Nash Holos

Ukrainian Food Flair became a best seller today!

2024-10-02T14:00:00.002-07:00

So thrilled to see this today!

Thank you to my dear friend and writing mentor, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, and best-selling children's author, who spotted it and sent me the screenshot.

Ukrainian Food Flair recipe: Old Time Potato Soup with Gravy

2024-09-19T14:06:00.007-07:00

This recipe for Old-Time Potato Soup with Gravy calls for browned flour, which adds a unique, robust flavour to this soup.

The bacon could be omitted to make it meatless for Lent and other fasts, and suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Just fry the onions in a vegetable oil instead.

If desired, you can thin out the onion and flour mixture by adding some broth to it before adding it to the soup pot.

From the Ukrainian Food Flair cookbook, with over 300 authentic Ukrainian recipes from Sylvia Molnar's collection. Available on Amazon here.

Available on Amazon:
https://a.co/d/gowE08x

Thoughts on doing live radio in Nanaimo

2024-09-12T12:29:00.000-07:00

It was incredible!

It's been a long time since I felt that nervous, though. I've reached a point where I've learned to take life in stride, so not much rattles me anymore. Or so I thought!

In this day and age of social media which allows everyone their 15 minutes or seconds (or hours for that matter) of fame, you may be scratching your head over why I'm making such a big deal out of this. Especially since the conventional wisdom of the day seems to be that traditional radio has become irrelevant and is all but dead save for a few niche broadcasters keeping the medium on life support.

On that I beg to differ.

When I first took Nash Holos online I saw a lot of potential for niche broadcasters. I also saw that the window of opportunity would not stay open for long, because it would only be a matter of time before the "big guys" in the broadcasting industry would jump on the cyber-bandwagon and elbow the "little guys" (and gals) back out of the way. And at that point, I reckoned, we'd all be back to the same-old same-old as far as promoting Ukrainian culture to mainstream audiences.

Well, it looks like we've reached that point. Or OTOH, maybe there was no point to be reached. Maybe I'm the crazy one and didn't get anywhere except tired from spinning my wheels? I've often wondered about that, especially of late.

Taking Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio on live radio in Nanaimo, however, has put such thoughts right out of my mind.

Sure, the old technology of radio may be on its deathbed. The day of pushing physical buttons and levers on a mixing board may be going the way of reel-to-reel and vinyl.

Yet, speaking of the latter, vinyl has now acquired the equivalent of a cult following along with a level of cachet and status that it never had, nor could have had, when vinyl LPs were ubiquitous. There was a time when we valued them so little that we left them in the sun to warp or melt, and put coins atop needles to keep them from skipping. Those were the days!

Today technology is changing at break-neck speed, and it's forcing the entertainment and communications industries to change their delivery methods as well.

Meanwhile, it's easier than ever now to confuse the medium with the message, especially if you're on the receiving end. But it can be confusing for those of us on the sending end as well.

The messengers who can avoid the confusion will prevail, however, regardless of the medium. So to my mind, there is still opportunity in the radio biz. It may be a different window that's opening now, but it's wide open.

As for the technology, change is ineveitable of course, and I'm trying to keep up with it. But meanwhile, I consider myself veryfortunate to have this opportunity to enjoy the "good old days" of radio broadcasting technology for a little longer.

I'm not expecting my learning curve to last very long, so I hope you'll join me live in Nanaimo Wednesdays at ~~12 noon~~11am on CHLY 101.7fm ... and the new co-hosts I'll be introducing soon. If you're not in range of the signal, you can listen online or catch the podcast.

And if you don't already, please make sure to tune in to the long-standing program prepared in advance (with love!) airing ~~Sundays~~ Saturdays on AM1320 CHMB Vancouver (in its new time slot of 5 6pm PST).

If you do, I'd like to thank you once again from the bottom of my heart for being a loyal listener of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio ... and in the process supporting and sharing Ukrainian culture with the world.

Podcast links for all three versions of the show are at the Nash Holos website.

–30–

Original Publish Date: June 7, 2012. Outdated information removed and/or noted with strikeouts. This (enjoyable for me) trip down memory lane is from 12 years ago, and foreshadows more changes coming soon.)

Updated On: September 21, 2024

New cookbook published featuring recipes presented on Nash Holos

2024-09-02T07:00:00.005-07:00

Over 200 recipes of Sylvia Molnar, presented on Ukrainian Food Flair for many years, are now available in a cookbook called Ukrainian Food Flair: Authentic Recipes from Canada's West Coast.

Sylvia presented these authentic, traditional Ukrainian recipes...along with cooking tips, nutritional and historical information of ingredients used in them, and her personal experiences and reminiscences...on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio between 1995 and 2013.

Sadly, in 2015 Sylvia passed away. This book is published as a tribute to her memory.

Released August 2024. Link here.

Summer Reading Round-Up — Ukrainian Jewish Heritage (Part 2)

2024-08-26T23:30:00.004-07:00

What greater pleasure than sitting down with a good book on a lazy summer afternoon at the beach or by the pool, on a shady deck, or sprawled out on a lush green lawn!

Some books may entertain, others inform, still other edify. But every book enriches the mind. The mind of the reader, certainly. But also, the mind of the author – some of whom are inspired by writing a book to write others.

On Nash Holos, through our Ukrainian Jewish Heritage series, we have been fortunate to review many intriguing and fascinating books on topics involving Jews, Ukrainians, and their interactions.

These interactions have not always been amicable, and it is a testament to the authors for broaching controversial topics and examining them with sensitivity, empathy, and a sense of fairness.

In 2018, I compiled a list for your summer reading pleasure. Two years, and eight more books later, I did it again.

Even though summer is almost over for 2024, these timeless books are great reading.

So, enjoy!

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Dave Tarras: The King of Klezmer by Yale Strom chronicles the life and work of a Ukrainian-born man who became known as "The Benny Goodman of Klezmer."

He was the individual most responsible for the development of a uniquely American style of Jewish klezmer music. From 1925 until his death in 1989, Dave Tarras set the standard. Well-known jazz legends such as Charlie Parker and Miles Davis studied his technique.

Yale Strom is himself an accomplished klezmer musician and historian. He is credited as a pioneer in the revival of klezmer. Strom had already published several books on the genre when by happenstance he ran into a great-grandson of Dave Tarras in New York. That encounter inspired Strom to write a biography of the iconic musician.

Fleeing pogroms in Russian-occupied Ukraine, Tarras and his wife arrived in America in 1920. He got a job working in his brother-in-law’s fur shop because he did not think he was good enough to make a living as a musician in America. But within three years he was supporting his growing family playing his clarinet.

He would go on to become the most acclaimed klezmer musician in the United States. During his career he made hundreds of recordings, on labels such as Columbia and RCA Victor.

The book contains many touching anecdotes by family members, musical colleagues and proteges. There is newly discovered biographical material, rare photos, the musical scores of 28 of Tarras' original klezmer tunes arranged for violin and clarinet, a glossary of Yiddish terms, a bibliography, detailed footnotes and discography. Plus a copy of a handwritten note by Tarras a few years before he passed away.

Dave Tarras influenced several generations of klezmer musicians, and will no doubt continue to influence generations to come. In the 1970s Dave Tarras was "rediscovered" and came out of retirement to do one last studio recording and tour. It was a huge hit with seniors who recalled the heyday of klezmer. But it also attracted a smaller crowd of young musicians who would form the nucleus of a revival of Yiddish culture.

In 1984, Dave Tarras was honored by the National Endowment of the Arts with a National Heritage Fellowship.

On the August 24, 2018 episode of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage, I shared the story of Dave Tarras and his wonderful music, as well as this book. If you missed it, or would like to hear it again, check out our audio archive. August 24, 2018. Just search for it on our podcast feed. There’s also a link to the audio with the transcript which you can find at the Nash Holos website.

The book, Dave Tarras, The King of Klezmer by Yale Strom is available at Amazon and other booksellers.

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Jews and Ukrainians: A Millennium of Co-Existence

by Paul Robert Magocsi and Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern, is a comprehensive historical account of the relationship between Jews and ethnic Ukrainians, both in Ukraine and the diaspora.

This book attempts to fill the gap of what Jews and Ukrainians know about each other. It begins with an examination of how “Stereotypes, Perceptions and Misperceptions,” often based on blatant prejudice, cloud the relationship between Ukrainians and Jews, which goes back a thousand years.

The first Jewish settlers moved to Ukrainian lands as maritime merchants from the Mediterranean Basin. They settled in the coastal towns of the Black Sea along with Greek colonists.

During the time of Kievan Rus, Jews started arriving from central Europe and settling in central and northern Ukrainian towns. There are references to Jewish settlers in the literature of the period.

Jews and Ukrainians continued to live together in the land that is contemporary Ukraine for hundreds of years despite rule by foreign governments. By 1900, Jews made up nearly 9% of the population of modern day Ukraine, and ethnic Ukrainians 74%. Today, just .02% of Ukraine’s population is Jewish, and lives in major centres. The world of shtetls in Ukraine —with thriving Jewish communities and commerce—is forever gone.

This volume is full of intricate information, insightful historical analysis, detailed graphics and maps, as well as very relevant photographs. At times, the detail almost seems encyclopedic, but the writers manage to make each and every section relevant and readable.

