the resources to handle genealogy enquiries. They suggest that the Anketas should be submitted for research in the RAHS offices in Ukraine (i.e. for information from the past 75 years). The Anketas, which provides RAHS with sufficient information to answer your questions, can be downloaded on the internet from the Ukrainian Embassy in the U.S. site.
Note: additional information available at my 'Language' Page
There are a number of major differences between the Russian and Ukrainian alphabets. TheLibrary of Congress rule for transliteration from Cyrillic to English uses "y" (pronounced like "y" in Plymouth) to render the Cyrillic 'backward "N" ' into English. Refer to my Language web page on my site for more informative details and links
Cyrillization - instructions on how to enable your PC to communicate in Cyrillic (Russian/Ukraine) using newsreaders that run under MS Windows http://www.lemko.org/lih/howtocyr.html
Envelope Addressing - it is o.k. to address your mail in Latin alphabet, similar to the way you would in the US, in most large Ukrainian cities. In smaller towns and villages, you are best off to address in Cyrillic letters and follow this format:
Country and Zip Code on first line, followed on the next line with the Oblast and Raion, followed on the next line the name of the village with the street house number/apartment number. And the last line has the surname of the person with the first name last. Example:
Ukraina 247001 obl.L'vivska, r-n Sambirskyis. Khyshevychivul.Shevchenka 23/4 Zalizniaku Maksymovi
Europages - business 2 business company directory and business in Europe, yellow pages access, international and European business directory (professional services, addresses and business classifieds http://www.europages.net
Famous Ukrainians List - a list of over three hundred people with links discussing their contributions. The people listed were either born in what are today's boundaries of Ukraine, or were/are of Ukrainian ancestry http://www2.uwindsor.ca/~hlynka/ukfam.html
France - Ukraine - although the site is written in French and Cyrillic, you'll be able to determine that there is some interesting links including addresses and names www.russie.net
Ukrainian Software Center - a web source for Ukrainian Software, Spell-checkers, Talking Translator/Dictionary, and http://www.allvirtualware.com/ukrsoft/
GeneaNet - Genealogical Database Network - offers a surname search feature in English,Spanish,French, German, Holland and Swedish http://www.geneanet.org/
GenWeb (World) - Ukraine - a source to help in researching Ukraine. Many towns have disappeared or changed their names, some several times over the years. This site will help guide you step by step to find information in your quest http://www.mtu-net.ru/rrr/ukraine.htm
General Facts About Ukraine - if you want to know about the country, then this site has a lot to offer and is about Ukraine today if you are interested in traveling there in the future.
This site includes tips, money, credit cards, currency exchanges, barbers and beauty shops, tracing Genealogy Roots, photos of many cities and so much more http://www.uazone.net/Ukraine_General.html
Historical Vital Statistics - books of Roman Catholic parishes that were formerly located in western Ukraine are now in three potential archives: 1.) Polish State Archives of Ancient Documents in Warsaw (the Zabuzanski Collection) 2.) Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in L'viv or 3.) Local registries (RAHS). Also the FHL (Mormon Family History Library) may have already microfilmed these records.
Kahlile Mehr is the Ukraine expert working for the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Holocaust - a compilation of Holocaust victims has been translated into English and is available at http://www.jewishgen.org//yizkor/
Association of Jewish Organizations & Communities of Ukraine Kiev 252049, Ukraine
Jewish Confederation of Ukraine Kiev 42 - 01042, Ukraine
Jewish Council of Ukraine Kiev 252103, Ukraine
Jewish Foundation of Ukraine Kiev 34 - 01034, Ukraine - includes photos and information on Kiev, Berdichev, Zhitomir, Vinnitsa, Chernivtsi, Uman, Nikolayev and Odessa http://www.jfu.kiev.ua/jew.htm
Check out this site which posts a different article or activity that may teach you something about the Ukrainian culture including the language http://www.nazdorovya.com/learn.htm
The Ethnologue is a catalogue of more than 6,700 languages spoken in 228 countries. The Ethnologue Name Index lists over 39,000 language names, dialect names and alternate names and organizes languages according to language families http://www.sil.org/ethnologue
Lemko (a group of Ukrainians from a mountainous area of Ukraine - also known as Ruthians) offers much information about the country, history, religion, etc. http://www.lemko.org/index.html
Lemko (Ukrainian) plenty of interesting and useful links http://lemko.org/index.html Click on Genealogical Research on the Home Page or any other button including Uni-Mapper's Map Server. There is a Ukrainian Transliteration Table, photo sites and much more of value to the Jewish researcher.
