Ukrainian Jewish Heritage: Lost Shtetls of Ukraine

The Jewish population of Ukraine before the Second World War was over 2.5 million. Now the current population is only around 100,000.A whole world with its very own culture, rules, and customs was decimated in the Holocaust.Decades later, descendants of survivors, along with friends and supporters, are working hard to piece together remnants of this once vibrant world.In western Ukraine and other parts of the former Austro-Hungarian empire, many restoration and educational projects are underway. But in eastern Ukraine, not so much.One man however, has taken on the gargantuan task of cataloguing Jewish shtetls in eastern Ukraine.Vitali Buryak recently discovered his Jewish roots. In the process, he created a website called History of Jewish Communities in Ukraine.I came across his website while doing research on shtetls. Vitali, also known as Chaim (his Jewish name), kindly agreed to tell me his story so I could share it with you. This is part of that conversation. Full transcript can be found at the Nash Holos website here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.