Those new to Ukrainian studies will learn a great deal about Ukraine’s history and culture. Those who have studied both Ukrainian and Jewish culture will appreciate the commentary and the analysis of historical events. Researchers will definitely appreciate the extensive list of resources at the end of this book.

Magocsi and Petrovsky-Shtern have written an impressive book packed with encyclopedic detail while being as easy to read as a magazine. Jews and Ukrainians: A Millennium of Co-Existence is available at Amazon.

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Babyn Yar: History and Memory is dedicated to the commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of Babyn Yar.

In September of 1941, this scenic area of forests and ravines in Kyiv, which translates into English as Grandmother’s Ravine, became a global symbol of the Holocaust. Once known as the “Switzerland of Kyiv” today Babyn Yar is synonymous with unfathomable cruelty and unprecedented loss of life.

Nearly 34,000 Kyivan Jews perished in Babyn Yar at the hands of the Nazis in late September of 1941. Over the next two years, tens of thousands more people, Jews and non-Jews, were murdered there.

The contributions to this volume are based on documentary sources and academic research.

Babyn Yar: History and Memory, is the result of the collaborative effort of scholars from various disciplines in Canada, France, Israel, the Netherlands, Ukraine, and the United States working with editors Vladyslav Hrynevych and Paul Robert Magocsi.

These scholars were compelled by the desire to inform the world about the history of one of the most terrible human tragedies, and also to underline the importance of preserving its memory.

At the center of the book of course is the history of a Nazi crime. But this history is a departure point for a deeper discussion. The book covers the politics of memory and forgetting… from the Stalinist period to the present day, and the cultural memory of Babyn Yar. Yet there is a generational aspect to the reinterpretation of this tragedy. Every generation does this in its own way—as it must. Because the past is not some construct set in stone, forever fixed in place. It is instead a dynamic phenomenon open to new discoveries.

This book examines some of these new discoveries, and the context in which they are reached. It is available in both Ukrainian and English editions. The English edition of Babyn Yar: History and Memory is available on Amazon.

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A Journey through the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter: From Antiquity to 1914, was curated and written by Alti Rodal, the Co-Director of the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter. It was originally a traveling exhibition that examined the history and interactions of these two peoples living side by side on Ukrainian lands. The panels featured texts, graphics, photographs, paintings, and maps, as well as short videos and recorded music. The exhibit travelled to four Canadian cities between May and September 2015.

In 2018, Alti Rodal expanded on the exhibit’s narrative to explore the multi-dimensional relationships between Ukrainians and Jews inhabiting the lands of today’s Ukraine.

The book is divided into two sections – “Antiquity to the Partitions of Poland” and “Two Parallel Eras – the ‘Long Nineteenth Century’ (1772-1914).”

The first section examines the interactions of the two peoples beginning in antiquity, moving to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth period, and concluding with an examination of Hasidism and Hebrew/Yiddish publishing on Ukrainian lands.

The issues discussed include Jewish settlement in Ukrainian lands, Ukrainian serfdom, Jewish co-operation with Polish magnates, Khmelnytsky’s uprising and the consequences for both Jews and Ukrainians, the Uman massacre, the rise of the Uniate church, and the rise of Hasidism.

The second section of this book focuses on the experience of Ukrainians and Jews in the Russian empire, as well as the Austro-Hungarian regime up to 1914. It deals with difficult topics such as the pogroms in the Russian empire; however, it also highlights trends in Ukrainian-Jewish political and civic co-operation.

There is a focus on the cultural renaissance experienced by both Ukrainians and Jews during this period. This section concludes by examining emigration to North America.

Although this volume may be compact in size at only 169 pages, it is full of relevant information, insightful historical analysis, detailed maps and graphic elements, as well as historically significant paintings and photographs.

Readers of all ages will learn a great deal about Ukrainian and Jewish history, culture, religion, economics, and demographics in the land that is contemporary Ukraine. A Journey through the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter: From Antiquity to 1914 is available free of charge from the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter in PDF and print, at their website.

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Much has been written about Nazi concentration camps, but little has been written about the Nazi massacres of Jews on Ukrainian soil and the peasants who witnessed these horrific events.

Three books published in the early part of this century make a good start at beginning to fill that gap.

Two of these books were written by a Roman Catholic priest. Father Patrick Desbois has devoted his life to researching the Holocaust, fighting anti-Semitism, and furthering relations between Catholics and Jews.

The Holocaust by Bullets—A Priest’s Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews was published in 2008. It describes how Nazi mobile killing units, called the Einsatzgruppen, murdered more than a million people in Eastern Europe during World War II.

This book documents Father Desbois' very first efforts to uncover the truth about events in Ukraine during the years 1941-1944.

After discovering that his grandfather had been a prisoner of war and witnessed mass murders of Jews, Desbois decided he needed to seek justice for these people. He travelled through Ukraine interviewing aging witnesses who described the horrific massacre of Jews.

Desbois is a masterful writer who captures the imagination and draws readers into his experiences. His sense of justice for those who cannot speak for themselves is compelling.

A decade later, he published a sequel titled In Broad Daylight – The Secret Procedures behind the Holocaust by Bullets

It continues the gruesome narrative, explaining how Jews were killed in broad daylight with the co-operation of their non-Jewish neighbors.

In Broad Daylight—The Secret Procedures behind the Holocaust by Bullets continues this gruesome narrative based on over 4000 interviews, as well as recently released Soviet archival materials. This book explains how Jews were killed in broad daylight with the co-operation of their non-Jewish neighbors.

Desbois writes with both clarity and purpose, drawing even reluctant readers into a narrative about man’s inhumanity to man, and the process behind it.

In Broad Daylight is a very difficult book to read, but at the same time, it is an important addition to the history of the Holocaust.

Father Patrick Desbois’ two books, Holocaust by Bullets and In Broad Daylight provide a stark and very necessary reminder that we need to learn from history so that these events will never be repeated.

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In his book Hitler’s Basement, Ron Vossler reveals the little known story of the Nazi murder of thousands of Jews in a region of Ukraine called Transnistria.

Vossler’s relatives came from this area and were known as the Volksdeutsche, a German minority living outside Germany. His search for the truth about the events of these massacres, and the role of the Volksdeutsche is the core of this book.

Ron Vossler was a literature professor in North Dakota when he became interested in the murders of Jews in the Transnistria area. His relatives came from this area of Ukraine. As a young person, he knew very little about these events because no one ever talked about them in North Dakota. However, the Volksdeutsche culture and history were very important in the community.

After a visit to his elderly Volksdeutsche relatives in California, Vossler becomes aware of a very close family connection to a famous Nazi. At first, Vossler does not want to face his community’s connections to the Holocaust. However, he soon becomes obsessed with learning the truth about the past.

His obsession took him on a trip to Ukraine where his research revealed not only extensive evidence of Volksdeutsche involvement in the Jewish massacres, but also, the involvement of his own family members.

Hitler’s Basement is a heart-breaking but intensely compelling book. The details are graphic, with descriptions of ovens, bone fragments, rapes, and massive shootings. There are stories of Volksdeutsche villagers sheltering Jews and saving them, but also stories of young Volksdeutsche men participating in the mass murders.

This very personal memoir is an important addition to the historical record about the open-air Holocaust of the Jews by the Nazis in Ukraine which Father Patrick Desbois wrote about.

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The Sea is Only Knee Deep is the true story of Paulina Zelitsky’s defection to Canada from the Soviet Union with her two young children in 1971.

Paulina’s story begins in Cuba in 1968. She is part of the engineering team designing a top secret submarine base for Soviet nuclear submarines. Told in two volumes, this fascinating true-life story explores many topics including: Stalin’s final years, Fidel Castro’s Cuba, and the dangers of defecting.

Paulina does not shy away from describing the complex political realities of life in the Soviet Union. Her home city of Odessa is full of beautiful buildings and talented people. However, the constant fear of Soviet repression rules their lives. Children are forced to denounce their parents for any supposed anti-Soviet activity resulting in arrest and punishment in a Gulag prison camp.

Beginning with her birth in 1945 in postwar Odessa, Paulina’s Jewish family is subjected to constant scrutiny by the KGB. Despite the death of her mother from Stalin’s imposed famine of 1946-1947, Paulina is an optimistic child who loves difficult tasks. Jokingly, adults tell her, “To you any sea is only knee deep.” This Odessan motto, which is the title of the book, becomes a powerful tool in her life.

Paulina manages to keep a low profile and stay out of politics. Despite many obstacles, she skillfully uses the Soviet system to study engineering at the National Marine University of Odessa where she meets her future husband, Eduardo, a Cuban citizen.

A few years later, they and their two children are sent to Cuba to work under the Castro regime. As Volume 1 ends, Paulina narrowly escapes being raped by her superior who then proceeds to make life difficult for her. She must decide whether to face the dire consequences or defect from the Soviet Union with her children. Her choice was clear, but very dangerous.

In Volume 2 of The Sea is Only Knee Deep, Paulina continues the harrowing story of her defection to Canada. She must divorce her husband Eduardo to cut her connection to Cuba. All her plans depend on travelling by air to Gander, Newfoundland.

