Journey to Teplyk - Travel to the roots of the Shefman Family by Alan Shefman

I am not exactly sure when I asked my father where he was born, but I remembered that he told me, Odessa. I was old enough to know that it was in “the” Ukraine. That is what I had always understood to be the name of the country until quite recently I was told that Ukrainians found it offence for anyone to call their country that – It is just “Ukraine.”

Of course, I discovered sometime later that he wasn't born in Odessa – Odessa is a large city hundreds of kilometres to the south. In fact he was born in little shtetl, Teplyk (or Teplik) (in what used to be Podolia Province of the Russian Empire) and is now called Vinnyts’ka Oblast (province). An excellent article, Podolia and her Jews, a brief history of the Jews of Ukraine and specifically, Podolia Province is available at http://www.jewishgen.org/Ukraine/PTM_Article.asp?id=18

Russian Empire Map of Ukraine

 

Podolia Oblast (Russian Empire) showing location of Teplyk and Haisyn (Gaysin)

Identifying these towns and oblasts is a bit difficult. For example Haisyn, the town that Bubie was living in and where Bubie and Zaidie were married had about eight or ten different ways to identify it. I have used Giessen over the years but it is now identified as Haisyn, using the current Ukrainian name. Part of the problem is that this area kept switching hands from war to war. It has been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Poland, Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Each conqueror used their own language to define the names of their towns and administrative units. 

The presence of Jews in this area was very significant. In a late 19^th century census it was determined that about 13% of the total population of Podolia Province was Jewish. There were also many towns where the Jewish population was near 50%.

It may in fact have been either Bubie or Zaidie who first told me about Teplyk as they lived there and had three of their four children while there. One of my big regrets was that I wasn't more curious and didn't ask more questions about their experiences in Ukraine.

So, before I went I knew very little of their life there. My father said that he remembered that they had a large house beside a river with a bridge adjacent to the house. He said that Zaidie (or perhaps Zaidie’s father worked with leather - they may have made shoes - the Yiddish word for shoes is "shikhlekh," perhaps the root of our family name. Too bad that I never got these stories very clearly.

Of course there was the story that Bubie lived in Haisyn and that Zaidie went there for the wedding. Haisyn was and is the larger town – today it has about 26,000 people, compared with Teplyk’s 6,400. They lived there for a time after the wedding and eventually packed up a wagon with their wedding presents to make their way to Teplyk. On the way bandits attacked and robbed them of everything. They also hit Zaidie in the side of his head – he always believed that is why he was so hard of hearing most of his life. Bubie, by the way wasn't born in Haisyn, but in a town in the area, Ternovka (Ternova) which was located about 30 kilometres southeast of Teplyk. The story I heard was that the family had to leave that town because one of her brothers, Dave, had run away to Canada to avoid being drafted into the Russian army and people in the town made it difficult for them after that.

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I was in Ukraine to attend a number of meetings and make a presentation to municipal leaders in the country. It was part of a program (PLEDDG) funded by the Federal Government and managed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. I spent two days in Lviv at a gender equality conference organized by the Ukrainian Cities Association. This issue is not a terribly popular one in the country – very male dominated with few women mayors. I then flew to Kyiv and got on a train to go to Poltava in the east/central part of the country (about 400 kilometres from Donetsk where fighting between Russian supporters and the Ukrainian army continues)  to attend a municipal economic development conference and make a presentation on Vaughan's approach to municipal economic development. I spent Friday back in Kyiv debriefing with PLEDDG staff and then visited the Canadian embassy where I met the Canadian Ambassador and Trade Commissioner. 

One of my highlights was eating at what I presume to be the only Jewish restaurant in Kyiv, Cimmes. Good Jewish food with a twist.

Tzimmes or Cimmes Restaurant in Kyiv

On Saturday morning, March 18 at 8:00 am I met my guide/driver Sergey to begin my journey to my roots.

