Putin Killing Our Cousins in Ukraine

 During the last week in February 2022, Russian Dick-tator Vladimir "Putz-Punim" Putin unleashed hordes of barbaric killers in a brutal, unprovoked, criminal attack on neighboring Ukraine.

Virtually everyone thought it would all be over in a matter of days.

Yet, under the amazingly skillful leadership of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the brave citizen soldiers of Ukraine have, so far, effectively resisted the invasion, shooting down several Russian aircraft and killing thousands of hapless Russian invaders.

To his credit, US President Joe Biden provided lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine and moved American forces to NATO countries in Eastern Europe. However, he said “Our forces are not and will not be engaged in a conflict with Russia in Ukraine.” He explained, “Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in the East.”

My parents and I are “Americans by birth” having been born in the USA. 

My grandparents are “Americans by choice” having immigrated to the USA from Austria (on my father’s side) and Russia Ukraine (on my mother’s side). 

I feel a special connection to President Zelenskyy because both he and my maternal grandfather, Louis Leibowitz, were born to Jewish parents in the same area, the present-day Ukrainian Oblast [District] known as Dnipropetrovsk. 

The map below shows the major cities of Ukraine, with the capital, KYIV (pronounced "KEEVE") top center.

The Dnieper River, which splits Ukraine into Eastern and Western parts, runs from KYIV, down thru DNIPRO, and out into the Black Sea at ODESSA.

DNIPRO is the major city at the center of Dnipropetrovsk, one of the 24 Administrative Districts into which Ukraine is divided. (The dashed red oval highlights this key district.) 

Dnipropetrovsk is in the mostly ethnic Russian-speaking eastern and south-eastern areas of present-day Ukraine. It is near the contentious boundary with the mostly Ukrainian-speaking central, western and north-western areas.  

Zelenskyy was born in Dnipropetrovsk in 1978. 

My grandfather, Louis Leibowitz, lived in the same area, nearly a century earlier. It was then called  Ekaterinoslav (after Catherine the Great) and was part of the Russian Empire! 

 

The photo above, dating from 1892, shows my great grandparents Dina (Morgenstein) and Isaac (Alexievich) Leibowitz, along with their first three children: Louis (about eight years old), Dora (about three), and Fanny (infant).

Dina and Isaac went on to have a total of thirteen children. 

The children in the photo (Louis, Dora, and Fanny) were fortunate enough to immigrate from Ekaterinoslav to the United States, along with two others (Zelda and Max) not yet born at the time of the above photo. The other eight remained in Europe and raised their families under difficult circumstances. Some perished in WWI and WWII.

I was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1939, and raised in the mostly Jewish Brighton Beach area. At the time, all synagogues in the area were Orthodox. I attended classes at the Talmud Torah a couple hours a week and learned to read Hebrew and chant the prayers. I had an Orthodox Bar Mitzvah at the age of thirteen.  

My wife, the former Violet Stark, also learned Hebrew in Brooklyn (better than me) but, at the time, there was no such thing as a Bat Mitzvah for Orthodox Jewish girls. We had an Orthodox Jewish wedding in Brooklyn in 1964. 

As of the 1970's, my grandfather Louis Leibowitz was still in contact with our relatives struggling to survive in the Communist economy of the Soviet Union. He sent letters and packages of clothing to his younger brother Yasha. He received letters of thanks in return. (I remember my father, Morris Glickstein, wearing each item of clothing for a few days so it would count as "used" to reduce the punitive tariffs the recipients would have had to pay if the clothing was brand new.)

Although we are no longer in contact, I am certain many of my blood relatives - my cousins - still reside in Ukraine and are bravely fighting Putin's criminal invasion. 

When Lisa, the oldest of our three girls, was around seven years old, we joined a Conservative synagogue in Endicott, in upstate NY. She learned to read Hebrew, chant the prayers, and was Bat Mitzvah, conducting the Friday evening service. Our second daughter, Rena, followed in turn. Both Violet and I were on the Board when our synagogue progressed to become Reconstructionist.  Our third daughter, Sara, was the first female to be privileged to conduct both the Friday evening and Saturday morning Sabbath services at her Bat Mitzvah.