For a contact regarding Ukrainian information, try Jurij Dobczansky, M.L.S. Senior Slavic Librarian & Recommending officer for Ukraine, Social Sciences Cataloging Division, Library of Congress 101 Independence Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20540-4362 Phone: (202) 707 3080 Fax: (202) 707 6421 E-mail: jdob@loc.gov
Jewish boys from age 12 to 18 , if they were found, were uprooted from their families for at least 25 years, to serve in the Army. They were called Canonists and either died of starvation, or were forced to convert to Christianity. Many never returned to their home. This system lasted 29 years and involved over 40,000 Jewish boys during that period of time. http://www.jewish-history.com/cantons.htm
"Powstanski Mohyly: Memorial Book Fallen on the Field of Glory" Names and biographies of 507 UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or Ukrainian Partisan Army ) soldiers who gave their lives from 1947-1956 in the defense of their native land and people, but until now had remained anonymous. Published in Ukrainian. http://www.infoukes.com/upa/related/mohyly.html
Soldiers from the village of Iezupil, Tysmenytskyi Raion,Ivano-Frankivska Oblast that are in the above book who may be Jewish: Biletskyi, Kushnir, Sokolyk,
Cossack Information - at this site you can find information about the infamous Cossacks, including uniform designs and history of the Cossacks www.cossackweb.com Click on English
Ukraine is a cash economy. Use of credit cards is limited to the better hotels, western style restaurants, international airlines and select stores The money is known as Hryvnia. One hundred Russian kopeks to the Hryvnia. The Hryvnia, also spelled Hryvna or Grivna (UHR) was introduced on September 2, 1996. It replaced the old 'Coupon' aka 'Karbovanets' which was a temporary currency used in Ukraine during the period of separation from the ruble zone http://www.uazone.net/Hryvnia/
and if you wish, you can have the UFM Weekly Digest, a free publication, which give current quotes. Send a message to nserv@litech.lviv.uawith the command FEED ukrainet.ufm.digest in the body.
Hryvna - The Official Currency of Ukraine. This site includes a Hryvna Currency converter. http://www.uazone.net/Hryvnia/
Mormon (Family History Centers) Ukrainian resources are available at www.familysearch.org
where the Mormons have microfilmed the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Records back to the 17th century. You will need to visit a FHC to order the films but you can determine which films are available from the FHC on-line catalog. An alternate site is http://www.infoukes.com/culture/lemkos
Many surnames came from the names of predecessors or areas of the country or a connection to a trade or even a person's character, physical or personal.
Nasze Slowo, Ukrainian Newspaper that offers classified ads to help find your families - http://free.ngo.pl/nslowo
Approximate cost: $25.00 to advertise for those who are looking for anyone who had Ukrainian family in southeast Poland which was dispossessed by the Poles in 1946-7 and sent to either western Ukraine or Northeast Poland e-mail nslowo@free.ngo.plAddress: Redakcja, Nasze Slowo, ul, Nowogrodzka 15,00-511 Warszawa Telephone:621 37 55 Fax: 621 37 50 http://www.optimus.waw.pl/com/nslowo/ Ukrainian Weekly Archive http://www.ukrweekly.com/
OzeUkes
The electronic voice of the Ukrainian community in Australia - containing news and events in all Australian States. It is an information service of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations. WestozzieUkes can be contacted via e-mail: kozak@p085.aone.net.au http://www.home.aone.net.au/mandycza
Photographs - the Brody (Ukraine) Yizkor Book website hosted by JewishGen has added some photographs to their site. The photographs were obtained from Records Administration (NARA) cartographic collection of the Defense Intelligence Agency Record 373 of Captured German World War II photographs. Yizkor Book Database
Ben Gurion University Library in Israel has a periodical published in Hebrew from around 1917 to around 1925. Called "Reshumot" in contains memoirs, reminiscences, eye witness reports of pogroms, etc.