Francine had found Sergey on the Internet. He was part of a group called Tours by Locals – sort of an Uber for tourists. The way it worked was that you lay out your intended plans and he advises on the timing and the route and then gives you the cost. The payment is made to the Company rather directly to him.  His page described him as being familiar with area I wanted to go and he had experience with other Jewish tourists looking for their roots. He in fact was even better than his description. He is in his 40’s and has a wife and a young son. They actually live somewhere outside of Kyiv, but he advertises that he works out of Kyiv. He calls himself an historian and has been a school principal and previously he ran a tourist company in Crimea. In fact he had lived there for ten years before the Russian annexation. He left when they tried to force a Russian passport on him. He is very bitter and angry with what has taken place, including having to give up his life there. He is an ardent Ukrainian nationalist and like many in the country are furious with the Russians. He believed that the fighting still going on is all caused by Russian aggression. As one person I talked to said; the entire country is traumatized. One of the manifestations of the conflict is that you see lots of soldiers going about their business. Interestingly at no time did I feel any concern walking in the three cities I was in.

Sergey had other benefits for me. First of all, his grandmother was Jewish (although I got the sense that she brought little Jewish culture.) He also grew up in the area in the vicinity of Teplyk, in the neighbouring province, and as a kid had Jewish friends, so he had some familiarity with my interests.

He was an extremely cautious driver, which was good, but at times, irritating. He was totally paranoid about driving over potholes; and boy oh boy were there ever lots of them on all the roads we took.

Our route took us out of Kyiv – he was using Google Maps and even so got lost twice at the beginning – I thought I was in big trouble, but after that he was fine. We drove on the main national highway going south from Kyiv to Uman, 215 km away. The highway was crowded and at times we were stop and go because of construction going on. Interesting to see the size and nature of Ukraine’s biggest City – lots of large, relatively new apartment buildings everywhere, and a quite modern look. Of course here and there you saw the old, Soviet style ugly buildings.

We got to Uman, a city of about 90,000 people and the major city between Kyiv and Odessa. While we didn't go into the City we did go off the highway and visited the Jewish area. 

Jewish restaurant in Uman

Breslover enclave in Uman - this gate leads to the tomb of Rabbi Nachman

This Jewish enclave exists because Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the founder of the Breslover Chasid’s is buried there. Although he only lived there at the end of his life, he decided that was where he wanted to be buried as he was dying from TB. He died in 1810. It is the sight of a huge Breslover Chasidism celebration in the fall – I read that literally thousands of his followers go there annually to celebrate. In the meantime there is a significant presence of religious Jews that are evident in about a two to three block area. The stores with Hebrew names line the streets and many Breslover people could be seen walking from Shule when we were there. There were several small apartment buildings in the area that I presume were owned by the Jewish residents. It was quite an experience to be in the middle of Ukraine to see such a significant Jewish presence.

We spent about half an hour there before driving the 50 kilometres to Teplyk.

One of the most interesting aspects of the entire drive from Kyiv was enormous fields of dark black soil – I remember from high school geography that this unique region, the steppes of Ukraine,   

 is covered with this chernozem, rich soil - no wonder everyone invaded this area. It is recognized as a breadbasket.

Entering Vinitsya, the present day Oblast where Teplyk is located

  

We turned off the main highway to begin the last leg of the trip to Teplyk. While the road wasn’t terrible there were sections where we slowed to a crawl to avoid the pot holes. The area itself has many small towns, that, without a doubt at one time were populated to a significant amount by Jews. Most of them, by all accounts, would have only a handful left if even that.

The Teplyk Sign - an amazing moment

Finally, as we drove we saw the sign – Teplyk, the town and a second one, Teplyk the administrative area. It was a very emotional moment to actually see the sign.

We made a left turn to drive to the town itself.

According to an account by visitors to Teplyk in 2000, prior to the Russian Revolution there were 5,500 Jews living there. Following a series of pogroms, many people left - prior to WWII only 3000 Jews remained. The Nazis killed about 50% of the people still there and destroyed over 80% of the Jewish homes. By the year 2000, only 50 Jews remained. 

Teplyk had a dynamic religious infrastructure with five or six synagogues and 25 houses of prayer (many designated  for a particular profession: shoemakers, tailors, barbers, etc.) in the early years of the 20th century. Four synagogues were either destroyed or closed during the Stalin era. In 1945 the Germans bombed and destroyed the last synagogue. 