When she reaches Gander, she runs across the tarmac with two small children to reach safety. After a grueling immigration process, Paulina is granted asylum in Canada.

There is a great deal of technical detail about Paulina’s top secret engineering work on the nuclear submarine base in Cuba which was the cause of the undisclosed second Cuban missile crisis beginning in 1969. Paulina also describes Cuban life during the 1960’s, and gives readers insight into Fidel Castro’s idiosyncratic leadership style.

Readers will experience the terror that Paulina experienced in her defection process as well as her precarious situation in Soviet Ukraine and later in Cuba. Her strength of character comes through clearly in her highly descriptive, candid, and clearly written autobiography.

These two self-published volumes of The Sea is Only Knee Deep by Paulina Zelitsky and her second husband Paul Weinzweig provide an interesting look at rarely discussed historical aspects of the Soviet Union, Cuba and Canada.

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You can find the full Summer Reading List on the Nash Holos blog.

Transcripts and audio files of this and previous episodes of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage at the Nash Holos website. They’ll include links to interviews done with the authors of several of these books on separate episodes of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage.

Affiliate link disclaimer: If you make a purchase on Amazon from any of the links in this post, it will generate a small commission to Nash Holos, at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Back to School?

2020-07-11T18:47:00.001-07:00

Back in 2008 I thought it would be fun to create a quiz based on some of Ron Cahute's tunes that I aired on the show, from his language-learning CD series Barabolya.

That idea morphed into Nash Holos Ukrainian School "classes" based on those tunes over several consecutive broadcasts of the show. Then, the final review for the final exam, which was posted online. And, of course, Graduation Day.

It was great fun.

Since then, I've been toying off and on with the idea of doing it again. The question was, how?

Way back in 2008 if you were going to learn Ukrainian at Nash Holos Ukrainian Language School, if you wanted to study in between the weekly broadcasts of the show, you had to get your own copy of the CDs (if you could find them). So the students who owned the CDs had quite an advantage. And somehow it just didn't seem fair!

Of course many graduates of Nash Holos Ukrainian Language School received their Diplomas despite any disadvanges! (And tbh possibly because of some natural advantages!)

The idea to re-open the School popped back in my head when I was on YouTube just the other day. Because I noticed that all the course curriculum is now available to virtually everyone! (Quite literally.)

Ron had just recently uploaded all the tracks from that series on to YouTube. What a wonderful surprise! To say the least, it would make studying and learning Ukrainian with them much easier now. So maybe I have my answer!

Still, I'd love listener input to get some ideas and suggestions.

On this week's edition of the Vancouver show, I take listeners down memory lane to hear the final exam review, and the commencement exercises announcing all the proud graduates from June of 2008.

If you would like to join me on that trip down memory lane—or would like to take the trip for the first time—check out the podcast of the show here. Four of his songs from different CDs are featured.

And if on that little trip you come with any ideas or suggestions about re-opening Nash Holos Ukrainian Language School, please leave a comment below.

Meanwhile, here's one of my favourites from the first CD of the series.

Nash Holos featured tunes for Passover 2019

2019-04-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

This year Passover happens from sundown Friday April 19, 2019 until sundown on Saturday April 27th.

On Ukrainian Jewish Heritage, Nash Holos shares the details about the ancient traditions and rituals of Passover, as well as a litany of the difficulties Jews faced in Soviet times of religious repression to observe such important holidays as Passover.

Matzo is central to Passover, since it is unleaved bread. During Passover, Jews area forbidden to eat anything containing leaven.

Today Jews living in Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union are able to freely celebrate Passover and matzo is not nearly so difficult to come by. Which is not to say that makes the culinary choices for Jews during Passover easy by any means.

In selecting topical tunes for this week's edition of Nash Holos, I came across several delightful videos on YouTube with great audio tracks that I could share with listeners.

They include two tunes which I thought were perfect to follow the Ukrainian Jewish Heritage feature on Passover.

The first is a hilarious parody of the Irving Berlin classic "Cheek to Cheek." It is sung by Adam B. Shapiro with much different and (needless to say) much funnier lyrics!

The second is a find that was astonishing as it was delightful. It is a video recording of a live performance somewhere in Ukraine (presumably) of a man and some children singing a bilingual version of the Passover hymn Let My People Go, also known as Go Down Moses.

Here there are. Enjoy!

Baby It's Cold Outside not banned on Nash Holos

2018-12-11T10:53:00.001-08:00

With the recent ban by several radio stations and networks of the holiday classic Baby It's Cold Outside, it's clear that political correctness has gotten out of hand.

And as with most things that get out of hand, this one is now backfiring.

Social media sites have been flooded with caustic comments (justifiably) ridiculing this ludicrous capitulation to idiocy.

It all started with a radio station in Cleveland that claimed, earnestly if anachronistically, that the song promotes date rape.

Then, everyone jumped on the bandwagon.

By "everyone" I mean those who decide what gets played on the air, i.e., program directors and/or management at radio stations and at the networks.

That is actually the crux of the matter.

It's not bad enough that the geniuses behind the decision to ban the song are hiding behind the #MeToo movement. Now that there is a growing backlash, they're doubling down on this lame excuse in order to justify their hasty, knee-jerk decision.

But, to no avail.

Thinking people reject the claim that the reason for the ban is that the lyrics promote violence against women. How disingenuous and hypocritical! Why no ban on the violent, misogynistic lyrics in most rap "music" (my nephew's being a rare exception) which is ubiquitous on the airwaves nowadays? (Don't even get me started on the profanity which, thanks to the pop culture industry, has almost completely displaced thoughtful, respectful discourse, in public and private.)

So, no. There is nothing offensive about the lyrics in Baby It's Cold Outside. Especially since they were written in 1944.

As far as I'm concerned, this banning nonsense is mostly the fault of lazy, unimaginative & wimpy decision-makers at radio stations and media networks.

As in one of my favourite Christmas movies, it's all about "make a buck, make a buck." Do the peabrains behind the decision to ban this (or any) song figure that it will help boost their revenues? Well, who knows, maybe it will. Broadcasting is an industry in flux right now, and stranger things are happening.

So far Baby It's Cold Outside hasn't been banned on YouTube, but if it ever gets to that, hopefully it will take a long time for them to find this delightful Ukrainian version, which recently aired (and will again) on Nash Holos.

The controversy over the banning of Baby It's Cold Outside still rages on, even in places like Red Deer.

So to be fair and balanced to both sides, here is an updated version which emphasizes consent.

Enjoy!

Remembering legendary Ukrainian Canadian broadcaster Roman Brytan

2018-12-07T22:09:00.002-08:00

Roman Andrew Brytan, born in Edmonton, AB, on December 4, 1959, passed away on November 26, 2018, at the age of 58 years.

He will best be remembered as the voice of the Ukrainian community across Alberta, and beyond. He was a radio personality as well as a sought-after speaker and spokesman. He was regularly called upon to host and MC events—local, provincial, national and international.

Photo credit:
Park Memorial

Despite working full time in the radio industry, raising a growing family and volunteering in the Ukrainian Canadian community, Roman found (or perhaps made) time to produce and present a daily Ukrainian radio program for 35 years. His highly popular show, Radio Zhurnal, aired on CKER Radio 1480 (which later became 101.7 World FM) from March 1982 until November 2017.

He had a rich, expressive voice and a way with words that inspired as well as informed and entertained. His was a "voice of authority" without effort on his part. It was just who he was.

That, plus his innate kindness and generosity, made Roman a great mentor and role model to myself and other Ukrainian Canadian broadcasters.

He was a great advocate for Ukrainian radio broadcasting in Canada and a consummate professional. In the early days of Nash Holos, back in the 1990s before the internet, he even faxed us news stories from his station's wire services, week in and week out. Just so that we could present the most professional show possible.

As the years went by, he continued to help anyone he could, any way he could. For over a decade, he freely shared his knowledge and resources with a group of us in a private email group.

He shared new songs that came his way, interviews and information, and other material for our shows. Occasionally, he'd throw out comments just for discussion or "food for thought." He was generous with his wisdom and shrewd insights into politics and other matters. His practical advice always proved invaluable. I always felt enriched, encouraged, and empowered after a conversation with him.

Roman had a really dry sense of humour, and a very sharp wit. Not much got past him. He never gossiped, yet managed to impart his opinion about people, circumstances, and situations elegantly, and clearly.

A pragmatist, but also a perfectionist in his work, Roman set a high standard for those of us who looked up to him for guidance and inspiration in our own broadcasting endeavours.

Roman Brytan will be sorely missed, not just as a colleague but also as a friend.

His funeral was held on December 5, 2018 at Exaltation of the Holy Cross Ukrainian Catholic Church in Edmonton, with interment in St. Michael's Cemetery.

His obituary was published in the Edmonton Journal (link here). Photos, memories and condolences may be shared through www.parkmemorial.com.

Вічная пам`ять! May his memory be eternal.

Ukrainian recipe: Remembrance Borsch (with yellow beets)

2018-11-24T11:12:00.003-08:00

This recipe originated with Ukrainians in the United States. By the early 2000s it was becoming part of their Thanksgiving tradition.

