Edgar,
Thank you for these new bits of information. Having long been interested in
cemeteries and their gravestones this article struck a chord with me. As we
see, a stone is not just a stone, and the stonemasons themselves come from many
different backgrounds, and that impacts their work to some degree. I would
venture to say that most people don't take the time to "analyze" gravestones
when they see them, beyond noting the information they read & the initial
impact from those more ornate stones. I like the idea of folk art being
represented on these stones, and feel that helps pass along the life and times
of the people they speak about.
I also found the article about Aharon Appelfeld --- his life and the impacts of
it on his written works. It's hard to imagine, first, how such a young,
traumatized individual managed to survive the war, and second, then tried not
to erase his past life/memories as he went through life. It seems too many
times, for various reasons, erasure is encouraged, or practiced. I will look to
see some of his works translated to English.
Sincerely,
Leah
On Thursday, October 23, 2025 at 09:00:44 PM PDT, Czernowitz Genealogy and
History digest <[email protected]> wrote:
Subject: czernowitz-l digest: October 24, 2025
From: "Czernowitz Genealogy and History digest" <[email protected]>
Reply-To: "Czernowitz Genealogy and History" <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2025 00:00:40 -0400
CZERNOWITZ-L Digest for Friday, October 24, 2025.
1. =?utf-8?Q?Re=3A_=5Bczernowitz-l=5D_A_Snippet_from_=22Die_Stimme?=
=?utf-8?Q?=22_=5BThe_Voice=5D_in_1950=3A_ANDR=C3=89_SPIRE=27S_VISIT_TO_CZ?=
=?utf-8?Q?ERNOWITZ?=
*******************************************************************************
This moderated discussion group is for information exchange on the subject of
Czernowitz and Sadagora Jewish History and Genealogy. The opinions expressed
in these posts are the opinions of the original poster only and not necessarily
the opinions of the List Owner, the Webmaster or any other members
or entities connected with this mailing list. The Czernowitz-L list has
an associated web site at http://czernowitz.ehpes.com that includes a
searchable archive of all messages posted to this list. Beginning in
2021, message are archived at:
https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
To send mail to the list, address it to <[email protected]>.
To remove your address from this e-list follow the directions at
https://it.cornell.edu/lyris/leave-e-lists-lyris
To receive assistance for this e-list send an e-mail message to:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Simply magnificent Edgar!
Thank you=E2=80=A6
jerome
> On Oct 22, 2025, at 13:17, Bruce Reisch <[email protected]> =
wrote:
>=20
> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; =
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;} @font-face {font-family:Aptos; panose-1:2 =
11 0 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, =
div.MsoNormal {margin:0in; font-size:10.0pt; =
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink =
{mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; text-decoration:underline;} =
.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; font-size:10.0pt; =
mso-ligatures:none;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in =
1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} --> Hi Edgar,
> The book and associated correspondence in Die Stimme =E2=80=93 both =
are simply priceless.=20
> Thanks for finding these treasures and sharing them with all of us so =
freely! A free download of the book itself =E2=80=93 wow!
> A bunch of years ago, Sylvie Gsell and I found an original tombstone =
from the Old Jewish Cemetery of Czernowitz on display in the Museum of =
the Holocaust in Paris. We tried to find out how it got there, but got =
no response.
> Thank you,
> Bruce
> From: [email protected] =
<[email protected]> on behalf of Edgar Hauster =
<[email protected]>
> Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at 06:24
> To: CZERNOWITZ-L <[email protected]>
> Subject: [czernowitz-l] A Snippet from "Die Stimme" [The Voice] in =
1950: ANDR=C3=89 SPIRE'S VISIT TO CZERNOWITZ
> Czernowitzers...
>=20
> A new edition of =E2=80=9CDie Stimme=E2=80=9D, the monthly Newsletter =
for the Bukovinians, was published on 01-MAY-1950. Let's take a journey =
into the past together to comprehend what moved our ancestors, their =
relatives and friends back then!
