Family Stories and Memoirs

Boris Latman, a native of Emilchino born in 1951

(Weiden, Bayern, Germany)

Letter of the memory of Jewish life in Emilchino on March 22, 2008

I Berchik Shaevich Latman,  born in 1951 in the settlement Emilchino, Zhytomyr region in Ukraine. In the 50s the Emilchino population was about 5000 people, of whom about one-third were Jews.

In the late 40s early 50s, says our countryman Arkady Sachs, in high school in some classes of Jewish boys and girls were an absolute majority, and were the leaders in the classroom. No one in those days, would say a bad word or something to offend a Jew in school. In the late '50s, when I began to attend school, the classes were already had a smaller number of Jewish children, but in the classroom where she studied in 1962-1972, my wife had 10 children of the Jews and the class teacher was also a Jew.

In the settlement in those days, you could often hear Yiddish spoken, among many languages.  My good friend, came into the first grade, only speaking Yiddish--not Ukrainian.   Jewish families usually lived in the settlement center, but there were also families who lived in villages such as Seredy, Serby, Podluby, and Barashi. Residents of Elmichino worked in all sectors of the economy - hospitals, schools, and barber-shops. Five of the six barbers were Jewish. Many were also shoemakers and tailors. Many worked in a bank, bakery, financial department and stores. Jews also worked in the collective farms. They enjoyed a well-deserved reputation among the inhabitants of the district center.

From approximately 1948, Emilchino had no synagogue. During these years, the synagogue was turned into a regional cultural center, practically rebuilt, and in 1988 was another big reconstruction to build the District House of Culture. During construction work, being an employee of RDK, I personally saw the preserved wall of the old synagogue, with partially visible traces of paintings on Jewish themes, but it was demolished, and unfortunately not even photographed.

I remember during my childhood, going to worship someone or at home, the women were baking for the holidays “lykakh”, and men sometimes grab a bottle “bromfn”, and at the end of the service “Lechaim” drinking. Recalls Michael Fishin on “simhastoyre” at home after minyan Jews danced in “yuft” boots, smeared with “tar”. It was real fun, real simchas. There was a lot of people mainly the elderly including the villages of the district. Namely, he recalls Naftula REBER from the village Seredy. Naturally, too, the Torah was in Emilchino with different families taking it for possession. Once at home in an old single-cabinet I found wrapped in a cloth or sheet object, but my father warned me that no one should know because the Jews were afraid of the authorities. My wife, Lena KHOROZHANSKIJH, recalls how the women baked “matsa”the whole night through, and in the morning a militiaman visited their house and “invited” her father for dad to the militia station for a “talk.”

I remember on the eve of the Jewish holidays in the fall we tried to go to the Veledniki Ovruch district, on the “Tsadek” grave. My father tried to go there every year, he brought out a coin, on Yiddish “shmiren” that he was always with him. They were sewn into his piece of cloth and he always carried in the watch pocket of his pants. My wife and I in the late 80s were also at the grave of “Tsadik” in Veledniki.  In general, then we very impressed stay in this holy place by the very large number of people who came from many regions.

In Emilchino today is home to 10 Jews. Many have emigrated. Some live in other parts of the former Soviet Union. I communicate with many of my countrymen and often recall those days when Emilchino had Yiddish sounds.