Another, even better, resource, is the periodical "He-avar" (the English language table of contents transliterates it as Heawar). It was published by the Association for the Historical Study of Russian and Ukrainian Jewry. Volume 21 has the index for volumes 1-20. The periodical appeared irregularly until about 1976. Many volumes have abstracts in English. The contents are straight history, book reviews, memoirs, correspondence, biographies, etc. It is a treasure house! From a posting by Ida and Yosef Schwarcz Arad, Israel
http://www.hollanderbooks.com/cgi-bin/hollander/47762
TheShevchenko Sci. Soc. Library catalogue under Serhiichuk, Volodymyr lists 2 entries; a lecture on cassette, 1997 and a book "Pohromy v Ukraini1914-1920" published in 1998 /524p./ on the subject of the 1919-1920 pogrom. There are a number of entries on this subject under Ukrainian Jewish Relations in the Society's library catalogue.
http://www.einet.net/review/37129-428078/Shevchenko_Scientific_Society_On_line_Library_Catalog.htm
Post Office Information
Includes zip numbers for Ukraine - Click on 'Eng' to read the page inEnglish http://www.ukrposhta.com/
Postcards
A link to eBay that has a good number of Jewish Photos and other postcards for sale from time to time. www.ebay.com
RAGAS - (Russian American Genealogical Archival Service)
There is a lot of information besides timetables at this English language site including the History of the railways creation, services, addresses and telephone numbers, rules of carrying and more http://www.uz.gov.ua/index_eng.html
Registry Office Documents
Contact the nearest Consulate or hire a local researcher who has the ability and the experience to handle the research.
Researchers and Guides
(I cannot make any specific recommendations, just contact information. You must make your own arrangements).
The following are names I have seen mentioned in various posts.
Andriy Grechylo - does genealogical research in the archives. Just let him know what information you need and he will send you details. Dr. Andriy Grechylo, President of the Ukrainian Heraldry Society herald@archeos.lviv.ua
East Europe Connection - Laurence Krupnak is a professional Researcher/Genealogist and President of this company http://www.apgen.org/ncac.html Very knowledgeable and has many connections in Ukraine.
Genealogicaltree.org - Vera and Sergei Kryshchuk of
Kiev have a web site offering their services www.genealogicaltree.org.ua
Green Castle Agency - consultations are free of charge. The company offers their services, which include genealogical researches in various archives, photographs and or videos and CDs of the village of interest as well as providing excursions. They have excellent contacts with genealogists in Belarus, Russian and Ukraine. greencastle@genealogy.f2s.com Genealogical Agency Green Castle, P.O. box 3434, Vilniaus apskities centrinis pastas, LT - 2000 Lithuania.
International Centre of Genealogical Research, 5 Reytarska Str. Office #3, Kyiv 34, Ukraine - Angela Semakova e-mail lawivaha@carrier.kiev.ua
Olga Gladysheva - olga@cci.il.if.ua - write in English. Olga lives in Ivano-Frankivsk and has access to archives. Negotiable rates.
Valentina Litveniko -
Valentina is the wife of the wonderful Ukrainian (Sasha Litveniko) from Kharkov that found my half brother in Berdichev in 1995. Although Sasha (Alexander) has since passed away, his wife and staff can be reached at alex@ukrus.kharkov.ua.
Both Valentina and her staff speak excellent English and I
can highly recommend them. I cannot, unfortunately guarantee that you will get a response so please make contact directly with Valentina.
Russian Culture and Language - course of Russian Language in Pictures; Cyrillic Conversion for Windows95; Cyrillic Alphabet; Dictionary of Period Russian Names; English-RussianDictionary; and more http://www.maxpages.com/poland/Russian_Research
Ruthenia - you may hear or see this name on documents or maps, but take note that it is not a country, but a province. It includes much of northeastern Hungary, southeastern Slovakia and southwestern Ukraine.
