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Part VI: Ukraine
The name “Ukraine” literally translates as “on the edge.” It is a
country on the edge of other countries, sometimes part of one, sometimes
part of another and more frequently divided. In the 17th and 18th
centuries, it was divided between Russia, Poland and the Ottoman Empire.
In the 19th century, it was divided between Russia and Austria-Hungary.
And in the 20th century, save for a short period of independence after
World War I, it became part of the Soviet Union. Ukraine has been on the
edge of empires for centuries.
My father was born in Ukraine in 1912, in a town in the Carpathians now
called Uzhgorod. It was part of Austria-Hungary when he was born, and by
the time he was 10 the border had moved a few miles east, so his family
moved a few miles west. My father claimed to speak seven languages
(Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian and Yiddish).
As a child, I was deeply impressed by his learning. It was only later
that I discovered that his linguistic skills extended only to such
phrases as “What do you want for that scrawny chicken?” and “Please
don’t shoot.” Read more »