Within a kilometre of the turn we went by the homestead and a shrine to Ukrainian composer, Mykola Leontovych. He was born in Teplyk. He was a composer best known for his composition, the Carol of the Bells in 1914. It is known and played around the world as a Christmas carol with an English translation. His house, a small monument/statue and his grave is there. He was shot by the KGB in the 1920’s. 

Mykola Leontovyc

 In a few moments we started to drive into the town along its main street. Not much to see, with typical, one storey, wooden Ukrainian shops of different types and small houses laid out in a very scattered pattern. As well there was a more substantial school and a couple of administrative buildings

Administrative Building in Teplyk - the most substantial building in the town

Stores on main street Teplyk

As we found out as we explored the town, not a lot of town planning went into organizing streets. Some streets that we drove on were nothing more than laneways with houses on both sides. The houses varied but many were quite rundown, small and in pretty bad shape. I also noticed that many of the houses had chickens running around. 

Typical house in Teplyk

Street in Teplyk

We stopped at a Soviet style WWII war memorial as we were driving into town. I took some pictures and looked at the monument while Sergey talked to people on the street. We struck pay dirt. The older woman knew where the Jewish cemetery was, knew about a mass grave and told Sergey about a Jewish man living in the town. The younger woman agreed to show us around. In the end she spent about 40 minutes with us. In fact, that day, everyone we talked to was very open and willing to help us find Jewish sites – maybe things have changed.

WWII memorial in Teplyk - very Soviet in style

We headed to the cemetery at the far edge of town. We drove by a small lake – was this where the house was, not at a river but at this lake? We found out more later.

Typical gravestone - the cut off tree trunk

Virtually every gravestone was laying on its side - most were buried

A few stones were still standing

It seemed that more stones in the thickets were standing

One of the few gravestones that you could see any writing

The cemetery was a total disaster. It was a large area – I would guess that it was about 150 x 300 metres in size, sitting on a slight slope. It was bordered by homes across a lane on one side, a small treed area on another, and roads on two sides. The cemetery was almost entirely a bare field – the cemetary had obviously been destroyed at some point. What could be seen scattered across the field were many stones, partly buried or just stubs of headstones still standing. At the far end from where we parked were three very distinct white painted, standing stones, one of them had a small, low stone fence around it. As I started to walk through the field it was evident that this property was used for grazing. Everywhere on the ground were the tops of buried, fallen headstones. A few of the stones carved as tree trunks – very common in Jewish cemeteries, were still standing. No writing could be seen on the vast majority of the stones, they were just too worn.I learnt later that at some point after the war there was an attempt by the remaining Jews in the town to put a fence around the property, but this never happened. I also learnt that at one time during the Krushchev era, the town wanted to plow over the cemetery and perhaps build houses there. The remaining Jews in the town wrote to Krushchev, petitioning him to preserve the cemetery. Their request was granted.

Scattered everywhere, with only small pieces above ground, were gravestones. I wondered what was buried underground. This was an old cemetery - possibly as much as 200 years old - and after seeing others in Poland, my guess is that there were many hundreds if not thousands of graves here. As I walked I came to an area that was overgrown with shrubs and small trees. The stones were in somewhat better shape here – many of them were on the ground as opposed to under it. There were even a couple of stones that seemed newer with the Hebrew wording quite readable.

Of course, as I walked, what kept going through my head was, this is where my ancestors are buried and there is virtually nothing to recognize that.

I continued walking and came to the white, standing stones but couldn`t figure of why they were somehow preserved when all the rest were all but destroyed. I spent about 40 minutes in the cemetery thinking that this might be the only remnant of my family and the lost Jewish community that I will actually see in Teplyk. Fortunately, there was  more.

Grave of a follower of Rabbi Nachman in the Teplyk cemetery

Sergey had the name of a street where the last Jew of Teplyk was supposed to be – people we asked all seemed to know him. The first street we went down was not correct. We continued to ask and finally we went down another of the lanes and asked a woman standing at the back of her home. She pointed across the lane and told us he lived there. As we turned Leo was standing at the window waving to us. In a minute he came out to where we were.