This yellow-coloured borsch was intended to be served as the first course of Thanksgiving Day dinner.

Since then, however, the Saturday after American Thanksgiving (i.e., the fourth Saturday in November) has become an official day of remembrance to commemorate Holodomor.

This sad commemoration has created a very appropriate, and dedicated, occasion to serve this symbolic dish.

The borsch is always accompanied by a moment of silence.

This moment of silence is in remembrance of the millions of Ukrainians who died in the Holodomor famine-genocide of 1932-33 and the following Years of Terror at the hands of soviet communists.

As well, in remembrance and gratitude for those who survived, and for the family's own abundance today.

The recipe is patterned after the meatless borsch served at Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner, Sviat Vechir. It varies from family to family, but the one constant is the substitution of yellow beets for the red.

Yellow (also called golden) beets give the broth a golden colour. Yellow is a colour often related to mourning in Ukrainian culture.

To make Remembrance Borsch, start with a mushroom broth. If you can get them, used dried mushroom caps imported from Poland. (These are the closest to those that used to come from Ukraine before Chornobyl.) Otherwise, use a combination of Italian porcinis, Japanese shiitakes, or other flavourful species.

Soak dried mushrooms several hours or overnight. Wash carefully to get rid of any bits of sand or dirt. Strain the dark water through a coffee filter and add it to the salted cooking water for the washed mushrooms. Let it simmer several hours, adding more boiling water as needed.

If you’re pressed for time, the ready-made mushroom broth now available in supermarkets or delis will do.

To the broth, add chopped or shredded beets, chopped potato, carrot, onion, mushrooms, dillweed, a bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper. There are no rules, other than using ingredients that even the poorest peasant would have in his or her bit of garden.

Add your favourite vushka (mushroom-stuffed mini perogie-like dumplings), sprinkle with chopped fresh dill.

If you can’t find yellow beets, use a combination of white turnips and a parsnip (for sweetness). Colour the broth with a few strands of saffron, a pinch of turmeric, or as a last resort, a few drops of yellow food colouring.

If you don’t have the time or skill to make vushka, dried mushroom-filled Italian tortellini are a reasonable facsimile.

Don’t skimp on the fresh dill. (Make sure to use fresh, not dried dill weed or dill seed.) Most supermarkets carry fresh dill year round. As well, it can be chopped and frozen fresh for use later.

Whether or not you are celebrating American Thanksgiving, this is an excellent symbolic borsch to serve during Holodomor Remembrance week wherever you are in the world.

This recipe and the accompanying information came by email from Peter Borisow, of the Hollywood Trident Foundation.

It has been presented on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio by Judy Hrynenko (here) and the late Sylvia Molnar (here). These features have aired every November for the past several years in honour of Holodomor Remembrance.

Please feel free to incorporate this ritual dish into your American Thanksgiving and/or Holodomor commenorations, and share the story with others.

If you would like a proper recipe for Remembrance Borsch, with proportions, I have shared one which was adapted from my award-winning entry in the 2015 Borsch Competition in Victoria. Story and recipe here.

My Excellent Adventure at the 2015 Borsch Fest in Victoria

2018-11-24T11:09:00.002-08:00

Had a wonderful time at the 2015 Borsch Fest in Victoria, BC on Saturday, November 07!

One of the organizers, Maria Koropecky (who was interviewed on the Nov. 4 edition of Nash Holos) challenged me to enter the competition, so I did.

I was honoured (and, quite frankly, astounded) that my entry won the People's Choice Award ... and also Judges' Honourable Mention.

Came home with a cash prize (which covered the cost of ingredients and gas for the drive down to Victoria) for the People's Choice Award. For the Honourable Mention, I received a copy of a great cookbook by one of the judges, Cinda Chavich, The Waste Not, Want Not Cookbook: Save Food, Save Money, and Save the Planet.

The theme of this book is especially poignant, as Ukrainians tend to abhor wasting food, given how often throughout history, especially during the soviet era, it was denied them.

Along with Cinda, the other judges were Lee Aitchison,Hospitality Management Instructor at Camosun College; and Michael Tymchuk, producer of CBC's food show The Main Ingredient.

The borsch I entered was not the typical beet red that most people associate with borsch. That's because it was made with yellow (golden) beets.

It's called Remembrance Borsch, in honour of the Holodomor, the soviet-engineered famine that deliberately starved to death 7-10 million Ukrainians in 1932-33.

The colour yellow is symbolic of mourning in Ukrainian tradition, so that's why this borsch is made with yellow beets.

I've been sharing the story of Remembrance Borsch with listeners of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio for several years now. If you're not familiar with it, and would like to be, check out this blog post.

For anyone who tasted my Remembrance Borsch at the Borsch Fest and would like to try making it, I am very sorry but there is no recipe proper (as in with proportions). And I am unlikely to ever reproduce the batch I made (with the help of my friend Gerri) as I didn't keep track of the proportions I used.

However, I will share what I remember, to the best of my abillity. The rest is up to you. Which is kind of fitting, because by nature Ukrainians are very individualistic and independent ... and that is in large part why the Soviets tried to wipe them out, by starvation and other gruesome methods.

November is Holodomor Remembrance Month, and the last Saturday of November is set aside as Holodomor Remembrance Day. At sunset, candles are lit in remembrance of those who perished in this heinous, man-made famine. To me, it's very important to make this borsch and remember the millions of innocent victims, so that never again will human beings be starved by the millions merely to promote an ideology.

This recipe for Remembrance Borsch should create a reasonable facsimile of the one I made for Borsch Fest.

8-10 cups shredded or diced yellow beets
5-6 cups shredded cabbage
3 cups finely chopped onion
1-2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
6 cups diced potatoes
5 cups diced rutabaga
2 cups shredded carrots
2 cups chopped fresh dill
1/4 lb. butter
3 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp black pepper
3 litres mushroom broth
1-2 litres beetroot broth
2-3 Tbsp lemon or lime juice

Saute the mushrooms, onion, half the cabbage, and half the dill in butter until the veggies are a nice golden colour.

Put them in a large stock pot, along with the liquids, seasonings, and the rest of the veggies, except for the beets. Simmer until the potaotes and rutabaga are soft, about 1/2 hour.

Add the shredded beets, and gently simmer for about 1/2 hour.

NB: Make sure the borsch does NOT boil vigorously. Borsch should never be boiled. It makes the beets lose their colour and just does something to the taste that is less than desirable. Keep it at a gentle simmer.

This will make a huge stock pot full, about 10-12 litres, so you might want to cut the ingredients in half.

A tip for preparing the beets for borsch, especially using red beets: Scrub really well, trim off any blemishes, and put them to simmer, with the skin on. When soft, drain the beets and cool. Reserve the liquid. This will be your beetroot broth. When beets are cool, peel and shred. Adding the beets at the end will keep the beets from going white, so your borsch will have a nice, rich colour.

I hope that some day serving this yellow borsch to commemorate Holodomor Remembrance Day will be part of Ukrainian tradition. We should never forget.

If you decide to try it, I'd love to hear how yours turned out.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures from the 2nd Annual Borsch Fest in Victoria.

If you're interested in Cinda's cookbook, you can get it here:

Hava Nagila - Jewish song with Ukrainian roots

2018-09-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

This week's Ukrainian Jewish Heritage topic is Hava Nagila, the song, the story and the movie.

While looking into the Ukrainian connection to this ubiquitous Jewish standard, I came across a documentary film about the song, called Hava Nagila (The Movie).

I contacted the production company in Los Angeles, and they kindly allowed me to screen it for review.

In this week's Ukrainian Jewish Heritage episode, I described my search and reviewed the movie. You can read and listen to it here.

I also went one step past where the movie ends the story—YouTube. It seemed to me that in terms of storytelling technique, ending the story of Hava Nagila at YouTube was leaving the story unfinished. A hanging thread.

In the course of producing this series and presenting some of the episodes, I discovered that much work is being done to restore what is left of Ukraine's Jewish communities destroyed by the Nazis and Soviets in the last century.

So I thought I would check to see how popular Hava Nagila is today in its ancestral birthplace.

Very popular, it seems!

Do a google search for Hava Nagila Ukraine and you'll be amazed at what pops up!

I can save you a bit of time by starting you out with a few that I found. Enjoy!

Dnipro 2017;

Kyiv 2010

Vinnytsia-Ukraine December 2013

Students in Kharkiv

In Czernowitz

Poltava 2017

ManSound in Israel 2012

Ukrainian musicians in Paris subway

Dnieper cruiseship lounge 2012

Ukrainian language lesson: It's Fun!

2018-09-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's Fun To Be Ukrainian

by Shoom

This is a great way for beginners to learn how to speak Ukrainian (or more accurately, Ukrainian-Canadian). Just sing along with the song! Watch and repeat, and in no time, you will have these basic words as part of your vocabulary!

Glossary:

(To help you understand the Ukrainian words and sing along. The rest of the words are in English.)

