Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Yiddish textbook used by 12 year old Cyla Scheer, after her family left Poland for Paris, France, in April 1946. The war began in September 1939 when Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland. Cyla and her parents Feiga and Froim lived in Zalosce, which was occupied by the Soviets. The family bakery was confiscated. In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union and entered Zalosce in July. Many Jewish residents were shot and Jewish homes were looted by their Ukrainian neighbors. In October 1942, the remaining Jews were transported to the Zborow ghetto. Feiga, Froim, Cyla, and other family members were hidden by their former maid, Tachka Barkito. They were later hidden by several other Ukrainian peasant families, staying only a short time with each. Around spring 1943, they built dugouts in the forest near Reniv where they stayed until liberated by Soviet partisans in March 1944. After living underground for so long, Cyla and her cousins were unable to walk when they emerged. The family returned to Zalosce where they found another family living in their home. In spring 1945, they moved to other towns in western Poland, until April 23, 1946, when they moved to Paris.
- Title
- I Learn Yiddish
- Date
-
publication/distribution:
1947
- Geography
-
publication:
Paris (France)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Celia Scheer Dymant
- Contributor
-
Publisher:
Union des juifs pour la Resistance et l'entr'aide
Subject: Celia Dymant
- Biography
-
Cyla Scheer (later Celia Dymant) was born on March 13, 1934, in Zalosce, Poland (Zalisti, Ukraine), the only child of Froim and Feiga Moskowicz Scheer. Froim was born on October 16, 1904, to Leib and Slava Moszkowicz Scheer. Feiga, the youngest of eleven children, was born on July 15, 1910, to Josef and Shprinza Lausker Moszkowicz. Feiga’s parents lived in the nearby village of Reniv, and in 1941, nine of Feiga’s siblings still lived there, all but one married with children. Froim and Feiga married in 1933 and settled in Zalosce where Froim had many family members. Froim was a baker and Feiga and other family members worked in the bakery. The family lived in the same building as the bakery. They spoke Polish, but used Yiddish within the family. The town had a closeknit Jewish community of about 700.
In September 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Three weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded from the east. Per the terms of the German Soviet pact, the Zalosce area fell under Soviet administration. The bakery was confiscated, but they had to continue to work there. The family was evicted from their home and moved in with relatives. In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union and, on July 9, German troops entered Zalosce. Several Jewish residents were killed in the streets and many Jewish homes were looted by their Ukrainian neighbors. The Germans demanded large monetary contributions and other valuables such as furs and furniture. Jews were assigned as forced laborers, many doing road construction. In the summer of 1942, Gestapo agents arrived from Tarnopol and many more Jewish residents were killed. Because there was a need for bakers, the Scheer family and their relatives were kept in town.
In October 1942, most of the remaining Jews were sent to the ghetto in Zborow. Froim, Feiga, Cyla, and some other relatives hid with the help of a former maid, Tachka Barkito, and her family. They were moved frequently and hidden by a series of other Ukrainian peasants. They stayed only a short time with each family. Most of those who helped lived near Reniv, and among them were Mikolo Barkito, Samko Kokorozu and Roman Zacharow. Probably in the spring of 1943, the Scheer, Lausker, and Moszkowicz families prepared dugouts in the forest near Reniv. There were about twenty-five adults and children, and they separated into three groups. The adults would leave the dugout during the day to search for food. On March 7, 1944, the region was liberated by Soviet partisans. After nearly a year of living underground, sitting most of the time, Cyla and her cousins were unable to walk. The area was soon retaken by the Germans and the surviving Jews escaped to the east. On March 23, 1944, the city was liberated once again by the Red Army. The Scheers, and the other members of their hidden group, returned to town where Cyla’s family discovered other people living in their home. The town mayor took the family into his home which had belonged to Cyla’s cousins before the war. During the final months of 1944, a number of Jews who had fled to the Soviet Union returned to Zalosce. In spring 1945, Cyla and her family moved to Zborow and later to Opole in western Poland. The war ended on May 8.
On April 13, 1946, Cyla and her parents left Poland and traveled to Paris, France. In September 1949, they immigrated to Canada. On August 18, 1950, the family arrived in New York. Cyla married Sam Dymant (1928-2001), a Holocaust survivor from Łódź, Poland.
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Books and Published Materials
- Category
-
Books and pamphlets
- Object Type
-
Books (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- 171 p. ; index ; soft cover ; 23cm.
The back cover has been replaced with a folded, cut, and masking taped cover from a Spiegel catalog or advertisment for Spiegel' s 100th Anniversary.. - Materials
- overall : paper, ink
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The book was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2011 by Celia Dymant, the daughter of Feiga Moszkowicz Scheer.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-04-01 11:41:18
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn44343
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- By Appointment
- Request 21 Days in Advance of Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
- Request to See This Object
Contact Us
Also in Feiga Scheer collection
The collection consists of a dress, a book, and documents relating to the experiences of Feiga Moszkowicz Scheer and her family in Poland before and during the Holocaust which they survived by living in hiding and after the Holocaust in Poland, France, Canada, and the United States. Some of these materials may be combined into a single collection in the future.
Date: 1943-1965 November
Blue and white striped dress made postwar by a Jewish Polish survivor
Object
Blue and white striped dress sewn by Feiga Moszkowicz Scheer in postwar Poland circa 1945. The war began in September 1939 when Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland. Feiga, her husband Froim, and daughter Cyla, 5, lived in Zalosce, which was occupied by the Soviets. The family bakery was confiscated. In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. In July, many Jewish residents were shot and Jewish homes were looted by their Ukrainian neighbors. In October 1942, the remaining Jews were sent to the Zborow ghetto. Feiga, Froim, Cyla, and other family members were hidden by their former maid, Tachka Barkito. They were later hidden by several Ukrainian peasant families, staying only a short time with each. Around spring 1943, they built forest dugouts near Reniv where they hid until liberated by Soviet partisans in March 1944. After living underground for so long, Cyla and her cousins were unable to walk when they emerged. The family returned to Zalosce where they found another family living in their home. In spring 1945, they moved to western Poland, and then in April 1946, they moved to Paris.
Feiga Scheer collection
Document
The Fanny Scheer papers consist of writings, a passport, and photographs documenting the Scheer family’s experiences in prewar Załoźce, Poland (Zaliztsi, Ukraine), wartime Załoźce and Reniv, and postwar Opole. Writings include pages of Scheer’s 1943 description of her family’s experiences in Załośce and Reniv, Poland (now Ukraine) under Soviet and German occupation and a notebook including Scheer’s 1965 description of the fate of her family members. The passport was issued on March 13, 1946 in Warsaw, Poland to Fanny Scheer and her daughter, Cyla (Celia) and includes 1949 and 1950 immigration visas to Canada and the United States. Six photographs and one copy print depict the Scheer family before the war in Załoźce, Poland (Zaliztsi, Ukraine) and after the war in Opole, Poland.