His name is Leo Leonidovich. In some ways he reminded me of my father. He had the same build and even the look – wearing sweat pants and an old sweat shirt like my father used to wear when he got older. Sergey started to talk to him, and introduced us – it was totally a moment of joy for me. Here was someone who could talk to me about this place. It turned out he was amazing.

Leo is about 75 or so – I never asked him his age. He is vigorous – full of energy, full of stories and very funny. In a second he asked us to come into his house. It was a fair size with a large general room, a sitting room with a bed (and a computer!) a second bedroom and a kitchen. He had a couple of older televisions in the rooms. Overall it was very basic and seemed somewhat run down compared to the way we live, but it seemed comfortable for him and his wife. His wife is Ukrainian. Although she prepared some sweet bread and jam and coffee, he didn't introduce her. She served the food and went into another room as we talked. Sergey said that this is quite common in Ukraine in small places.

So we sat in his sitting room and talked. Leo clearly enjoyed talking to us about his town. He had lived there his whole life as had his father and grandfather. His father (step-father?) had been a butcher in Teplyk and during the great famine of 1932-33 he had helped feed some of the people he knew. His actions then later saved his life when his neighbours hid him from the Nazis.

Video taken in Leo's home. He is showing me a very old book, circa 

1900 where they write about the leather factories in Teplyk - the very business 

my grandfather's family worked in

Leo had been in construction in the area and had built his own house. He told us that he (or his father) had been part of one of the collective farms in the area and when communism ended he ended up with a few hectares of land that he now rents out. I think, from what he told us, that although not wealthy by any means, he is ok financially. While we didn't talk about his children he has several grandchildren with one of them living in Holland. He showed us an old book, from the beginning of the twentieth century written in Ukrainian that described the town at that time. At one point he went on to his computer and showed us some pictures. He was very proud of the one with a huge fish that he had caught. He told us of another Jewish family that lived in Teplyk until recently when they moved to Vinitsyia. He told us that they had a large archive of history of the community that they took with them. Their name was Fishman.

Leo's House - he built it himself

After about an hour with him in his home, Leo agreed to take us around.

 

Leo and I

We first went back to the cemetery. He did not know when the cemetery had been destroyed but suggested it was when the Nazis invaded. He told us that the white graves were maintained by the Chassidic people from Uman. The one with the stones around it was a major follower of the Breslevor Rebbe and asked to be buried in Teplyk because he had been born there. Nothing really was known about the other two, Leo also pointed out that the stones that I had seem earlier in one of the corners of the cemetery were those of the people killed in the pogrom of 1919 by the Ukrainian nationalist army. 

That was a period when there were a variety of armies fighting throughout the area. This army, under Petrula, was involved in running battles with the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks had held the town and the Jews, it was claimed, had welcomed the Bolsheviks – a common accusation. When the Ukrainians took the town later, they turned on the Jews. One of the stories that I knew of was that during the pogrom Zaidie saw one of his aunts killed by the rioters – she may be buried in that section.

The Post-war Jewish cemetery

Burial site of victims of the 1919 Pogrom

Finally, Leo pointed out a fenced in and well maintained site adjacent to the ruined cemetery. It was the new Jewish cemetery. Although we didn't go over to it, he told us that the fence around it had been erected by the town with some financial support from people in the US.

 From there we went to the lake we had gone by earlier. As we stood there Leo pointed out that the houses that had been there before had all been replaced after the war. As well he said that the butchers and the leather workers worked and lived in that area along the water. Perhaps somewhere in the vicinity of where we were standing, the Shefman family might have lived and worked.

The Lake in the middle of Teplyk - where the Shefman home was?

We then drove up a hill to the edge of town to go to where the mass grave was located. As we drove Leo showed us the place where people were forced to leave their clothes and whatever else they had with them as they were forced to the place they were going to be killed. About 200 metres beyond was where the killing took place.

The mass grave site

The Mass Grave

I was surprised to find a well organized and maintained memorial site. It is fenced in, with three mounds bounded by white stones marking the pits. I read later that during the time of Krushchev realtives of the victims wrote to the government asking that markers be erected at the site. The fence and memorial were built as a result of that effort. 