Sesna - an English and Ukrainian language search engine that will provide tons of information - relating to Ukraine and many other countries. Also offers to e-mail updates every week. http://www.uazone.net/sesna/
Slavophilia - a comprehensive guide to Internet resources on Russia and Central/Eastern Europe http://www.slavophilia.com/
Sending Money or packages to Ukraine using dollars via Western Union which has about 300 agents throughout Ukraine. Phone: 1 800 325 6000 (US) and 1 800 235 0000 in Canada. Their charges are: up to $299 - 15% fee; $300 to $599 - 12% fee; $600 $2999 - 10% fee. In the US. Credit cards are accepted for an additional charge of $10.00 www.westernunion.com/english/locations/index.html
You can also have money hand delivered by Meest (MICT)1 800 288 9949 located in New Jersey. When last checked, they charged a 10% rate and a $10 delivery fee to hand deliver. Never send cash or a personal check! Meest's web site is at http://www.link.lviv.ua/~meest/delivery/index http://www.meest.net/
Their mailing address is 609 Commerce Road, Linden, NJ 07036 Phone: 1 800 288 9949. Meest is also represented in Canada. Please refer to my Canada page for address information.
Meest-Boston delivers US dollars, sea and air parcels, food parcels, equipment and electronics, letters and small packages to Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Poland and other countries. More services are available www.meestboston.com
Oksana - another similar company that can also provide a service is Oksana International/L'viv Express 1111 East Elizabeth Ave. Linden, NJ 07036. Phone 1 908 925 0717 Packages are hand delivered when you use either of these services. Sending by ship is much cheaper, though it takes longer, of course. When sending parcels directly to the receiver, through a service that does just that, there is no duty to be paid in Ukraine.
You pay all the charges before the parcel leaves your city/town. The parcel is delivered to the doorstep of the person you send it to. It is expensive to send that way, but at least you are assured the receiver of the goods will not have to pay anything.
The Shevchenko Sci. Soc. Library catalogue under Serhiichuk, Volodymyr lists 2 entries; a lecture on cassette, 1997 and a book "Pohromy v Ukraini1914-1920" published in 1998 /524p./ on the subject of the 1919-1920 pogrom. There are a number of entries on this subject under Ukranian Jewish Relations in the Society's library catalogue.
Unique Surnames - more than 600 are displayed and discussed in the book "TheRoad from Letichev"
Nemchenko - comes from the Russian/Ukrainian "nemets", which today means German, but in the old days was a term for people that didn't speak the local language.
TsDIA {Tsentralny Derzhavnyi Istorychnyi Arkhiv} (See Central State Historical Archive) There is a branch in L'viv as well as in Kiev.
Telephone Directories
Phone Directory - check out the Library of Congress: European Reading Room: Phone Directory: Ukraine at http://www.loc.gov/rr/european/phone/ukraine2.html You will find information on what directories are available in the various cities and regions of Ukraine.
Telephone Directory - There is a FREE web site where you may obtain telephone numbers, full addresses of both business and private individuals in the Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Kiev Regions http://rit.minsk.by/cgi-bin/mphones.pl
Toronto Ukrainian Genealogical Club contact: Tony at St Vladimir Institute Genealogical club: svi@stvladimir.on.ca
Translation Services and Software
A translation service is offering to translate from Ukrainian to English or Russian to any of the two languages via email. Once translated, they can forward your letter to your address choice. No recommendation, or affiliation is made here. Contact Serhiy and Yaroslav in Kiev sp@alfacom.net Both speak English.
With this LingvoSoft smart dictionary software on your computer, you can easily switch between English and Yiddish, (and 43 other languages) for prompt translations of 400,000 words both ways! Download Free Trial now
Ukrainian - English Dictionary On-Line - Ukrainian is an Eastern European language belonging to the Slavic group of Indo European language family and is closely related to Polish, Russian, Belarusian, Czech and Slovak. Ukrainian is spoken in Western Ukraine and in rural areas of Easter Ukraine. http://www.personal.ceu.hu/students/97/ Roman_Zakharii/english.htm
Just in case you didn't think of it, contact a nearby university or college's foreign language department. They may offer to write letters and translate letters into English. A nominal fee is usually charged.
