Before the war, most of the population of Kopaigorod consisted of Jews. They were healthy, strong, cheerful people, workers, craftsmen, employees, doctors, and teachers. The children studied in two schools: a Jewish seven-year school and a Ukrainian secondary school. In 1938, the authorities closed the Jewish school, and all the children were transferred to the Ukrainian school. No matter how hard it was to relearn, Jewish children eventually became better students. But they never had to learn Hebrew again. How beautiful we saw our life in those pre-war years, although we had to stand in lines for food and other goods. In the summer, on sunny days, everyone went to the pond. In mild evenings, they circled the streets on bicycles. Ringing songs echoed over the town, and the voice of (the famous singer) Mark Burnes assured us: “The beloved garden can sleep peacefully.” Refugees from Poland arrived in the town. They talked about the persecution of the Jews by the fascists, and it seemed incredible to us. They constantly foretold that war was inevitable. Classes on civil defense were held both at school and at enterprises. At the alarm signal, everyone practiced how to quickly don a gas mask. Whoever did not accomplish this in time was considered poisoned by gasses, and the “paramedics” carried him on a stretcher to the “medical center.” Around this time, the film, If Tomorrow is War, was playing in cinemas. We watched with interest what was happening on the screen.

There, in the movie, our planes hit the enemy in air battles and our tanks rushed forward. The Red Army was invincible. Then came the summer of 1941. Beneficial rains rustled at night, and in the mornings the entire town smelled of strawberries which were taken to the market for sale. But now the infantry was regularly passing through our village. All soldiers were armed and had gas masks hanging on their sides. Everyone's face was stern. Tanks roared at night. People said: “They are going to Mohyliv, to the Dniester.” Military units began to accumulate in the town as Kopaigorod was part of the border zone at that time. And there came the cry of the neighbor who, throwing up her hands, shouted: “Turn on the radio! War!” In the center of the village, there was a crowd of people near the loudspeaker. Everyone was listening to the governmental announcements. People gathered near the Military Commissariat. Mobilization began. Cars moved through our town, then to the east. Women and children sat on bundles and suitcases. Our district leadership was quietly evacuating their families even as they called on the population not to panic. Anarchy reigned in the town. Shops and the houses of evacuees were looted. And then someone announced: “The Germans are in the town!” They immediately seized the mail, communications, and the abandoned buildings of local authorities. This is how the occupation of Kopaigorod began.”

My mother's memoirs about her stay in the concentration camp and ghetto in Kopaigorod are in the Vinnytsia Regional Archives. In these memories, my mother described her life in the ghetto, and also recalls how the Germans killed a man and his daughter in a concentration camp in 1941. The father's name was Nachman Shuster and his nine year old daughter's name was Khaia. Khaia's mother went mad with grief and died.

My mother also mentioned that she had to work hard at various jobs and described various events from her life during the occupation. I bring your attention to the first and last pages of Anyuta Koyfman's memoirs about her captivity in the ghetto.

First page of my mother's memories about her life in the ghetto, translated below

From a prisoner of the German-Fascist camps and ghettos, and persecuted among the Jews of Ukraine. Anyuta Moshkovna Koyfman, born September 30, 1921, in Kopaigorod, of the Kopaigorod district Vinnitsa region of Ukraine. When WWII broke out, German fascists occupied the territory of the shtetl of Kopaigorod. Peaceful life basically collapsed and my personal plans, studying, everything stopped. The occupiers became the masters in the shtetl. They organized a group of policemen from among Ukrainians; they were called shutsmans. The first to break into our shtetl were young Germans on bikes. They started asking where the post office was. I saw it myself as I was in the street at that time. This seemed to be an exploration. After half an hour all the streets were crowded with cars full of German soldiers and commanders. They did not encounter resistance from the local people. The Germans started to advance their plans. Their main program was elimination of all Jews. Before the Germans arrived, all the heads of the organizations and members of the Communist party had to evacuate, otherwise they would have been killed at once. So there were just helpless people who had to survive for four years of the occupation. Ukrainian fascists together with Germans started looting. They broke into the houses and took away everything they wanted.

Second page of my mother's memories about her time in the ghetto, translated below

Let all this not repeat again. Let the memory of tragic and painful death of the murdered women, children and old people at the occupied territory be kept forever. It can't be returned, it can't be forgotten.

Bar, Vinnitsa region

1998, September

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