A third area is not marked but it is presumed that bodies are there as well. Leo told us that there might be as many as 2500 bodies there in total. At one end of the memorial area is a memorial and plaques with people's names – a very sad place and one that evokes very sad thoughts as there is a significant likelihood that some of our relatives died there. Leo told us that his grandmother and an aunt were killed here. He also told us that four Hungarian Nazi collaborators were killed and buried here when they refused to take part in the killing. I later learned that captured Russian soldiers were also killed at the site. Finally he said that this year will be the 75^th anniversary of the mass killing at this site and the town is planning a program to commemorate what took place. He asked me if I could try to contact people in North America who might be willing to donate some money to support their program.

It was getting late in the afternoon and starting to drizzle so we had to move on the Haiysin. We dropped Leo off and drove out of Teplyk.

Such an amazing experience, one that I always wanted to do but was doubtful that it would actually happen. Spending time with Leo was extraordinarily meaningful. Here was someone living there who, no doubt, had a father or grandfather who would have known, worked with, gone to shule and other daily events with Bubie and Zaidie and Zaidie’s own parents. I really find it hard to believe that I have now been in this mythical place where just under a hundred years ago our ancestors lived their lives.

We left Teplyk to drive to Haisyn.

Haisyn is significantly larger than Teplyk with many stores, schools, administrative offices, factories and a hospital. In fact the original hospital in the town was the Jewish hospital. The building still exists on the site. it is still being used as a hospital. We also found what was the Jewish school as well. It was more difficult to find things in the town especially as it was raining and few people were on the street.

 

Haiysin - perhaps formerly a Shule

Building in old Jewish section of Haiysin

Sergey did ask someone about the Jewish cemetery. My goal was to find the grave of Bubie’s father. I have a photo of it with someone identified as Yankel Lerman (Uncle Rafool’s brother standing beside it. I think I got the picture from Bubie. The writing on the stone is:

Here lies An honorable man, Alimelech

son of Yisroel Chalidavska

died on the first day of Rosh Hashana

5682.  May his soul be bound up in the bonds of everlasting life.

(The first day of Rosh Hashana 5682 = first of Tishri = October 3, 1921)

I've had the photo for many years. I have no idea when this photo was taken.

Grvestone of Malech Wladofsky - standing is Yankel Lerman

We drove to where we were told the cemetery was located. It was very well maintained with many graves. Both the cemetery itself and individual graves had fences around them. Reading the dates on the stones it was obvious that this was a late postwar cemetery. The earliest graves were from the 1960’s.

Jewish Cemetery in Haiysin

 

Time was running out as it was raining and starting to get dark. We asked people on the street about an earlier Jewish cemetery and were told that it no longer existed – that during the Soviet era a large sugar factory was built on it. We drove to the area and continued to ask people if they knew, but had no luck finding anything but the factory.

Finally, we drove to the Haisyn mass grave. It is important to understand that this was the area that the Enzengruppen was most active, travelling from town to town, rounding up the Jews (and anyone else who might cause trouble, such as teachers, politicians, lawyers, etc) and killed them all. This grave site was also well maintained with a large cross at the front – this is also quite common as during the Soviet era, many sites where mass killings took place were homogenized as places that Ukrainians died. Even at Babi Yar, outside of Kyiv, until there was a hue and cry, the thousands of Jews who died there were not properly recognized. 

The mass grave in Haysin

Information on the Haiysn mass grave site is available, including video testimony (Yevgeniya Yossifovna L. (N°1190): "One could hear the gunfire, because it wasn’t far away. Back then, there were not many houses to deaden the sound. We couldn’t see anything, but the children were running through the streets, shouting that the Jews were being shot.")  from the Yahad-In Unam organization. The video of a witness can be seen at http://www.yahadmap.org/#village/haysyn-gaysyn-vinnytsia-ukraine.71

At least the site was maintained with names of some of the victims listed on plaques.

We then went to an older area of the Town where we saw a number of buildings that we understood to have been owned by Jews. Several them may have also been synagogues.

The Jewish Hospital in Haiysin

My Room in the Luxor Hotel in Haiysin

As it was now dark, we asked about hotels and were directed to the best one in town. Hmmm. Although it was clean, it really was an insight into life in this part of the world. It had large rooms with separate washrooms (not always the case) and even a separate shower. The Luxor Hotel, with its Egyptian theme was pretty rustic and not overpriced at $18 a night!

Notes regarding Teplyk in Shefman Family Genealogy 

(these are all the "facts" that I had to work with when I went to Teplyk)

HARRY
Worked in leather when he was in Teplik. Lived in a very nice house that once was the overseerer's. There was a piano in the house. It was near the river in the town .
During a pogrom (probably in March (or July 17 - ref. Every Day Remembrance Day p. 160) 1919) the family was in hiding in the attic of their house and were afraid to come out when an aunt was killed and her body was lying in the court yard and a pig started to eat her flesh. Raid was conducted by a unit of Petlyura's Ukrainian National Army.
When Herschel married Eva, he went to her town Giessen (Haiysin), about 40 kilometers away. He stayed there for some time after the marriage. When they travelled back to Teplyk to live, they were robbed by some bandits. They hit Harry on the side of the head (perhaps causing his loss of hearing) and took all their presents.
Received USSR passport on Nov. 22, 1926. Left Teplyk and arrived Riga, Jan 5, 1927, arrived London on Jan 10, 1927.

EVA

Came to Toronto with Harry and her children in late 1926. Was living in Giesen (Haiysin), 40 kilometres from Teplyk when she got married to Harry and moved there in 1919. On the way to Teplyk they were robbed and most of their presents were stolen. The family originally lived in the country near Giessen but moved to Ternova (Ternovka). They left there after brother Dave ran away to evade service in the Army. Moved to Giesen. At that time people started to talk and it got uncomfortable in Ternova.
Arrived in Saint John New Brunswick, Canada on The Melita on 1927/01/23 (Cdn Immigration RG76 - IMMIGRATION, series C-1-c .1927 volume 1, page 99, Microfilm T-14849)

I also have the original Russian passports that they used as well as the ticket they used for their passage to Canada
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http://www.iajgsjewishcemeteryproject.org/pdf/ukraine/teplik.pdf

Article I discovered with some history of the Teplyk Cemetery. Some interesting insights, but also inaccurate in some details.

The earliest known Jewish community was 17th century. 1926 Jewish population was 3062.

Effecting the Jewish community were 1918-1920 Civil War pogroms, May 1942 Jewish ghetto and mass executions, and 1943 mass executions of the Jews from concentration camp. Living here were R. Gershko Ponamnik and R. Gershko Futoransky.

The Jewish cemetery was established in the 18th century with last known Conservative Jewish burial in 1996. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked cemetery. The isolated suburban ravine has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. A broken fence and a gate that does not lock surround the cemetery. The approximate size of cemetery before WWII was 3.50 and is now 4.00 hectares. The cemetery boundaries are larger now than 1939.

501 to 5000 stones, about half in their original location with 25%-50% toppled or broken, date from 1905. The cemetery has no special sections. Some tombstones have traces of painting on their surfaces, other metallic elements, portraits on stones and/or metal fences around graves.

The cemetery contains no known mass graves. Municipality owns site now used for Jewish cemetery use only. Adjacent properties are residential, town Streets, and road. Occasionally, private visitors and local residents visit. The cemetery was not vandalized in the last ten years.

Jewish individuals within country constantly cleaned stones and cleared vegetation to 1941.

Now, occasionally, individuals clear or clean. Within the limits of the cemetery are two tables [taharas]. Very serious threat: uncontrolled access (The cemetery fence is broken. Across the cemetery is the road to town.) Serious threat: weather erosion (The very old cemetery

gravestones are destroyed. The cemetery partially plowed easonally.); pollution (local wastedump) and vandalism (Many gravestone are not in place; 1970 acts of vandalism.) Moderate threat: vegetation, (seasonal.) Slight threat: existing and proposed nearby development.

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This is a link to a YouTube video of a drone view of the shtetl of Bershad. Bershad is located 40 kilometres from Teplyk. It actual has a Jewish population of about 50 (of around 6,000 inhabitants) and an active shule. What the video shows is similar to what I saw in Teplyk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-FjUvjXgY4

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