English spelling	Translation	Ukrainian spelling
Yak sha mayesh?	How are ya?	Як ся маєш?
Duzhe dobre!	Very good!	Дуже добре!
Pyrohy	Perogies	Пироги
Holubtsi	Cabbage Rolls	Голубці
Kubasa	Smoked Garlic Sausage	Ковбаса
Kishka	Blood Sausage	Кішка
Chasnyk	Garlic	Часник
Zabava do rahnya!	Party till dawn!	Забава до раня!

It's Fun to be Ukrainian can be heard (often) on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio... along with lots of other ones!

Get show times and/or subscribe to the podcast here.

Enjoy your lesson. Repeat often until memorized!

Blast from the past - Taras Bulba

2018-09-13T12:10:00.002-07:00

A great movie that was ahead of its time. Too bad there weren't more like it produced.

Maybe if there were, the West would not be so ignorant about Ukrainian history that most, especially the media, have no clue what is going on now, much less understand the dire consequences of throwing Ukraine under the bus.

Anyway, enjoy the movie clips and the background tune, Розпрягайте хлопці коні (Unharness the Horses, boys) by the group Ekspress.

Ukrainian Jewish Heritage: 2018 Summer Reading Round Up

2018-07-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

What is summer without reading? I can imagine no greater pleasure than sitting down with a good book—or two—on a lazy summer afternoon at the beach or by the pool, on a shady deck, or sprawled out on a lush green lawn.

Here on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio, we have been fortunate to learn of and review many excellent books on our series Ukrainian Jewish Heritage. The books cover a wide range of topics involving Jews, Ukrainians, and their interactions over the years.

These interactions have not always been amicable, and it is a testament to the authors for broaching controversial topics and examining them with sensitivity, empathy, and a sense of fairness.

The books on this list cover a myriad of topics over a broad time frame spanning centuries of Jewish presence in, and contributions to, Ukraine.

Stories of Khmelnytsky

Stories of Khmelnytsky features provocative essays by distinguished scholars from throughout North America, Europe, and Israel. It takes an honest look at one of the most contentious historical figures plaguing Ukrainian Jewish dialogue.

This book carefully addresses, without attempting to resolve, the fundamental questions Khmelnytsky’s image provokes.

Whether viewed as a hero or a villain this 17th century historical figure bolstered national solidarity among Ukrainians and other nations. Surprisingly he actually inspired some early Jewish radical Zionists and served as a model for Jewish pioneers building a new homeland in early 20th century Palestine.

One essay notes that this volume on Khmelnytsky drives home the fact that history itself is made up not so much of facts as of stories.

Cultural Dimensions

Cultural Dimensions is another collection of essays. These explore how cultural interaction between Jews and Ukrainians unfolded over centuries through diverse and daily encounters, and how that interaction had a profound impact on both communities.

The essays in this collection open doors for new research that can help create a joint narrative for Jews and Ukrainians.

This collection of essays was co-edited by Wolf Moskovich, Professor Emeritus, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and Alti Rodal, Co-Director of the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter, who also wrote the introduction to the volume.

The richly illustrated book appears as volume 25 within the series Jews and Slavs published by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem since 1993. The book was published in 2016 and can be acquired by contacting Wolf Moskovich at wmoskovich@gmail.com.

A Prayer for the Government

A Prayer for the Government: Ukrainians and Jews in Revolutionary Times, 1917-1920 explores an ill fated attempt at rapprochement between Ukrainians and Jews a century ago.

The author, Dr. Henry Abramson, calls it a “bright chapter” in the long history of the Jewish people. One in which Jews were emancipated into a free state, with privileges as a minority that exceeded even those in Western Europe and America.

However, by the spring of 1919 Ukraine was submerged by a wave of violence that became one of the darkest chapters of Jewish history, only overshadowed later by the Holocaust.

Abramson’s meticulous account traces how the attempt by both Jews and Ukrainians to achieve a working political relationship was betrayed by less enlightened attitudes among the general population as well as by the political and social instability of the time.

Jews and Ukrainians: A Millennium of Co-Existence

In their book Jews and Ukrainians: A Millennium of Co-Existence, two distinguished academics, Paul Robert Magocsi and Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern produced a parallel narrative of two peoples in 12 thematic chapters in the book outline the rich history of Jews and Ukrainians.

They cover geography, history, economic life, traditional culture, religion and language as well as literature, the arts, music, the Diaspora, and contemporary Ukraine.

With over 300 full-color illustrations, over two dozen maps, plus several text inserts, the book is extremely reader friendly.

Jews and Ukrainians: A Millennium of Co-Existence won a Special Recognition Award at the Lviv Book Forum in 2016.

The Great Departure

The Great Departure: Mass Migration From Eastern Europe and the Making of the Free World explores the devastating human toll of migration.

Author Tara Zahra examines one of the largest migrations of human history… 50 million Europeans who moved to the Americas between 1846 and 1910. These included Ukrainians, Poles and Jews of Galicia.

The western Ukrainian city of Brody, then on the frontier of the Russian and Austrian empires, became the gateway to the New World. Albeit not without all manner of exploitation enroute, not least of all human trafficking.

The policies that shaped this great migration set a template for future tragic, events in the 20th century. The resulting bureaucratic “paper walls” doomed Europe’s Jewish population from escaping the Holocaust, the closing of the Iron Curtain, and ethnic cleansing.

The author places the current refugee crisis within the longer history of migration.

Sheptytsky from A to Zed

A remarkable children’s book—and a book that will delight not only children—created a stir at the 2015 Lviv Book Forum.

Sheptytsky from A to Zed offers a delightful yet thoughtful account of a renowned figure’s life through the letters of the alphabet.

Andriy Sheptytsky, became Metropolitan Archbishop of Lviv and head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the early to mid 20th century. He risked his life and those of his clergy hiding Jews in his palace, and throughout Ukrainian Catholic monasteries in Galicia.

Sheptytsky’s achievements as a scholar, philanthropist, patron of the arts, and leading public figure in Ukrainian society are also covered in this charming and engaging book.

Yiddish-Ukrainian dictionary

On the theme- sort of- of alphabet and languages, is an astonishing discovery in the world of dictionaries.

Dr. Dmytro Tyshchenko is the son of a Jewish mother and a Ukrainian father from Donbas, and the creator of a massive and highly acclaimed Yiddish-Ukrainian dictionary.

After discovering his Yiddish roots In 1988, Tyshchenko devoted his life to learning the language of his ancestors, and making it accessible to others. Especially a younger generation that has embraced the study of Yiddish.

Now living in Frankfurt, Tyshchenko is developing an online version of his dictionary.

East-West Street

Much of the world has no idea of the origins of the term genocide, which like the holocaust is in danger of becoming an empty cliché instead of a metaphor for the capacity of man’s inhumanity to man.

East-West Street tells the story of two jurists from Lviv who were instrumental in shaping the precedent setting Nuremberg trial. This book is a gripping account of the origins—in effect, the invention—of the terms “genocide” and “crimes against humanity.”

These two concepts became the centerpiece for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals.

The author of East-West Street, Phillipe Sands, brings together the stories of his grandfather and these two jurists, Rafael Lemkin and Hersch Lauterpacht.

All three men had the misfortune of having their entire families sent to their deaths by the Nazi governor of German-occupied Poland Hans Frank, who visited Lviv in 1942.

In an astonishing twist, Sands, got to know the son of Hans Frank while working on this book. Sands also met the son of another Nazi, Otto von Wachter, who was in charge of Lviv during the Second World War.
What the reader will find in this fascinating book is that in the face of horror it is possible to find the courage and strength to achieve extraordinary goals.

City of Lions

City of Lions is a story about Lviv, the western Ukrainian city often referred to as the Vienna of the east.

The book consists of an essay by Polish author Josef Wittlin who waxes eloquent about an early twentieth century Lviv still glittering with an imperial Austrian splendor. It was a city that ceased to exist by 1945.

A matching essay My Lviv by Philippe Sands, echoes the Wittlin text but brings Lviv into modern times.

Sands calls out the failure of those in today’s Lviv to fully acknowledge all its history. Nonetheless he admits the ineffable spirit of the city ultimately seduces him.

The Dead Man in the Bunker

In Martin Pollack his book, The Dead Man in the Bunker, a man is found murdered in 1947 in the mountains between Austria and Italy.

He was not just any man. He was a highly ranked SS officer who commanded death squads in Eastern Europe and was head of the Gestapo in the Austrian city of Linz. And he was the author’s father.

Pollack developed an interest in Galicia after he was barred from Poland by communist authorities from 1980 to 1989. His first book cemented a lifelong passion for the subject: It’s title is To Galicia: Of Hassidim, Hutsuls, Poles, and Ruthenians. An Imaginary Journey Through the Vanished World of Eastern Galicia and Bukovina (in German and Polish only).

Galicia was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire up to 1918. It was an enlightened empire that provided emancipation for the Jews, and institutionalized nation-building for both Poles and Ukrainians. But, as Pollack points out, elsewhere Galicia was generally considered foreign, distant, almost hostile.

It was also the poorhouse of the empire. Grinding poverty sent massive waves of Jewish, Polish, and Ukrainian migrants to distant shores in a desperate search of a better life. Pollack relates this story in his book Emperor of America: The Great Escape From Galicia (in German and Polish only).