When we moved to Florida, in 2003, we joined a Reform Jewish congregation, and, in 2006, became founding members of Temple Shalom, in Oxford (near The Villages).

The following description of recent events in Ukraine, and related Jewish issues, was written by the President of Temple Shalom.

Dear Temple Shalom Family,

UKRAINE   At last Friday evening’s Services, I found it important to make a few remarks about the Russian aggression in Ukraine that is a clear threat to Europe and world peace.  Their actions are deeply concerning for all who value human rights.   Just some background and context.  Ukraine is Europe's second largest country with a population of about 44 million people. It also has a long and important Jewish story that continues until this day. Interestingly, it is the only country outside of Israel led today by both a Jewish head of state, President Vladimyr Zelensky, and Jewish head of government, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman.  This is a remarkable occurrence given its difficult history with its Jewish population.   The history of the Jews of Ukraine includes some of the Jewish people’s greatest highs and most difficult lows. On the one hand, Ukraine was the site of enormous tragedies such as the Chelminitzky massacres, and Babi Yar and the Einsatzgruppen executions. But, it also has a full and rich Jewish history. This includes the formation of several famous yeshivot, the development of much Ashkenazi culture, and the birthplace of people such as former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, Zionist visionary Ze’ev Jabotinsky, author Shalom Aleichem, and many more.   Today, the country is home to the fifth largest Jewish community in the world with an estimated 200,000+ Jews. Current political instability, created by the full-scale Russian invasion, has left the entire country – including the Jewish community – not only facing a situation of dramatic economic decline, but of physical danger.   Jewish settlements in Ukraine can be traced back to the 8th century, when Jewish refugees from the Byzantine Empire, Persia and Mesopotamia were fleeing persecution.   During the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth period (1569-1795), Jews in Ukraine were one of the country's largest and most important ethnic minority groups. As they prospered, unfortunately anti-Semitism flourished. The Cossack Uprising, led by Hetman Chelminitzky, resulted in the infamous Chelminitzky Massacres which killed some 30,000 Jews and destroyed around 300 Jewish communities.   As is so common in Jewish history, significant tragedy and destruction gave way to a new era of renewal. Indeed, soon after the Cossack Uprising and massacres, Ukraine was to become the birthplace of Hasidism, a new expression of Judaism. The teachings of Israel Ben Eliezer (1698-1760), known as the “Ba’al Shem Tov,” profoundly influenced global Jewry, even today. His movement, which was heavily influenced by Jewish mysticism – Kabbalah - became known as “Hasidic Judaism,” and for some enhanced the development of Jewish life in Ukraine.   In 1791, Catherine the Great established a vast area in the west of her Russian Empire that became known as “The Pale of Settlement.” The region, which included all of Ukraine, was the only area of the Empire where Jews were permitted to live.   As a result of the creation of the Pale of Settlement, during the 19th century, Ukraine was densely populated by Jews. Despite restrictions, Jews played a prominent role in the development of commerce and industry in the region, and especially in the growth of its major cities, including Kiev, Odessa, and Kharkov.   But things got worse in 1881. In that year, Czar Alexander II was assassinated, and Jews were falsely blamed for the killing. The resulting attacks on Jews throughout the Pale became known as the first “pogrom.” These pogroms intensified and continued through the following three decades.   Jews were subjected to frequent internal expulsions – including an edict that expelled all Jews from Kiev in 1886. The good news is that the ongoing persecution and policies under both Alexander III and his successor, Nicholas II (who was to be the last Czar), resulted in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian Jews opting to emigrate to the United States and other countries at the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century.   While millions of Jews fled the region, others began looking for alternative answers and ideologies. Most significantly, many Ukrainian Jews began to see Jewish nationalism as an answer to their problems, and this resulted in widespread adoption of the teachings of Zionism. Indeed, many of Zionism’s founders and leaders emerged from the region.   Following the Russian Revolution, a short-lived independent Ukrainian People’s Republic was established. Nonetheless, pogroms continued, and according to recently released state archives, at least 100,000 Jews were killed in attacks in Ukraine between 1918-21.   Ukraine soon became a republic of the newly formed Soviet Union, and its Jewish population was subjected to communist attempts to stifle religion and religious practice. Despite this, the Jewish community continued to grow, and reached 2.7 million by the start of World War II.   During World War II more than half of Ukraine’s Jews (over one million) were murdered by the Nazis and their local Ukrainian accomplices. The most infamous incident of the War in Ukraine occurred at Babi Yar, a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. A series of massacres of Jews took place there, killing some 100,000 Jews in total. It involved the largest single mass extermination in 1941.   Some 840,000 Jews remained in Soviet Ukraine following the War, but the repression of Jewish cultural and spiritual life was especially severe in the country. The years of Communist oppression and restrictions led to further immigration and assimilation, and by the beginning of 1989, there were only 500,000 Jews left in the region.   The 1989 collapse of the Soviet Union and the establishment of an independent Ukrainian state in 1991 set the stage for two dramatic events in the history of Ukrainian Jewry -- further mass immigration and a renaissance of Jewish life.   The precarious economic situation, coupled with an uncertain political future and ongoing anti-Semitism encouraged almost 80% of Ukrainian Jews to leave the country in the decade following the fall of the Soviet Union. The majority who left (some 266,000) moved to Israel, while others immigrated to the United States, Germany, and other countries.   With the invasion of Russia in the past two weeks, there are as many as 200,000 Jews remaining in Ukraine and they will certainly need humanitarian aid.  Many may be eligible to come to Israel and are currently being reviewed by the Jewish Agency in Israel, and unbeknownst to many, some began arriving in Israel last November. With the destruction of the airports and the prohibitions on travel, escape will likely be through land if needed. Most prominently, bordering Poland is now amassing humanitarian aid in anticipation of the potentially large refugee exit from the Ukraine. That refugee crisis grows today in both Poland and Moldova.   We pray that they all remain safe and sounder minds prevail.                                            Info taken from emails and public sources.