Language Master - a translation program from Trident Software, Inc., 6370 York Road #205, Cleveland, OH 44130 Phone: (440) 237 1721 E-mail: Trident@lm98.com
Translations into Russian or Ukrainian and vice versa is available by contacting Serhiy & Yaroslav in Kiev at sp@alfacom.net. Both of these Ukrainians are fluent in Ukrainian and Russian and quite good in English. They will quote you a price before initiating any translation job. Payment can be made by check through their US or Canadian contact. Software (Trial version of Language Master) is also available http://www.lm98.com
Translation Service - a commercial site offering many language translating programs http://www.worldlanguage.com
Before you travel to
Ukraine, or for that matter any country, read up about the country; it's people; and places to visit. This is especially true if you intend to find your Jewish roots. I've made it easy to use my link to Amazon.com to find just what you need in the way of travel books by just clicking here > Jewish Genealogy
As of 2001,
Ukraine doesn't require a traveler to register yourself with the local police or in a hotel in
Ukraine as previously required. If you do decide to stay at an expensive hotel, an experienced traveler suggests that you ask for the 'cheap room'. Don't accept a room for more than $100 a night, and in fact, you shouldn't have to pay more than $25 as the hotel owners cannot force you to pay 10 times more than
Ukrainian citizens do.
Traveling from
Kiev to Odessa. The best way, based on price and quality, is to take a train. There is a nice train called 'Chernomoretz' (Black Sea man) that leaves
Kiev around 20.00 and arrives in Odessaaround 8 in the morning. The price is approximately $9 to $10. You also have to pay about $1 for your sheets on the train. The whole coupe accommodates 4 people. It is better to buy your tickets in advance and through a travel agent. To purchase food and/or drinks on the train, you will need to have some
Ukrainian money Hryvna with you. Learn about the Hryvna -
The Official Currency of Ukraine. This site includes a Hryvna Currency converter. http://www.uazone.net/Hryvnia/
The
UA Zone web site offers a great deal of information about traveling around Ukraine and well worth spending some time at http://www.uazone.net/
Airplane travel
is more difficult as the airports in both
Kiev and Odessa are quite a distance from the downtown of each city. It is also more expensive - around $50.
Apartment Rental in Kiev
Photos of a rental apartment located a few steps from hotel 'Rus' and hotel 'President' and within walking distance of Kreshatik Street is available at http://photos.yahoo.com/kievlettings
It is a two room apartment that rents for $30 to $40 a night, depending on the prepayment, season, number of persons and number of nights. Other apartment accommodations are available including a bed & breakfast with English speaking families in the downtown area of the city. Contact name is Milada and Oksana. I have no connection with this couple nor can I recommend them.
A commercial service site that includes geography, history, hotel bookings, tickets, charters, tours, travel services and travel companies http://www.utis.com.ua/menu2.html
Ukrainian Travel Resources
A commercial service that offers hotels under the corporate rate with links to a list of the Ukrainian travel companies and offers for the foreign tourists, along with sites - guidebooks for cities of Ukraine http://www.utis.com.ua/www/main2.htm
UkiePub
A web site dealing with
Ukraine and Ukrainians who emigrated to Canada. At this time, there isn't much value for the Jewish researcher, but perhaps you will find value later. There are two links that I have found to be of value:
INFOUKES and BRAMA http://www.ukiepub.com
The Ukraine National Archive is divided into seven archives: Scientific, Economic, Historical, etc. Genealogists generally work with the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine.
The main directorate (Main Archival Ministry) of the Ukraine National Archive is in Kiev. There are two Central State Historical Archives; one is in Kiev and the other is in L'viv.A suggestion: if you are doing serious research, contact all branches for the records you want. Also, fyi, if your research takes you to western Ukraine, check for records in the Polish Archives.
Ukraine News - current information about Ukraine today and includes the newspaper Kiev Post, Radio Free Europe, UNIAN (Independent Information & News Agency), Slovo (a weekly newspaper), BRAMA and Infoukes http://www.kievpost.com/
Ukrainian Life in 1898 - an excellent description of life in the Ukrainian town of Toporivtsy in 1898, may be found in the web site's archives. www.infoukes.com
It is an excerpt of an autobiographical manuscript written by a gg-aunt of k. McGowan kmcgowan@gateway.net who is searching her surnames Gallick or Gaelick.
