Chapter 1 Flashcards
Authors
Donald Chipkin Berkman
compiled by Maryann McLoughlin
contains excerpts from Donald’s mother Sara
how many children died in holocaust
a million and a half
what years did they hide in the forest
1942-1945 and lived in poverty for many years after
the mother’s name
Sara Baron Berkman Chipkin
when was Sara interviewed
1995 in Miami beach
describe Sara’s predicament
alone in woods with a toddler
where were the killing fields
Ponar
how many family members were killed
49
what was the holocaust
a genocide that began with the exclusion of a group from a community, then country, then this world
What is NAHOS
National Association of Jewish Child Holocaust Survivors
memoir is told in whose two voices?
mother and son
where did sara and her family live until 1941
the shtetl Druysk
where did sara live after her mother died
Kraslava Latvia
where was yosel berkman from
also from Druysk but he and his family were taken to many ghettos including Widze (Vidzy) and Swieciany before they were murdered in Ponar (Ponary) near Vilna (wilno) … trajectory was South
brightest comet of 20th century
Great Daylight Comet of 1910 (January)
second comet was
Halley’s Comet April 20,1910 - legend has it brought destruction earth passed through its tail on May 18 1910
sara born
May 15, 1910 birth name Chaisorel Baron in Druysk a suburb of Vilna, Lithuania part of Russian empire - robbed, devastated
born to her father’s second wife
her mother died when she was two (brother, sara, brother, sister Frumka)
In 1930 Druysk became part of
Poland after being part of Russian Empire. In 1939 it became part of USSR in 1990 it became part of Belarus when Belarus and Lithuania gained independence
what is a shtetl
a small town
where was Druysk
11 miles southwest of Braslaw Poland and 12 miles northwest of Kraslavia Latvia
nationality of people in Druysk
Jews in town - but surrounding town were Christians; orthodox Jews but not like extreme Hasidic Jews (stockings and fringes known as tzitzit)
what did the 2 non Jews in town do?
light candles, stoves etc on Sabbath because it was forbidden for Jews to do so
were the people in the Druysk wealthy?
a couple rich, a few middle class but mostly poor; close knit community
people in Druysk called Mitnagdim meaning
opponents who followed Vilna Goan who was opposed to Hasidism
How many synagogues in Druysk?
One Ashkanazi and the other Hasidic but Lithuanian Hasidic (did not wear black or ear locks known as payos)
Describe sara’s house
a little house with a dirt floor and no electricity or running water; outhouse in the back and well in the front
describe sara’s father
he was a businessman and also a rabbi who was in partnership with his sister’s husband. They sold geese to Germany and flax to Russia and Latvia; married 4 times! four children from his first wife, then four children from her sister, one child from his third wife
what is flax
material from a plant; stronger than cotton but not as elastic. Used for making fabrics, lace and sheeting
what happened when sara was 4?
in 1914 WW1 broke out, Belarus was a battlefield. Nearby Vilna was Germans. Nearby Minsk was Russians.
What happened when Sara was 6?
Her father got sick with the flu and died. She was sent to live with her dad’s sister in Kraslava, Latvia.
why was 1917 important in Druysk?
revolutions in Russia drove away czarist bureaucrats; Russians left Bolsheviks came in. Unstable politics. Future of Belarus uncertain. tried to stay autonomous but by 1930 was part of Poland.