>=20
> ANDR=C3=89 SPIRE'S VISIT TO CZERNOWITZ in 1925 continues to fascinate =
"Die Stimme" 25 years later and us 100 years later. We learned more =
about the visit itself from the March 1950 issue of "Die Stimme"; in =
this May 1950 issue, we learn about the outstanding value of the book =
=E2=80=9CJ=C3=BCdische Volkskunst=E2=80=9D [Jewish Folk Art] by Dr. Max =
Diamant. And because the Old Jewish Cemetery of Czernowitz has been gone =
for a long time and Diamant=E2=80=99s book contains what are probably =
the only remaining photos of it in the world, I have unearthed it for =
you from the depths of the archives:
>=20
> =
http://czernowitzbook.blogspot.com/2025/08/judische-volkskunst-jewish-folk=
-art.html
> =
https://www.amazon.de/photos/share/cMJlQyi5NHqal3tO3jm0IFxohoir3wDh33sg0cR=
1v6t
>=20
> =E2=80=9CWe received the following letter: In the article by Andr=C3=A9 =
Spire reproduced in the previous issue of your newspaper, the =
gravestones that Dr. Diamant showed in Czernowitz are compared with =
those in the Prague Jewish Cemetery, among others. What is remarkable =
about them, however, is that they have nothing in common with those. The =
Prague stones, for example, were created by Christian stonemasons in the =
style and ornamentation of the Christian environment there. The stones =
that Diamant discovered in northern Bukovina, the southern tip of =
Eastern Galicia, and Moldavia were carved by Jewish stonemasons, members =
of the Chewrah Kadischah, in fulfillment of a sacred duty. They are =
worked from left to right, the writing itself is a means of expression, =
the ornamentation harks back to ancient symbolic motifs from the Middle =
East and is often completely redesigned. The craftsmen often succeeded =
in expressing something of the nature of the person buried beneath the =
stone (see, for example, the gravestone of a young girl or that of the =
rabbi in Diamant's book). Diamant was therefore right to claim that he =
had discovered a kind of Jewish folk art in these stones. In doing so, =
he refuted the assumption that we Jews are incapable of developing folk =
art. These stones have such richness and power of expression that they =
are something entirely unique and become an experience for the =
viewer.Diamant's book =E2=80=9CJ=C3=BCdische Volkskunst=E2=80=9D [Jewish =
Folk Art] was published by Pr=C3=A4ger Verlag, Vienna, but due to a lack =
of funds it had to be printed in Czernowitz and the clich=C3=A9s for the =
illustrations were obtained in Bucharest, not always to our full =
satisfaction. A subscription in Vienna, followed by one in Czernowitz, =
covered part of the printing costs; Diamant himself paid the rest, just =
as he had often restored the gravestones in the cemeteries at his own =
expense. Most of the book's print run was destroyed by the Nazis in =
Vienna. It would be welcome if a new edition could be published, which, =
among other things, could provide a wealth of inspiration for Jewish =
arts and crafts. The people of Bukovina will remember that Ing. =
Dawidowicz created chandeliers and grilles for the lodge house in =
Czernowitz based on motifs from Diamant's book. M. Seidman=E2=80=9D
>=20
> https://www.bukowina-institut.de/de/bukowiki/personen/detail?id=3D19
> http://hauster.de/data/192709DiamantMenorah503.pdf
> https://www.difmoe.eu/uuid/uuid:0f546d56-fc21-4779-ab5b-619522956402
>=20
> Dr. Manfred Reifer founded the Chug Olej Bukovina [Association of =
Immigrants from Bukovina] and decided to publish =E2=80=9CDie Stimme=E2=80=
=9D. He entrusted with this task Dr. Elias Weinstein, the former editor =
of the renowned daily newspaper =E2=80=9CCzernowitzer Morgenblatt=E2=80=9D=
.
>=20
> I will try to let =E2=80=9CDie Stimme=E2=80=9D continue to resound in =
the future and invite you to follow me on this journey. Your comments =
are highly welcome!
>=20
> Edgar Hauster [MacBook]
>=20
>=20
> P.S.: By courtesy of the Digital Forum Central and Eastern Europe =
(DiFMOE) "Jewish-German Bukovina 1918+" Digitization Project: =
https://www.difmoe.eu
*******************************************************************************
This moderated discussion group is for information exchange on the subject of
Czernowitz and Sadagora Jewish History and Genealogy. The opinions expressed
in these posts are the opinions of the original poster only and not necessarily
the opinions of the List Owner, the Webmaster or any other members
or entities connected with this mailing list. The Czernowitz-L list has
an associated web site at http://czernowitz.ehpes.com that includes a
searchable archive of all messages posted to this list. Beginning in 2021,
archived messages can be found at:
https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
To send mail to the list, address it to <[email protected]>.
To remove your address from this e-list follow the directions at
https://it.cornell.edu/lyris/leave-e-lists-lyris
To receive assistance for this e-list send an e-mail message to:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
