“Schmitzler's People”. DSH, January 13 – March 18, 2012

„Wśród szampańskich korków huku

Śmiać się będziesz do rozpuku.

Bufet smaczny! Panny śliczne!

Oświetlenie elektryczne!

Spędzisz tam przyjemne chwile,

Nowy Rok powitasz mile

I przetańczysz aż do rana

Charlestona i kankana.”

Śniatyn, 31 grudnia 1927 rok

“Schmitzler's People”. DSH, January 13 – March 18, 2012

“So if a non-Jewish girl came to visit me, they usually came for matematyczne zadania [math problems]. My mother – probably all Jewish women – they treat people: come in, you have to eat something I baked. Helka, Helka Nowożeniuk, said ‘thank you’ – ‘dziękuję’ – in Polish. And my mother translated from Jewish to Polish; she didn’t know Polish: ‘za mało’ [too little]. My mother wanted to say ‘it’s too little to thank for, don’t thank me’. So Helka went over and kissed her hand, saying: ‘całuję rączki’ [kiss your hand, madam]. I saw it’s no good… and my mother said again: ‘to za mało’. I started to laugh.”

„Jeśli jakaś dziewczyna, która nie była Żydówką przychodziła do mnie, to zwykle na ‘matematyczne zadania’. Moja matka, pewnie tak jak wszystkie Żydówki, podejmowała gości: wejdź, coś upiekłam – musisz spróbować . Helka, Helka Nowożeniuk, odpowiedziała po polsku – ‘dziękuję’. I moja matka przetłumaczyła z jidysz na polski, nie znała polskiego: ‘za mało’. Chciała powiedzieć ‘nie ma za co, nie dziękuj’. Więc Helka podeszła i pocałowała ją w rękę, mówiąc: ‘całuję rączki’. Widziałam, że nie jest dobrze… a moja matka powiedziała jeszcze raz: ‘to za mało’. Zaczęłam się śmiać.” 

“Schmitzler's People”. DSH, January 2012

“Sokół. This was the Polish organization. And they didn’t let us go here. They had a tennis court, a wonderful tennis court. And I used to look always and I was angry, ha-ha, I was so angry. They didn’t let us go in and play tennis. Szlachta…[nobility]”

„Sokół. To była polska organizacja. Nie wpuszczali nas tutaj. Mieli swój kort tenisowy, wspaniały kort. Zawsze na niego patrzyłem i byłem zły, ha ha, taki zły. Nie wpuszczali nas tutaj, nie dali zagrać. Szlachta... ”

“Schmitzler's People”. DSH, January 2012

„Poliaky wony usi keruwaly, naczal’nykamy buly. Dido rozkazuwaw, szo za Pol’szczi dobre bulo żyty. Dobre. Nu, chuże, hirszoho nema wid cych Ruskich. Usio sowiety robyly. Ta jak tut każut: Moskali.”

“Poles were in charge, they were leaders. My grandpa told me living under Polish rule was fine. Good. Well, nothing’s worse than Russki. All [bad] was done by the Soviets. Moskali, as they call them here.”  

“Schmitzler's People”. DSH, January 2012

„Ty możesz sądzić, czy zamożni, czy ne zamożni byli moi rodzicy. Ja w szubi, w kożuszku. Mama – w karakuliewij szubi toże, w kapeliuszu, to dziadzio też worotnik, kownir taki, a tato też w kapeluszu. A ot za ich spynoju idzie kobieta. Ubrana tak, jak wtenczas ludzie chodzili. Można z tego coś sądzić, iz tych fotografij.”

“You may guess whether my parents were well-off or not. I’m wearing a fur coat. My mom’s wearing an astrakhan coat, a hat, my grandpa a collar, my dad a hat. There is a woman walking behind them. She is dressed in a way people used to dress those days. It could be gathered, from these photographs.”

“Schmitzler's People”. DSH, January 2012

Marek M. Berezowski

„Tam buw wirmens’kyj kostel. Duże, duże harnyj buw. Tam, znajete, spokijno. Tam wsi ci wikna – ja ne znaju, jak wony nazywajyt’sia, ti szkliani riznokoliorowi taki wikna, znajete. Wony prekrasno, duże harno widdawaly switlo wseredynu. Jak prychodyw jakas’ aura taka bula nadzwyczajna, szo wy tam mohly sobi i widdychnuty. Nu, duszu swoju z czymos’, szos’ wam tiażko bulo na duszi, to tam można bulo pijty, rozumijete, i pomolytysia. Nu, i szo? I pryjszly Rosijany. Ruski pryjszly, niby to wsio zabraly i zrobyly tam, technikum zrobyly.”

“There was an Armenian church. Very, very beautiful one. It was, you know, very peaceful there. All the windows – I don’t know how you call them, these colorful glass windows. They admitted the light inside. When you came, there was an extraordinary aura, that you could have a rest there. And you could bare your soul, when your heart is heavy, then you could go there and pray. And what? Russian came. Russki came, took everything and turned it into a trade school.” 

“Schmitzler's People”. DSH, January 2012

„A wie Pan, Ormianie to przeważnie byli właścicieli. Mieli swoje dwory, a tam służyli w nich mniejsi z ludzi, oni im płacili. I tak Krystofowych, Teodorowych, Bondarowych – to wszystko właścicieli dóbr.”