Poverty provokes pity, but also contempt. Pollack reminds us that Hitler first met Galician Jews in Vienna before the First World War and expressed his hatred in Mein Kampf.

The Second World War destroyed Galicia as a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. While Pollack laments the fact that Ukrainian Galicia still remains too little known among Westerners, his readers will not be among them.

Babyn Yar: History and Memory

Babyn Yar is one of the most notorious sites which became symbolic of the Holocaust to the world beyond Ukraine, although to Ukrainians it symbolizes many tragedies that took place during the Nazi occupation.

Over 100,000 victims of Nazi tyranny lie at the bottom of this ravine, including 34,000 Jews who were slaughtered over the course of just two days.

Babyn Yar: History and Memory, is a bilingual collection in Ukrainian and English of scholarly essays dedicated to the commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of this atrocity.

This book is the result of the collaborative effort of scholars working with the editors Vladyslav Hrynevych and Paul Robert Magocsi. The scholars are from various disciplines in Canada, France, Israel, the Netherlands, Ukraine, and the United States.

At the center of the book of course is the history of a Nazi crime. But this book also covers the politics of memory and forgetting through the soviet era and up to the present day.

The essays provoke questions for further discussion, especially since the various authors may raise the same questions but do not always arrive at the same answers.

As the editors remind us, to know and remember the Babyn Yar tragedy means not allowing such a crime to be repeated. And in the Ukrainian experience, Babyn Yar is also a symbolic farewell to empire and its mythological legacy.

Courage and Fear

Courage and Fear is a devastating account of both the Soviet and Nazi occupations of Lviv in the Second World War.

The author, Polish scholar and diplomat Ola Hnatiuk, focuses on the daily life and dire choices faced by Jewish, Polish, and Ukrainian writers, artists, musicians, academics, and medical community of the city. This cultural elite outwitted, compromised with, or was destroyed by the barbarians in the garden.

The author weaves in the story of her own family, depicting the demoralization and psychological shock afflicted by totalitarian techniques.

The historian Timothy Snyder praises the human dimension expressed in this book, a richer dimension than the usual ode to tolerance or nostalgia for a long lost past. In Polish and Ukrainian only. Author interview (English translation) here.

In Wartime: Stories from Ukraine

While war drives wedges between people, the aftermath can bring them together. Perhaps the effort to understand how those wedges were created can one day create a strong and hopefully unbreakable bond.

Today Ukraine again finds itself at war, as usual one provoked by an outside force coveting the rich resources of Ukraine and its inhabitants.

Tim Judah is a reporter for The Economist who covered the war in Ukraine for The New York Review of Books, looks at wedges.

His book, In Wartime: Stories from Ukraine is a portrayal of today’s Ukraine for the Western reader.

Judah traveled far and wide throughout Ukraine. He witnessed some horrifying scenes on the front lines of the war in Donbas. He talked with people … impoverished refugees, elderly villagers, city sophisticates, and wealthy businessmen.

Judah was covering and writing about Ukraine in a period of traumatic transition. And he reminds us that these traumas often arise suddenly. The long-established order can vanish overnight.

Black Square: Adventures in Post Soviet Ukraine

Black Square: Adventures in Post Soviet Ukraine reveals a world not often seen by foreigners.

Author Sophie Pinkham plunges into the chaotic harm reduction world of sex workers, junkies, and other lost souls in contemporary Ukraine.

Her adventures in what she calls “post-Soviet punk delirium” include an encounter with the Last Jew in Stalindorf who recounts how once upon a time the Jews, Ukrainians and Russians there had gotten along, more or less, until Stalin starved them.

She also encounters klezmer music, a Yiddish teacher and Babyn Yar.

These books were reviewed on Nash Holos over the past few years. They remain timeless and we hope to add to them in the near future. Meanwhile if you would like to read any of them this summer, look for them in your nearest public library. Or, if you’d like to support the authors (and this show) by purchasing your book(s), please use the links provided. You can also find the audio files and transcripts of the full book reviews at our website www.nashholos.com as well as at Ukrainian Jewish Encounter dot org. Happy summer reading!

Nash Holos recipe: Buckwheat Pancakes

2018-02-12T18:08:00.000-08:00

Buckwheat has numerous health benefits that make it ideal for today's health conscious consumer. It’s fat-free, and we all love that!

It also contains rutin, which studies indicate lowers cholesterol and helps reduce high blood pressure. Considerable amounts of vitamin B1 and B2 prevent hardening of the arteries, while choline facilitates liver function.

Buckwheat is a good source of protein and minerals such as zinc, copper, manganese, magnesium and calcium. These minerals are important in the prevention of hypertension and anaemia.

Buckwheat cooked as kasha is a Ukrainian favourite. It’s usually eaten as a side dish or meat accompaniment, instead of rice or potatoes. It can also be used as a filling for cabbage rolls.

Although buckwheat is actually a herb, the groats are hard, like a grain, so it can also be ground into flour. Buckwheat flour has a very distinctive flavour, and it is really delicious.

Here’s a wonderful recipe that is an ideal Lenten dish: Buckwheat Pancakes. They’re quick and easy to make, and absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

Mix together buckwheat flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add beaten egg, milk and melted butter, mixing well after adding each.

Grease a skillet or griddle lightly with oil and preheat it to 375ºF.

Pour 1/4 cup batter onto hot skillet. Cook until bubbles break on the surface, flip and cook an additional minute or so, or until browned.

Serve with jam, fruit preserves or your favorite syrup…. and enjoy!

Ukrainian radio shows in Canada

2017-12-20T17:00:00.000-08:00

These programs broadcast on a wide variety of stations, ranging from commercial to community and campus radio. Many are bilingual, and accessible to the "Ukrainian-impaired."

Some programs (like mine) have been on the air for decades. Others are more recent. With few exceptions, they are produced and hosted by underpaid if not unpaid broadcasters who pump out their programs week after week as a “labour of love” on behalf of the community.

In decades past, Ukrainian Canadian radio programs had limited distribution, for a variety of reasons. Some smaller stations had low-power transmission towers with weak signals. Also, since most programs are produced and hosted by volunteers or self-funded individuals, there are insufficient resources to promote the programs. Conventional wisdom holds that Ukrainian programs are not able to generate sufficient revenues for the radio stations that air them to justify the expense of promoting them.

Today, however, listeners can tune in to radio stations around the world on computers and mobile devices, to access any program they want broadcasting from anywhere in the world.

Listeners looking for “something different” from the mainstream are increasingly finding our programs online. Those who do are discovering the joy of Ukrainian music and folklore, and learning about Ukraine and its history in the process.

If you’re looking for Ukrainian shows to listen to, check out the list below.

Ukrainian Radio Programs across Canada

Quebec:

Montreal

Program: Ukrainian Time

Producer: Simon Kouklewsky.

Content: Variety show featuring local and international news, politics, Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox religious broadcasts, interviews, and Ukrainian music.

Details: Saturdays at 6-7 pm EST on AM1280 CFMB Montreal

Live stream & station information: www.cfmb.ca

Podcast/program information: www.ukrainiantime.com

Ontario:

Ottawa

Program: Ukrainian Hour

Producer & Host: Irena Bell

Content: Variety program featuring contemporary and traditional music, news, interviews, reports, cultural curiosities, and more.

Details: Sundays 6-7pm EST on CJLL 97.9FM CHIN Radio Ottawa

Live stream & station/program information: www.chinradioottawa.com

Podcast link:http://chinradioottawa.com/index.php/podcast/ukrainian

Toronto:

Program: Radio Meest

Host: Yuri Kus and guest hosts

Content: Live variety program featuring music, local and international news, interviews and community events.

Details: Daily 9-10 pm EST on CIRV 88.9FM

Live stream & station/program information: www.cirvfm.com

*****

Program: Prometheus

Host: Roman Halushchak

Content: Live info-political program with news from Ukraine, Canada and around the world, as well as weekly segments about health and music.

Details: Sundays 4-5 pm EST on AM1540 Chin Radio Toronto

Live stream & station/program information: www.chinradio.com

Windsor

Program: Sounds of Ukraine

Host: Karen Momotiuk

Content: Variety music program featuring Ukrainian folk classics and dance music

Details: Saturdays 11am - 12pm EST on 99.1FM CJAM University of Windsor campus radio

Live stream & station/program information: www.cjam.ca

London

Program: Nasha Kasha

Host: Stefan Andrusiak

Content: Talk show featuring interesting guests from the local Ukrainian community.

Details: Sunday 5:30-6pm EST on CHRW-FM Western University campus radio.

Live stream & station/program information: http://www.radiowestern.ca

Manitoba:

Portage La Prairie, MB

Program: Saturday Night Polka Party

Host: Ryan Simpson

Content: Zabava-type program featuring polkas and old-tyme fiddle and dance music by artists from around Canada and the United States, as well as young local up-and-coming polka bands.

Details: Saturdays 7-10pm CST on CFRY Radio 920 AM / 93.1 FM

Live stream & station/program information: www.cfryradio.ca

Winnipeg

Program: Ukrainian Radio Program

Hosts: Ivas Zulyniak (Mon & Tue), Marta Skrypnyk (Wed) Ness Michaels (Fri & Sat)

Content: An eclectic mix of the newest pop and rock music from Ukraine, dance favourites, folk classics, Zabava music and more.

