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The project 'Forgotten Holocaust in Transnistria'. XXX / XXX, Free access - no reuse

Vergessener Holocaust in Transnistrien? (“Forgotten Holocaust in Transnistria?”)

Remembrance workshop and documentary film

Joint project

Decades after Rosa Zuckermann lost almost her entire family in the “forgotten Holocaust” in Transnistria, her son Felix Zuckermann sets off on a journey – along the stations she passed when she was deported. It is a journey into the past that, together with an international group of students, seeks to establish a connection with the region as it is today, and its future.

A photograph of Jews being deported from Czernowitz to Transnistria, 1941–1942. XXX / Yad Vashem, Free access - no reuse

The project "Forgotten Holocaust in Transnistria"

The project “Vergessener Holocaust in Transnistrien” (“Forgotten Holocaust in Transnistria”) consists of a remembrance workshop and a film project about the deportation of the Jewish population of

OpenStreetMap / Open Database License (ODbL)

Bukovina

deu. Bukowina, ukr. Буковина, ukr. Bukowyna, ron. Bucovina, deu. Buchenland

Bukovina is a historical landscape in modern Romania and Ukraine. The northern part is situated in the Ukrainian Chernivtsi Oblast, while the southern part is part of the Romanian Suceava County. The region once formed a part of the Principality of Moldavia and the Habsburg Monarchy.

Bukowina in the Online Encyclopedia of the Culture and History of the Germans in Eastern Europe (German)

Bukowina at Google Maps

and

OpenStreetMap / Open Database License (ODbL)

Bessarabia

rus. Bessarabiya, rus. Бессарабия, ukr. Bessarabiya, ukr. Бессарабія, ron. Basarabia, deu. Bessarabien

Bessarabia (rum. Basarabia, ukr. Бессарабія) is a historical landscape in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by the river Dniester in the east, Pruth in the west and the Black Sea in the south. Nowadays, the territory of the historical area of Bessarabia is over large parts congruent with the territory of the Republic of Moldova.

Bessarabien in the Online Encyclopedia of the Culture and History of the Germans in Eastern Europe (German)

Bessarabien at Google Maps

to the camps in Transnistria. It served as a networking platform for disseminators of historical and cultural knowledge and as a way to promote the culture of remembrance and the discourse of values in

OpenStreetMap / Open Database License (ODbL)

Ukraine

ukr. Ukrajina, deu. Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. Kiev is the capital and largest city of the country, which has been independent since 1991. Since 2022, the country has been defending itself against a comprehensive Russian invasion, which is directed in particular against the civilian population and the country's critical infrastructure and is part of a war against Ukraine that has been ongoing since 2014 and originated from the Russian Federation with the annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea in 2014.

Ukraine in the Online Encyclopedia of the Culture and History of the Germans in Eastern Europe (German)

Ukraine at Google Maps

and

OpenStreetMap / Open Database License (ODbL)

Moldova

ron. Republica Moldova, deu. Moldawien, deu. Moldau

Moldova, also known as the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country located in South-Eastern Europe. The country borders Ukraine and Romania. Moldova is home to nearly 3.5 million people, most of whom speak Romanian, Russian, and Ukrainian. The largest river in the country is the Prut.

Moldawien in the Online Encyclopedia of the Culture and History of the Germans in Eastern Europe (German)

Moldawien at Google Maps

. Participants included civil society representatives, disseminators, contemporary witnesses, as well as 20 university and high school students from both countries.

Felix Zuckermann in his mother's flat. XXX / Markus Winkler, Free access - no reuse

Felix Zuckermann at the Jewish cemetery in Czernowitz. XXX / Markus Winkler, Free access - no reuse

At the Dniestr, the border between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. XXX / Markus Winkler, Free access - no reuse

Part 1: The film project

In the resulting documentary film, Felix Zuckermann, son of Holocaust survivor Rosa Zuckermann, searches for answers to questions he never dared ask his mother. In the winter of 1941/42 she lost her entire family in Transnistria within a few weeks and returned alone to

OpenStreetMap / Open Database License (ODbL)

Černivci

ron. Cernăuţi, deu. Czernowitz, heb. צֶ׳רנוֹבִיץ, heb. Tschernowitz, yid. טשערנאָװיץ, yid. Tschernowitz, rus. Черновцы, rus. Tschernowzy, ukr. Чернівці, deu. Tschernowitz

Chernivtsi (Ukra. Чернівці) is a large city in southwestern Ukraine. The city is located on the border with Romania and is widely considered to be the capital of the historic Bukovina region. Chernivtsi was an significant place of Jewish culture. In 2017 Chernivtsi had about 62,000 inhabitants.

Due to the war in Ukraine, it is possible that this information is no longer up to date.

Černivci in the Online Encyclopedia of the Culture and History of the Germans in Eastern Europe (German)

Černivci at Google Maps

. On his journey through Ukraine and Moldova, Felix Zuckermann discovered his mother's deportation route for the first time. It is a journey into the past, using subtle and impressive images to address aspects of the Holocaust that are virtually unknown in Western Europe.

Participants of the remembrance workshop doing research. XXX / Markus Winkler, Free access - no reuse

Part 2: The remembrance workshop in Mohyliw-Podilskyj

The film also takes a look at the present and future of the region by including the second part of the project, the

OpenStreetMap / Open Database License (ODbL)

Mohyliv-Podilskyj

eng. Mohyliv-Podilskyi, deu. Mohyliw-Podilskyj, rus. Mogiljow-Podolski, ukr. Могилів-Подільський, ron. Moghilǎu, pol. Mohylów Podolski

Mohyliv-Podilskyj (Ukrainian: Могилів-Подільський, Polish: Mohylów Podolski) is a city in western Ukraine in the Vinnytsia oblast. It directly borders the Republic of Moldova and was inhabited by about 30,000 inhabitants in 2019.

Due to the war in Ukraine, it is possible that this information is no longer up to date.

Mohyliv-Podilskyj at Google Maps

Memorial Workshop. The participating young Ukrainians and Moldovans interviewed Felix about his mother's history, they met contemporary witnesses from the Jewish communities and talked about how the interest in the memory of that time could be awakened today for the younger generations in their countries. The remembrance workshop brought together number of teams, each made up of representatives from both countries, whose focus was on exchange and joint research on the ghetto and deportation history of their home towns. Through stories, letters, photos and films, the participants learned about the historical context and fates of Jewish deportees in the ghettos and camps of Transdniestria between 1941 and 1944. They went in search of traces, spoke with contemporary witnesses in the Jewish communities of Mohyliw-Podilskyj and

OpenStreetMap / Open Database License (ODbL)

Berschadskyj

yid. Barshad, heb. Barshad, yid. ברשד, heb. ברשד, pol. Berszad, deu. Berschad, rus. Бершадь, ukr. Бершадь, rus. Berschadskyj

Bershad (Ukrainian: Бершадь, Polish: Berszad) is a western Ukrainian town in the Vinnytsia oblast. It was inhabited by about 12,900 people in 2011 and is located in the historical Podolia region.

Berschadskyj at Google Maps

(Ukraine), explored the current forms of remembrance culture in the region and asked passers-by what role the memory of the Holocaust still plays for them today.

Since January 27, 2023 the film is available on the platform YouTube with subtitles in several languages. Here you can find all videos including the trailer and video versions with Ukrainian, Romanian and English subtitles. You can also watch the film here: