Overview

Teodora Verbitskaya's remarkable memoir, Two Regimes, is an exceptionally welcome voice in the literature on the Holocaust and Holodomor. The unvarnished directness of Verbitskaya's observations enable readers to acquire a glimpse into her reality and, thus, to empathize with her and her family. But Verbitskaya's having experienced and survived the Holodomor, the Holocaust, and World War II also make the memoir a microcosm of Ukraine's horrific twentieth-century encounter with mass violence and a useful reminder that the regimes responsible for the Holodomor and the Holocaust bear some striking similarities. Alexander J. Motyl Professor of Political Science Rutgers University-Newark, New Jersey, USA From the Author Luci Vanilar My beloved Babusya, Teodora Yefremovna Verbitskaya, was born in the village of what is now Hrunivka, in Sums'ka Oblast, Ukraine, in the year 1900. Her life was difficult and tragic. Her mother died in 1905; her father remarried; her only brother also died young; her husband was an irresponsible man prone to drink. Terrifying social and political upheaval came, followed by the Holodomor, and then the Nazi invasion. She managed to endure throughout it all. My grandmother took care of me from my birth until I left home at age seventeen, as my mother was an extremely driven artist who painted day and night. All of my fondest memories from childhood include my grandmother. She shared with me her knowledge of traditional Ukrainian village life: handicrafts, cooking, sewing, and the harvesting of herbs, nuts, berries, and mushrooms. From her, I learned to read and write Imperial Russian, the official, enforced Czarist language of her youth. I watched during my childhood as she sobbed while she wrote this memoir, and I listened as she read and re-read it to me, countless times over the years. I cried with her at the heartbreak, horrors, and afflictions that she described. I am even more deeply touched by her story now because I too am a mother and grandmother. I have tried to embody my Babusya's spirit for the entirety of my own life: her strength, her courage, her ingenuity, and her perseverance. Like her, I would do everything in my power to protect my family. My grandmother was not a political analyst nor a social commentator. The political facts that she presented in her writings are no more than any simple citizen living in a time of dangerous political turmoil would have been aware of, in order to try to shield themselves from harm. I am also just a layperson. I have added very basic explanatory footnotes and maps, for additional understanding. There are volumes of specific research materials available elsewhere from historical experts for anyone wishing to delve into these areas further. My footnotes are meant to be simply a starting point to encourage the reader to research more about interesting cultural and historical details in my grandmother's account. I have included footnote access dates on most of the citations because much of this information was gathered from sources that were available prior to the Russian Federation's full scale military invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. This is not a political narrative. This is a description of a devout and fervent motherhood, of a woman who desperately tried to preserve the lives and safety of her two little daughters, while her simple country life was transformed through the terror of two regimes.

Full Product Details

Author:   Lucianne Vanilar ,  Two Regimes Llc
Publisher:   Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co ,U.S.
Imprint:   Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co ,U.S.
Edition:   New edition
ISBN:  

9798765792278

Pages:   218
Publication Date:   20 October 2023
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.

Table of Contents

Teodora Verbitskaya's remarkable memoir, Two Regimes, is an exceptionally welcome voice in the literature on the Holocaust and Holodomor. The unvarnished directness of Verbitskaya's observations enable readers to acquire a glimpse into her reality and, thus, to empathize with her and her family. But Verbitskaya's having experienced and survived the Holodomor, the Holocaust, and World War II also make the memoir a microcosm of Ukraine's horrific twentieth-century encounter with mass violence and a useful reminder that the regimes responsible for the Holodomor and the Holocaust bear some striking similarities. Alexander J. Motyl Professor of Political Science Rutgers University-Newark, New Jersey, USA   From the Author Luci Vanilar My beloved Babusya, Teodora Yefremovna Verbitskaya, was born in the village of what is now Hrunivka, in Sums'ka Oblast, Ukraine, in the year 1900. Her life was difficult and tragic. Her mother died in 1905; her father remarried; her only brother also died young; her husband was an irresponsible man prone to drink. Terrifying social and political upheaval came, followed by the Holodomor, and then the Nazi invasion. She managed to endure throughout it all. My grandmother took care of me from my birth until I left home at age seventeen, as my mother was an extremely driven artist who painted day and night. All of my fondest memories from childhood include my grandmother. She shared with me her knowledge of traditional Ukrainian village life: handicrafts, cooking, sewing, and the harvesting of herbs, nuts, berries, and mushrooms. From her, I learned to read and write Imperial Russian, the official, enforced Czarist language of her youth. I watched during my childhood as she sobbed while she wrote this memoir, and I listened as she read and re-read it to me, countless times over the years. I cried with her at the heartbreak, horrors, and afflictions that she described. I am even more deeply touched by her story now because I too am a mother and grandmother. I have tried to embody my Babusya's spirit for the entirety of my own life: her strength, her courage, her ingenuity, and her perseverance. Like her, I would do everything in my power to protect my family. My grandmother was not a political analyst nor a social commentator. The political facts that she presented in her writings are no more than any simple citizen living in a time of dangerous political turmoil would have been aware of, in order to try to shield themselves from harm. I am also just a layperson. I have added very basic explanatory footnotes and maps, for additional understanding. There are volumes of specific research materials available elsewhere from historical experts for anyone wishing to delve into these areas further. My footnotes are meant to be simply a starting point to encourage the reader to research more about interesting cultural and historical details in my grandmother's account. I have included footnote access dates on most of the citations because much of this information was gathered from sources that were available prior to the Russian Federation's full scale military invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. This is not a political narrative. This is a description of a devout and fervent motherhood, of a woman who desperately tried to preserve the lives and safety of her two little daughters, while her simple country life was transformed through the terror of two regimes.

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