About this Blog - A WORK IN PROGRESS

This Blog, started in March 2018 at the suggestion of my dear Cousin Fran Levine, is (and I emphasize);  A WORK IN PROGRESS. This Blog is in an incomplete, early stage! The Blog name "Leibowitz" was already taken, so I chose the  next best "Leib-owitz". Tell everyone to click: https://leib-owitz.blogspot.com/

Please look around and I hope all my fellow descendants of Dina and Isaac Leibowitz will pitch in and contribute much more information, corrections to my mistakes and confused memories, and new Topics.

Any descendant or spouse may, upon request and  confirmation, become an Authorized Author on this Blog. Authorized Authors will have their Comments appear instantly, without having to wait for me to Moderate and approve them, and also have the right to originate a New Topic (by clicking "New Post").

If you have never posted Topics to a blog, or have never used Google Blogger (BLOGSPOT), it is easy and I can help. Communicate via my main email ira@techie.com.


OVERVIEW - This Blog has several sections.

Looking at the Central Section:

Header: Three photos: a) Dina and Isaac Leibowitz and their first three children, ca. 1892; b) Picture postcard of Catherine Street in Ekaterinoslav, ca. 1910; c) Photo of some victims of the 1905 pogrom in Ekaterinoslav, to remind us of the continual danger we Jews seem to have to live with and overcome. A statement of the purpose of this Blog appears after the photos.

Quick Selection Bar: Links to several foundational Topics.

TOPICS AREA: Most recent Topic is at the top, followed by others according to date posted.

If you click on a Quick Selection item, or a label, the selected Topic(s) will be at the top.

Looking at the right Side Bar:

Most Popular Topics: A thumbnail image plus the Subject and first line of text from each of the currently most popular Topics. Click in this area to open the selected Topic.

Leibowitz Family Links:         >>> I NEED HELP HERE <<<<

I've constructed a family tree as an indented list, starting with Dina Leibowitz and Isaac Leibowitz and including all the descendants whose names I could remember. Please check your name (and links) and let me know if you'd like it to be changed in any way. Also check the names of others you know better than me and let me know those I've left out.

I intend to make the names clickable, so, for example all Topics that include the Label "Louis Leibowitz" will appear in the central TOPICS section when anyone clicks on his name.  