Although she is not Jewish, and the lifestyle is not necessarily one that Jews led, the descriptions are very interesting.
Ukrainian Life in 1898 - an excellent description of life in the Ukrainian town of Toporivtsy in 1898, may be found in the web site's archives. It is an excerpt of an autobiographical manuscript written by a gg-aunt of K. McGowan kmcgowan@gateway.net who is searching her surnames Gallick or Gaelick. www.infoukes.com
Although McGowan is not Jewish, and the lifestyle is not necessarily one that Jews led, the descriptions are very interesting.
The UkrainianInsurgentArmy was a resistance movement which fought against both the Nazi and Soviet occupations of Ukraine. A cache of film and other documents, secreted by members in the late 1940s, was discovered last year in the southwestern region of Ukraine's Carpathian mountains. Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk is Director of Research at UCCLA. His phone number is (613) 546 8364. http://www.infoukes.com/uccla
TheAssociation of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine. Listings of 265 organizations from 94 cities of Ukraine, including 63 religious communities, 56 city communities, 15 social structures, 17 Jewish schools, 55 cultural organizations, 10 associations of prisoners of ghettoes and concentration camps, 19 youth organizations, as well as 5 associated member organizations. http://www.vaadua.org/VaadENG/HistoryENG.htm
Verst -
An old Russian measure of distance - 1.06 km
Vital and Marriage Records -
From Greek Catholic and Orthodox Parishes are available from the Mormon Family History Library (FHL) A full explanation of this site's contents including Archive addresses http://lemko.org/genealogy/galiciapl.html
World Pages Directory (Infobel)- searches the Internet for Yellow Page information by Country. For Ukraine, try looking for Russian addresses. http://www2.eu-info.com
ZAHS {Zapys Aktiv Hromadianskoho Stanu} Registry of Vital Statistics
Crimea
Old street in the city of Kerch
Crimea - an Oblast of Ukraine and all persons residing there are citizens of Ukraine. As of 1970, the population of Crimea consisted of: 66.8% Russians; 26.5% Ukrainian; 2.2% Byelorussia; 1.4% Jewish and others 3.1%. http://www.brama.com/
Cetatea Alba, city, Odessa Oblast (province) located in southernmost Ukraine. In Turkish it is known as Akkerman and in Russian as Belgorod-Dnestrovsky. There is a lot of historical information available at http://www.britannica.com/seo/b/bilhorod-dnistrovskyy/
Kerch - One of my half brothers, Aaron, his wife and his daughter were killed by the Nazis in July, 1942 when they invaded Crimea. Aaron's brother, Simon and their father Moshe and their mother had already left for Siberia, but Aaron's wife did not want to travel over water and refused to leave Kerch. The family was killed, along with the rest of the Jews who stayed behind.
Further information about Crimea, in general can be found at this web site. Drill down to Crimea, where you will find links to Sights, getting there and more. http://www.world66.com/
Central State Archives of the Crimea - located in Simferopol, Crimea.
Crimea and the Black Sea - a good travel information site in English www.blacksea-crimea.com
Mangup - located on the Crimea peninsula and a possible location of an early Medieval Jewish community.
Maps of Russia and the FSU (Former Soviet Union) Republics - be prepared to stay online for quite some time, if you want to see one of the largest collections of different types of maps.
This site is fabulous and offers a huge variety of maps that include such titles as Bukovina Maps; Ukraine Maps and Distances; Ex-USSR map; Maps of Europe in different eras; Russian Far East Maps; Belarus Maps; Ukraine Maps; Kazakhstan Maps: Georgia Maps; Tajikistan Maps; Crimea Maps; Uzbekistan Maps; Azerbaijan Maps; Kyrgyzstan Maps; Moldova Maps; Turkmenistan Maps; Armenia Maps; Caucuses Region Maps; Baltic States Maps including Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia; and more at http://users.aimnet.com/~ksyrah/ekskurs/maps.html
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