“So you know, Armenians were mostly landowners. They had manor houses where the lesser people served and they paid them. Krystofowych, Teodorowych, Bondarowych – they were all landowners.” 

“Schmitzler's People”. DSH, January 2012

Tomasz Fedor/tomaszfedor.blogspot.com

„Ja ne możu buty prawoslawna. Tato Poliak. Jak ja możu buty? Ja rymo-katolyk. Ja jdu w cerkwu hreko-katolyc’ku. I w kostiol idu. A prawosławni… pochoron tam buw, choronyly. A ja jszla i ja ne stala kolo nych. Odna żinka na bazary skazala. Każe: <<Widczytuwaw tam ksiondz (nu, wony każut swiaszczenyk), a wy daże ne staly>>. Ja każu: <<Wy je prawoslawni. Mij tato Poliak. Ja ne możu buty prawoslawna. Ja was liubliu, wważaju, no ja ne możu buty. Moja krow ne ta>>. Otak meni peredaly. I ja toho toho tak trymajusia.”

“I cannot be Orthodox. My father was Polish. So, how could I? I am Roman Catholic. I go to Greek Catholic church. And I go to [Roman Catholic] church. And Orthodox… there was a funeral, they were burying someone. I was passing by and I didn’t stop. One woman on the market said: <<the priest (they call him svyaschennyk) was reading the names out but you even did not stop>>. I said: << You are Orthodox. My father was Polish. I like you, I respect you, but I cannot be Orthodox. Not my blood>>. That’s what I got. And I hold to that.”

“Schmitzler's People”. DSH, January 2012

Дід та баба… Баба калічила по-українськи до мене… Але до діда – по-польськи…Та й так було, так ми колись жили… […] Не було, щоб так во хтось сварився… Ясно, що кожен свою націю любить, але то всьо було помішано-поділено… нормально…

Grandpa and grandma… Grandma spoke Ukrainian to me … But to grandpa – Polish. This is the way we used to live… […] Nobody was arguing. Surely, each of us likes their nation but it was all mixed/divided… Nothing unusual…

“Schmitzler's People”. DSH, January 2012

Tomasz Fedor/tomaszfedor.blogspot.com

„Bo jak krownyj Poliak, to chocz to odno, a choczet’sia tam po pol’s’ky pohoworyty. A, nu, porozmowliaty. Ja tak ja pidu na bazar, abo toj Poliaczky, Poliaky mene pobaczut i wże usmichajutsia. Wże ja do nych. Uże my howorym, wże obnimajemsia. Aha, i cilujemsia. I liubow.”

“When there is Polish blood in the family, even if one [parent] only, there is a need to speak Polish. Well, to talk. When I go to the market, or Poles see me, they smile immediately. I smile at them. And we talk, we hug each other. Oh, and we kiss. And it’s love.”

“Schmitzler's People”. DSH, January 2012

Sniatyner saying: “a shomer a hiter, a gonif a giter”

“A watchman steals, a crook is good: better to have a crook that you know will steal, than a watchman who you hope won’t steal but does.” 

(translated by Henry Glick)

Henry Glick's memoirs

The Rebbicyn

Usually, after regular school, I attended a private Hebrew school […]. On one early spring day, I went to school. The snow was still on the ground but slightly melting. My shoes were a little bit worn out, so by the time I arrived, me feet were wet and cold, but it was warm and cosy inside, I took off my coat, sat in a row with other kids. […] My feet started to warm up, it was very pleasant relief, but not for long. Suddenly, the door leading to the living quarters burst wide open, the rabbi’s wife appeared in the door opening with a red frown on her face, looked around, glanced at me, and pointing her little fat forefinger at me, shouted, “You, Glick, go home, home” she kept repeating and trying to approach me, but was blocked by the rabbi with his body and both hands begging her to calm down, pleading with her: “Please, Mamciu, please!” But it did not work.

http://www.amazon.com/Recollections-Holocaust-Survivor-Guided-Angels/dp/1450573592

Henry Glick 1926 - 2007, born in Sniatyn, wrote his memoirs in New York.

“Schmitzler's People”. DSH, January 2012

Tomasz Fedor/tomaszfedor.blogspot.com

„My mówili, że u nich żargon. To tam i słowiański słowa były, i nimecki, i ichni jewrejski.”

"We used to say that they speak jargon. There were Slavic words in it, and German, and theirs – Jewish."

Schmitzler's People

“Schmitzler's People: Inhabitants of Pre-War Sniatyn” exhibition on at the History Meeting House (DSH), Warsaw, January 2012.

„Ludzie od Schmitzlera”. Dom Spotkań z Historią, styczeń 2012.

We did it!

Tomasz Fedor/tomaszfedor.blogspot.com

You are welcome!

Finally!

All of you are welcome to our first exhibition, which take place during Jewish Culture Festival in Wrocław.

In theaters now!

Yad Vashem

Yad Vashem has just started sharing his huge archive with picutres from Holocaust. Here is one. Click here to see more. I found only four from Sniatyn.

I've started exploring their Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names. Here is Sniatyn.

Households

Working on "Śniatyń" movie. Any suggestions? And studying to exams...

Koń jaki jest każdy widzi

I jak to zinterpretować? Czy konie też mają tożsamość?

Ruszamy!

Ruszamy z blogiem! Zdjęcia, wspomnienia, najciekawsze fragmenta, relacja prawie na żywo z postępów w naszej pracy. To wszystko już niedługo!