As an example, please notice the links following my name: Ira Glickstein {f} {Blog}. If anyone clicks the {f}  they will go to the PUBLIC feed from my Facebook page. Similarly, a click on {Blog} will bring up my main Blog (TVPCLUB.BLOGSPOT.COM). If you'd like me to put similar links after your name, please ask.

Following the indented list of names, I've added a list of GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS where my fellow descendants have lived or currently live. I intend  to make these clickable as well.

Labels: Topics may each have up to 10 Labels. Google Blogger automatically generates this alphabetic list of labels. Click any Label to get associated Topic(s) to appear in the Central TOPICS AREA.

Ira Glickstein

Jews in Ekaterinoslav Around 1900

My Great-Grandparents, Dina and Isaac Leibowitz, lived most of their lives in Ekaterinoslav ("Catherine City" referring to "Catherine the Great"), Russia. It was, and still is, a major city along the Dnieper River in the part of Russia that is in present-day Ukraine. In Communist times, it was renamed Dnepropetrovsk (Russian: Днепропетро́вск). Following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine gained its independence, and, in 2016, the city was renamed Dnipro (Ukrainian: Дніпро),

A Synagogue in Ekaterinoslav.  

Louis Leibowitz, my Grandfather and the first son of Dina and Isaac Leibowitz, always said he came from Russia, and never mentioned Ukraine. Indeed, according to the 1887 census, over 42% of the residents of Ekaterinoslav were ethnic Russians and only 16% were Ukrainian. In that census, Jews were counted separately and made up some 36% of the population. 

As the following table shows, the proportion of ethnic Russians and Jews vs ethnic Ukrainians has decreased  considerably since the early 1900's:

Ethnic group	1926[100]	1939[101]	1959[102]	1989[103]	2001[103]	2017[104]
Ukrainians	36.0%	54.6%	61.5%	62.5%	72.6%	82%
Russians	31.6%	23.4%	27.9%	31.0%	23.5%	13%
Jews	26.8%	17.9%	7.6%	3.2%	1.0%
Belarusians	1.9%	1.9%	1.7%		1.0%

Today, Dnipro is on the boundary between the mostly ethnic Russian eastern and south-eastern provinces of modern-day Ukraine, and the mostly ethnic Ukrainian central, western and north-western provinces. Thus Dnipro is on the contentious border between the Ukrainian pro-independence and pro-Russian forces currently tearing that country apart.

A GROWING AND SUCCESSFUL JEWISH PRESENCE IN 1900 - The JewishGen website provides good information about the history of the Jews in Ekaterinoslav. I've selected portions of text about the Jews in Ekaterinoslav from that website and interspersed some of the stories Louis told me about his time there as a youth and as a young man. I only wish I had asked him more, and that I remembered more of what he told me.

I would love it if some of my fellow descendants would contribute stories told to them by earlier relatives. If any descendants of Dina and Isaac Leibowitz in Russia, or Ukraine, or elsewhere, happen to stumble upon this website, I'd love  to hear from you as well. Please post your stories as Comments to this Topic, and I may promote some to the main Topic area. advTHANKSance!

The general Russian census that took place in 1897 gives us a clear picture of the demographic and economic situation of the Ekaterinoslav Jews. There were 40,971 Jews in town, 20,864 men and 20,107 women – 37% of the general population ... one of the largest in Russia.  

Of this number, 12,114 men and 3,046 women were independent providers (with 24,819 dependents): 4,531 were merchants, including 432 women, 2,969 worked in the clothing industry, helped by 4,415 dependents, 1,714 were in private service and helpers in shops, including 1091 women, 657 were occupied in woodwork and 771 in metal works. We find here a creative group, occupied not only in commerce but also in craftsmanship and light industry.

UPHOLSTERY AND KOSHER CHICKEN - Isaac Leibowitz, my Great-Grandfather, was an upholsterer. He often worked at the estates of wealthy non-Jews. Louis told me that he learned upholstery from his father and accompanied him to those estates. They did their own kosher food preparation, using ingredients provided by the estate manager.