Details: Monday-Friday 7-8pm CST Saturdays 5-6pm on CKJS AM810

Live stream & station information: http://www.ckjs.com/

Saskatchewan:

Regina

Program: Muzyka Ukraine

Hosts: Yars Lozowchuk and Ginger Merk

Content: Musical variety show featuring contemporary music from Ukraine

Details: Wednesdays 3-4pm CST on CJTR 91.3FM community radio Regina

Live stream & station information: www.cjtr.ca

Alberta:

Canmore

Program: Zabava Program

Host: Steven Chwok

Content: A mix of traditional country-style Ukrainian Canadian dance music from the prairies and more contemporary fare.

Details: Sundays 7-9pm MST on AM840 CFCW Edmonton

Live stream & station information: www.cfcw.com

*****

Program: BUC Program [Brotherhood of Ukrainian Catholics, Edmonton Eparchy]

Host: Roman Kravec

Content: Ukrainian Catholic perspective featuring news on "Our Church" from Ukraine, Canada, and local as well as music and interviews primarily (but not exclusively) religious in nature.

Details: Sunday 6 -6:30 pm MST on 101.7FM World FM

Live stream & station information: www.worldfm.ca

*****

Program: Vechirnia Hodyna

Host: Father Gabriel Haber OSBM (Order of Saint Basil the Great in Canada)

Content: Gospel reading for the day, with commentary by Father Gabriel, and Ukrainian religious (primarily classical choral) music.

Details: Sunday 6:30-7 pm MST 101.7FM World FM

Live stream & station information: www.worldfm.ca

*****

Program: Sounds Ukrainian

Hosts: Orest and Lada

Content: An eclectic mix of the newest in Ukrainian music: rock, pop, alternative, hip hop, club, classical, experimental, folk, blues, jazz and more.

Details: Fridays 7-8:30 pm MST FM88 CJSR Radio University of Alberta campus radio

Live stream & station information: www.cjsr.com

British Columbia:

Nanaimo

Program: Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio

Hosts: Paulette “Pawlina” Demchuk MacQuarrie, Oksana Poberezhnyk

Content: Variety show featuring Ukrainian music, interviews, Ukrainian Food Flair, Ukraine Jewish Heritage, cultural curiosities, and more. First hour with Pawlina in English, second hour with Oksana in Ukrainian.

Details: Wednesdays 11am-1 pm, Radio Malaspina 101.7FM.
Live stream & station information: www.chly.ca

Podcast/archives/program information: www.nashholos.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NashHolos
Twitter: @NashHolos

Vancouver

Program: Четверта Хвиля (Chetverta Khvilya)

Host: Pavlo Manugevych

Content: Variety show featuring Ukrainian music, interviews, and more.

Details: Saturdays 11am -12pm CJSF 90.1fm

Live stream & station information:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UkrainianCanada/:

Program: Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio

Host: Paulette “Pawlina” Demchuk MacQuarrie

Content: Variety show featuring Ukrainian music, interviews, Ukrainian Food Flair, Ukraine News Outlook, cultural curiosities, and more.

Details: Vancouver broadcast: Sundays 5-6 pm PST on AM1320 CHMB Vancouver.

Live stream & station information: www.am1320.com

Podcast/archives/program information: www.nashholos.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NashHolos
Twitter: @NashHolos

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Countdown to Eurovision 2017 - Ukraine's entry as second-time host country

2017-05-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

Since Ukraine won first place at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016, by tradition Ukraine will host the music competition this year.

Eurovision 2017 will take place in Kyiv on May 13, hosted by Ukrainian national broadcaster Timur Miroshnychenko. Ukraine will be represented by Ukrainian rock band O. Torvald with the song Time.

The Eurovison contest has long been the subject of criticism regarding both its musical and political content. And with last year’s winner, Eurovision once again was accused of “political messaging.”

Critics considered Jamala's song a political jab at Russia, despite containing no reference to Russia’s current aggression against Ukraine. Jamala’s song, 1944, is the story of the forcible removal by Stalinist troops of Crimean Tatars, including her grandmother, from Crimea during WWII. But the European Broadcasting Union cleared the song, saying it contained no political message.

Nevertheless, the historical tension between Ukraine and Russia at Eurovision was only exacerbated by Jamala’s win last year, and has continued unabated.

This year Russia pulled out of the competition, in a thinly veiled attempt to poison Ukraine’s relations with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs the contest.

The Russian entrant, a wheelchair-bound singer named Yuliya Samoylova, was banned from entering Ukraine for three years after her tour of Crimea in 2015 (deemed illegal by Ukraine), and her obvious support for Putin’s aggression against Ukraine.

The Russian entry was a last-minute surprise, and did not sit well with Eurovision fans. Many saw it as a cynical ploy to avoid a recent trend of being booed by the live audience, and shared their displeasure widely on social media.

Surprisingly, EBU officials have condemned Ukraine for imposing the travel ban against Samoylova., and even threatened to ban Ukraine from future competitions.

It is outrageous that the EBU would hold Ukraine responsible for Russia’s belligerence and find fault with any country upholding its own laws.

Russia was graciously presented with two solutions which would allow it to participate: either select a different contestant (who didn't break Ukrainian law) or have Samoylova (who did break Ukrainian law) broadcast her song via video link and thus remain in the competition.

It is hardly Ukraine’s fault that Russia refused both options, choosing to act in bad faith instead.

But the show must go on, and this year's Eurovision song contest will take place as scheduled in Kyiv on May 13th.

The Eurovision Song Contest will be broadcast in the U.S. for a second consecutive year on Viacom’s Logo. The three-and-a-half-hour 2017 Grand Final will air live and commercial free on Saturday, May 13 at 12pm Pacific Time.

Here is Ukraine’s 2017 entry, Time, to be performed by the Ukrainian rock band O. Torvald.

To hear more about Ukraine’s participation and musical entries in Eurovision, download or live stream the April 29, 2017 Vancouver edition of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio here.

Countdown to Eurovision 2017 - Ukraine wins first place again in 2016

2017-05-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Last year, after taking a year off from the Eurovision Song Contest, Ukraine placed first for the second time with the song 1944 by Crimean Tatar singer Jamala.

Jamala not only won first place for Ukraine again—her song, 1944, is Eurovision’s highest-ranking song in the contest's 61-year history.

In addition, with Jamala’s win last year, Ukraine became the first Eastern European country to win the contest twice.

Susanna Jamaladinova was born in Osh, Kirghiz SSR, to a Crimean Tatar father and an Armenian mother. Her Crimean Tatar ancestors had been forcefully resettled from Crimea to the central Asian republic under Joseph Stalin, during World War II.

Upon Ukraine's independence in 1991, her family returned to Crimea. Her parents and extended family still live there, but she has not been home since shortly after Russia’s annexation of the peninsula in 2014.

Ironically, with last year’s winner, Eurovision has been accused of breaking the rules with Jamala’s because of its supposed political messaging, which many have said is against Eurovision’s rules.

Notwithstanding the fact that the song was about a historical event in the distant past—that being the Kremlin’s 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars—and did not specifically refer to Russia’s recent illegal annexation of Crimea and invasion of Ukraine. It was based on historical events experienced by her great-grandmother during that genocidal time.

Unsurprisingly, it was Russia that complained the most vociferously, and some western media unwittingly (or perhaps not) jumped on the Kremlin’s bandwagon.

Fortunately, and wisely in my opinion, Eurovision did not heed calls to disqualify Jamala’s winning song 1944, which she composed herself.

With Jamala’s win, Ukraine became the first Eastern European country to win the contest twice.

Here is Jamala with 1944, the first-place winner in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest,

To hear about all of Ukraine's top ten place finishes in Eurovision, check out the podcast of the April 29th, 2017 Vancouver edition of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio here.

Countdown to Eurovision 2017 - Ukraine conspicuously absent in 2015

2017-05-11T16:30:00.001-07:00

In 2015, Ukraine took a year off from the Eurovision Song Contest.

After an extremely successful and uninterrupted run in Eurovision, Ukrainian national broadcaster, NTU, announced that Ukraine would take a year off from Eurovision, missing out on the 60th edition in Vienna, Austria.

NTU cited the current financial, political, and military strain that the country was (and still is) feeling, since the invasion of Ukraine, annexation of Ukrainian territories by Russia, the crash of flight MH17, and Moscow’s support for Novorossiya.

Supporting NTU in this decision were numerous famous singers of Ukraine, who refused the opportunity to participate in Eurovision in Ukraine’s current state.

“We consulted with many artists,” said Vlad Baginskiy, the producer of creative association of music programs NTU, "and they said they would not take part in the competition, with only those reasons that now is not the time for fun. And the money that would be spent on the national final of Eurovision 2015 will be better spent on more important needs."

But in 2016, in a sweet after-note, Ukraine came back to Eurovision with a vengeance, to win first place.

Countdown to Eurovision 2017 - Ukraine's 2014 entry

2017-05-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

In 2014, Ukraine placed 6th in the Eurovision Song Contest with Tick Tock, performed by Mariya Yaremchuk.