One time, Louis was left alone at an estate and was given a chicken to slaughter. Although he had never killed a chicken, he had watched his father do so, and he knew that the kosher method prohibited chopping the chicken's head off, but required the neck to be slit, but not all the way through. So, he told me, he held the chicken and partially slit the neck. Of course, the chicken objected and burst out of his hands. It then ran around the yard, with it's head hanging down on one side. This  incident, he told me, was a source of many nightmares.

This story reminds me of a poignant Chasidic Tale of how a young Jewish boy, alone in a situation similar to Louis's, was instrumental in making a rich Jewish boy's Bar Mitzvah successful. According to this Tale, a rich Jew hired several distinguished rabbis to officiate at his son's Bar Mitzvah. Each rabbi praised the wealthy Jew for his generous contributions, and discoursed on some obscure religious topic to show off their expertise.

When it came the turn of the Chasidic Rabbi, he looked around at the opulent setting and was appalled at the chutzpah of the wealthy Jew in showing off his riches. For a moment he just stood there. Then he looked upwards and raised his hands high. He said he had just received a vision of a Jewish boy from a family so poor they had to send him to work on a non-Jewish farm. This very evening, he said, the boy had turned 13 and realized he had to perform his own Bar Mitzvah! The boy knew some Hebrew prayers, but where would he find a minion of ten worshippers required to say them?

Well, the boy went to the barn and gathered a horse, a couple of cows, a few sheep, and a bunch of chickens, and he chanted the prayers. Each of the animals added their "neigh", "moo", "baa" and "cluck", and the Bar Mitzvah service was completed as well as could be expected given the circumstances.

The prayers chanted by the boy and his fellow barnyard worshipers in this unique Bar Mitzvah, said the Chassid, was so extraordinarily wonderfully that it had opened the gates of Heaven so wide that even the prayers said at this opulent Bar Mitzvah would rise and be heard.

JEWISH COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS - Continuing from the JewishGen website:

A considerable number of people were involved in the dress industry, wood and metal. There were also the liberal professions: doctors, lawyers, accountants, pharmacists, employees in banks and commercial associations. Some of the Jewish companies employed non–Jewish workers, with a considerable turnover and production. 

Jews owned many of the shops, as well as houses in the central parts of the town. They also founded commercial companies with the aim to by–pass the government rules that restricted their activity in the mining industry. The development of the Jewish crafts and commerce caused a problem of credit, and this was solved by founding a credit fund for craftsmen and small business men; its founder and manager until the day he died was the engineer Moshe Bruk. In time, this institution grew and helped its members by providing the necessary credit and saving them from exaggerated interest.  

At the end of the 19th century, 12 registered synagogues were active in Ekaterinoslav, 3 Talmud Torah schools with 500 pupils, and several Chadarim with 885 pupils. In addition to that there was a Yeshiva and 16 private schools for boys and for girls.  

During the first years of the 20th century, under the rule of Nicolai II, the attitude of the local authorities toward the Jews did not change much; it depended mainly on the personality of the district governor. If he was an honest man, not under the influence of the anti–Semites, it was possible to advance the community matters and develop its institutions. But if he was an anti–Semite, it was difficult to care for the many needs of the community. Luckily for the Ekaterinoslav Jews, several liberal governors were in office during that time, and it was possible to develop the existing institutions and establish additional ones. However, the anti–Semitic incitement among the Christian public did not stop, and was expressed in 1904 by the attack of hooligans on the Ekaterinoslav Jews, which was suppressed by the police. ... 

The income of the community was mainly from the meat tax ... Although the Ekaterinoslav Jews were only 40% of the general population in town, their mark on the economic life was considerable, due to their energetic economic activity ... As a result, the town seemed “full of Jews.” The contact with the non–Jewish population was mainly in the area of economics, and part of the Jewish intelligentsia, merchants and industrialists would meet with their Christian colleagues at the various common Societies, institutions, charity events and other public gatherings. The Jewish influence in the local press merits mentioning as well; many of the reporters, editors and writers were Jewish and readers even more. The press discussed the Jewish problem in general and showed interest in the affairs of the Community and its institutions.  

The war with Japan did not affect the Ekaterinoslav Jews specifically, except for the young men recruited to the army and sent to the front.