Mariya is the daughter of well-known singer and composer Nazari Yaremchuk, who died of stomach cancer in 1995, when Mariya was just 2 years old.

Born in the western Ukraine city of Chernivtsy in 1993, she surprised many in 2012 when she expressed "moral support" for the pro-Russian party of the ousted president Viktor Yanukovych.

Prior to the contest she explained her comments as an effort to reunite the long-divided country, and insisted she is apolitical and would be representing some 46 million Ukrainians in Denmark.

In August of 2014 she joined 3 other Eurovision winners on a tour to the eastern front … the Bring Peace tour. She joined Ruslana, who conspicuously supported the Maidan protest movement from the get-go, as did Zlata Ognevich, who placed 3rd in 2013.

Also joining them was Kyiv-born Anastasiya Prikhodko who won first place for Russia in 2009, amid considerable controversy, as you can imagine.

Prior to the Bring Peace tour, Prikhodko apparently lost her ethnic ambivalence ... and likewise Mariya evidently changed her political allegiance to become a staunch supporter of Ukrainian independence and those risking life and limb to secure it.

Here is Mariya Yarmchuk and the Eurovision 2014 entry for Ukraine, Tick-Tock.

To hear about all of Ukraine's top ten place finishes in Eurovision, check out the podcast of the April 29th, 2017 Vancouver edition of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio here.

Countdown to Eurovision 2017 - Ukraine's entry for 2013

2017-05-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

Zlata Ognievych represented Ukraine in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest with her song Gravity, which placed third.

Zlata Ognevich made her first attempt to enter the Eurovision Song Contest for Ukraine in 2010 with a song called "Tiny Island" which placed fifth in the run-up. That year Alyosha represented Ukraine with a song called Sweet People, and placed 10th.

In 2011 Zlata made her second unsuccessful attempt to represent Ukraine, this time with a song in the Ukrainian language, called "The Kukushka." She placed second in the run-up, losing out to Mika Newton who represented Ukraine with a song called Angel, which took 4th place in Eurovision 2011.

Ognevich was born in 1986 in Murmansk to Ukrainian parents. She grew up in the Crimean city of Sudak, in the south of Ukraine. Five months after the March 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia, Ognevich called the annexation "a very painful tragedy" and stated that her parents, who continue to live in Crimea, would not obtain Russian citizenship.

Ognevich currently resides in Kyiv, where she has lived since age 18. She moved there to pursue a higher music education, and graduated from the Rheingold M. Glière Music College.

During her third year at Rheingold she began working with live bands and did her own promotional work.

She’s since been quite productive as well as patriotic. Her many musical recordings include her own version of Ukraine's national anthem "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" released in 2014.

That fall, she took a run at politics. In October 2014 she was elected to the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament of Ukraine), where she focused on cultural issues and intellectual property. A year later, she resigned, thoroughly disillusioned with politics.

In 2013, Zlata Ognevich co-hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest with Ukrainian national broadcaster Timur Miroshnychenko. Timur will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv on May 13th.

Here is Zlata Ognevich with her 2013 Eurovision entry, Gravity.

To hear about all of Ukraine's top ten place finishes in Eurovision, check out the podcast of the April 29th, 2017 Vancouver edition of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio here.

Countdown to Eurovision 2017 - Ukraine's entry for 2011

2017-05-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

Mika Newton represented Ukraine at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest, winning fourth place with her song Angel.

She was born Oksana Stefanivna Grytsay (Оксана Стефанівна Грицай) on March 5, 1986, in Burshtyn, western part of Ukraine. She grew up in Ukraine, and currently resides in Los Angeles, California, where she is pursuing an acting as well as a singing career.

Her first name, Mika, is a derivative from Mick Jagger's first name. Newton stands for a new tone.

As a young child, she taught herself to sing by imitating famous artists she heard on the radio. A natural-born performer, she would beg her mother to invite friends over so she could have an audience to perform for.

By age nine, she was entering regional voice competitions.

Inspired by a video she saw of Michael Jackson, she decided to enrol in performing arts school. At the age of 16, Mika moved to Kyiv, where she studied vocals at the College of Circus and Variety Arts.

She continued to compete in local and international talent contests, more often than not taking first place and eventually attracting the attention of music industry talent scouts. At 16, she was signed with the record label Falyosa Family Factory.

Before the Eurovision Song Contest, Mika released two albums. She also provided theme songs to a number of popular Ukrainian and Russian films and television shows, earning herself the nickname, the “Queen of Soundtracks.”

Soon JK Music Group invited Mika to Los Angeles for a two-week recording session, where she also had the opportunity to perform in front of Grammy Award-winning producer Randy Jackson.

After winning 4th-place in Eurovision Song Contest 2011, Mika Newton signed a contract with JK Music Group and Randy Jackson's Friendship Collective. In June 2011 she moved to Los Angeles, where she started developing her music career as a pop-rock singer in the USA.

In the Eurovision finals on May14, 2011 Newton was accompanied in her performance by sand-artist Kseniya Simonova,who was the 2009 winner of Ukraine's Got Talent.

Here is Mika Newton and her 4th place finish for Eurovision 2011, Angel.

To hear about all of Ukraine's top ten place finishes in Eurovision, check out the podcast of the April 29th, 2017 Vancouver edition of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio here.

Countdown to Eurovision 2017 - Ukraine's entry for 2010 delivers environmentally-charged message

2017-05-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

Alyosha represented Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2010 with her song "Sweet People", which came in 10th.

Alyosha was born Olena Kucher on 14 May 1986 in Zaporizhia) ... two weeks after the Chornobyl disaster. Her song Sweet People reflects concern both for the effects of this disaster and for the world environment. She said at the time that she hoped her song and the music video would reach out to policy and decision makers, and "prompt them to take action on global environment."

The music video was shot in the abandoned city of Pripyat, Ukraine from April 19 to April 21, 2010.
The director, Victor Skuratovsky, insisted on having no special effects and no artificial set in the video, in order to better reflect the raw reality of the consequences of this disaster.

Parts of the video were shot in an abandoned high school. Aloysha described it as looking as though the kids had left the classrooms in such a hurry that they turned over their desks as they ran out of the room.

On the week ending June 13, 2010, "Sweet People" debuted at number 73 on the Swiss Singles Chart and stayed there for one week. Earlier, it made number 15 on the Ukrainian–Russian chart on March 28, 2010.

Alyosha started a program called Ecovision, which she hoped would bring the environment to the attention of world leaders and galvanize them into action. Her current website does not indicate that her environmental concerns at the time turned into long-term activism; however, she certainly cannot be faulted for raising public awareness about Chornobyl, nor for bringing in another top-ten win for Ukraine at Eurovision.

Here is Alyosha and her 2010 Eurovision entry, Sweet People.

To hear about all of Ukraine's top ten place finishes in Eurovision, check out the podcast of the April 29th, 2017 Vancouver edition of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio here.

Countdown to Eurovision 2017 - Ukraine's entry for 2008

2017-05-10T07:00:00.003-07:00

Ani Lorak represented Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008 with her song, Shady Lady, coming in 2nd to Russia.

She was born Karolina Myroslavivna Kuiek in 1978 in Kitsman, a city located in Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine.

Karolina had a rough childhood. She was raised by a single mother and then in foster care, and later lost a brother to the war in Afghanistan.

As early as age four she wanted to become a singer, and went on to perform at school concerts and music contests.

In 1995 she participated in a contest in Moscow where oddly enough another contestant had entered with the stage name. So she invented her stage name Ani Lorak, which is her first name, Karolina, spelled backwards.

She went on to record internationally and undertake many successful business ventures. In 2011 she was the fifth richest singer in Ukraine, with her team's revenues amounting to $2.35 million that year. Her typical fee is $25,000-$40,000 per concert.

Ani Lorak disappointed many when she came out in support of pro-Russian views regarding the Crimean conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

In 2014 she came under harsh criticism in Ukraine for having accepted awards in Russia while Ukraine was being invaded by Russia.

In August 2014 her concert in Odessa, Ukraine was cancelled after it was disrupted by pro-Ukraine protesters. Lorak then told reporters that she was a true Ukrainian patriot and loved her country dearly, advising her critics to “go and join [the] Anti-Terror Operation” which is what the war in Donbas is officially referred to.

Before 2014, Ani Lorak was one of the most famous and popular female singers in the country. She was also a judge in Ukraine’s version of The Voice. But she fell off her pedestal because she continued to tour Russia and accept awards there, even after the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbas.

She is not officially banned in Ukraine but, according to an article published by Euromaidan Press, she is "not welcome anymore." In 2015 a bill was put forward to strip Ani Lorak and other pro-Russia singers of the honorary title of “People’s Artist of Ukraine.” That didn't happen, however, due perhaps to the public support of her Ukrainian fans, and she continues to enjoy a successful career as a professional musician.

In 2009 Ani Lorak married her longtime Turkish fiancé and manager, with whom she had a daughter in 2011. They live on the outskirts of Kyiv and travel often to Turkey.

Here is Ani Lorak’s 2008 Eurovision Entry, Shady Lady.

To hear about all of Ukraine's top ten place finishes in Eurovision, check out the podcast of the April 29th, 2017 Vancouver edition of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio here.