My Grandfather Louis Leibowitz told me he was in the Russian Army, but only briefly. The Jewish community was required to meet a quota, and one of the young men who was ahead of Louis on the list ran away, so Louis was sent. Fortunately, they caught the draft-dodger and Louis was released from the army!

DISRUPTION AND POGROMS - The Russian word pogrom (погро́м, pronounced [pɐˈgrom]) is derived from the common prefix po- and the verb gromit' (громи́ть, pronounced [grɐˈmʲitʲ]) meaning "to destroy, to wreak havoc, to demolish violently". Its literal translation is "to harm". The noun pogrom, which has a relatively short history, is used in English and many other languages as a loanword, possibly borrowed from Yiddish (where the word takes the form פאָגראָם). Its widespread circulation in today's world began with the anti-Semitic excesses in the Russian Empire in 1881–1883.

Continuing from the JewishGen website:

The general revival in the country in 1905, after the [Russian] defeat in this war, included the Ekaterinoslav community. The Jews sent a telegram to the chairman of the Ministers' Council, asking to grant the Russian Jews the same rights as the rest of the population. ... The agitation among the public increased – everybody expected changes to occur; the Jewish young people, together with the others, demonstrated this quite openly. 

They began discussions on the subject of self–defense, collected money and acquired arms. Soon, however, disappointment came. On 20 July 1905, following wild incitement, rioters attacked and the Jews defended themselves. There were some wounded, but the authorities intervened immediately and the riots were stopped. ... 

[However, organized riots] started on 21 October 1905. Following the “patriotic” parade through the central streets of the town, the rioters attacked Jewish homes and shops, robbed and destroyed, and murdered Jews. The defense forces ... were more–or–less ready. They organized groups armed with light arms (revolvers), who immediately began chasing the rioters from the streets. Later, however, as the army intervened and began to shoot at the members of the defense groups, they had to stop their activity, giving the rioters a free hand to continue destroying and killing, on 22 and 23 October. Only when the army received a clear order to stop the riots, the pogrom was stopped.  

Louis told me about his experience with a pogrom. His family lived in a rented apartment in a building owned by a non-Jewish landlord. The building was U-shaped, surrounding a courtyard.

Their landlord, having advance notice of the coming pogrom, placed liquid refreshments for the rioters at the entrance to the building. After enjoying the refreshments, the rioters left them and their building undamaged, and went on to destroy other Jews and their properties.

Over 100 Jews were killed (the exact number is not known), over 200 were wounded. Over 300 shops were robbed, a large number of houses and apartments were destroyed, some of them burned down entirely. The censor did not allow publication of the pogrom in the press, except for a short notice – therefore many details are missing. The damage was great. The poor suffered in particular, since they remained without any means of sustenance. Few of the Christians helped the Jews; however we should mention a group of young factory workers who defended the Jews living in their neighborhood and blocked the rioters. A committee was formed, to aid the victims and donations were received from Russia and abroad, as well as from Ekaterinoslav people. ... 

Out of fear, many of the Ekaterinoslav Jews left town, some immigrated to America, some made Aliya to Eretz Israel. The rioters were tried and found guilty, but were pardoned by Nicolai II… In spite of the difficult blow, recovery took little time. The Jews invested a great deal of energy in the project of recovering their economic life. This did not happen, however, in the area of the relationship with the representatives of the authorities. Anti–Semitism was felt in the attitude toward Jews, in the various municipal and other public institutions.

Spurred by this anti-Semitism, and the prospect of a better life, Louis and four of his fellow siblings, Dora, Fanny, Max and Zelda, came to the United States in the early 1900s. They had remarkable lives here. They contributed many outstanding descendants who have also lived remarkable lives in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Ira Glickstein

Origins - Dina and Isaac Leibowitz Family

The oldest physical evidence of the origins of our branch of the Leibowitz family is this photograph, taken in 1892 (or 1893), of Dina and Isaac Leibowitz with their first three children, Louis, Dora, and Fanny. (THANKS to my cousin Fran Levine for providing this photo.)

From left: Dina (Morgenstern) Leibowitz (~26 yrs) holding baby Fanny (~7 mos), Louis (~7 yrs), Isaac (Alexievitch) Leibowitz (~28 yrs), Dora (~3 yrs). Photo probably taken ca. 1892 in Theodosia, a Black Sea port in Eastern Crimean.

Important information appears on the back of this photo. It provides dates and ages of the five people in the photo, as well as information about some of Dina and Isaac's later children. This information was written by Fran's mother, Diane Levine, in 1973.

According to this information, which was written in 1973, Diane and Isaac moved to Ekaterinoslav in 1900 or 1901. Further information:

• In the photo, which was taken in 1892 (or 1893), Isaac is 28 and Dina is 26. So Isaac was born in 1864 (or 1865) and Dina in 1866 (or 67).
• Louis Leibowitz (my Grandfather) was 6 or 8 in the photo, so, assuming he was 7, he was born in 1885 (or 1886).  However, the typewritten information on the back of the photo says Louis was born about 1883, which would make him 9 or 10 in the photo.
• Dora Long was 2 or 3 in the photo, so, assuming she was 3, she was born in 1889 (or 1890). 
• Fanny Lebo was 7 months old in the photo, so she was born in 1891 (or 1892). 
• Max Leibowitz (born after the photo was taken) had passed away at age 79 sometime prior to when the notations were made in 1973. Therefore, he was born prior to 1896, let us say 1894 (or 1895).
• Zelda Leibowitz (Diane's mother and Fran's grand-mother) was alive at age 77 in 1973, so she was born in 1896.
• Yasha Leibowitz was alive in Russia in 1973, and communicating via mail with my Grandfather Louis. he was around 70, and was therefore born around 1903.
• Three others are named, Sasha, Yemah, and Lisa. They are said to have perished in WWI or WWII. My grandfather told me he was one of some 13 siblings, and we have named only 9, so there may be four more whose names and fate are unknown to us.

VISITS TO RUSSIA BY RELATIVES

1929 Visit by Louis and Lena Leibowitz and their Daughter Ruth

Prior to the stock market crash and subsequent economic depression, my Grandfather Louis Leibowitz apparently was doing pretty well financially. He told me he had invested in a building in New York City and, as attested by the photo below, he was able to travel to Russia with his wife Lena and their teenage daughter, Ruth (my Mother).

The building investment went bad. He  told me that completion was delayed and he got out of  the deal. However, the trip went well.

Ruth wrote detailed letters to her sister Blanche. I read some of them as a kid. However, the letters were misplaced or discarded when my parents, Ruth and Morris Glickstein, retired and moved from their home in Brooklyn to San Francisco. 

Translation of Russian writing: "Photograph in honor of American guest. Baku, 1929" (Best I  could do with no real Russian language facility. If you can do better, let me know!)

While in Russia, Louis told me that he paid for family gatherings, such as this one in Baku, Russia in 1929. My Grandmother Lena was from Baku. For those, like me, who are not familiar with Baku:

Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan Republic, which was also the capital of Shirvan (during the reigns of Akhsitan I and Khalilullah I), Baku khanate, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Azerbaijan SSR and the administrative center of Russian Baku governorate.

I've included the Russian version of "Leibowitz" (Лейбович) as a searchable label for this posting, hoping  that some Russian-speaking relative will find it in a search. If any of our "long lost" Russian relatives happen upon this Blog and can identify some of the many people in this photo, please contact me at ira@techie.com!

Close-up centered on Louis Leibowitz (white shirt, dark tie, mustache and glasses). His wife, Lena, is seated to his left, and daughter Ruth is standing between and behind them.

2014  Brief Visit to St. Petersburg, Russia by Vi and Ira Glickstein and Family

We had a two-day stop in St. Petersburg, Russia during our 50th-anniversary Baltic cruise with our family in 2014. The photo below shows us with one of our grandchildren, Alex Hagler.

Here we are in a very comfortable park in St. Petersburg, Russia. The park is dedicated to the famous Russian writer Pushkin. Notice that the pigeons have an unusual fondness for the famous Russian writer. I tested my ability to sound out Cyrillic characters by reading the inscription on the Pushkin statue, "Алекса́ндр Серге́евич ПУШКИНУ" is "Alexander Sergevitch PUSHKIN". 

If any other relatives have photos of their visits to what our forebears called "the old country", please send me copies and I may include them here.

Ira Glickstein