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Submitted by Gimelberg family in 2025
This is an “ordinary” family picture. Thousands and thousands of Ukrainian Jewish families have “one of those” in their archives. This is the one is anchoring the extended Gimelberg family to a small circle on the map. Not a point, a circle. You see, the people in the photo were born in various villages surrounding mestechko Repki. Some were born in Gorodnia, others in Dobrianka, and others yet in Repki. Some of the kindelach - in Chernigov, Chernobyl, and Kiev. We do not know yet, exactly where and when the patriarch and matriarch were born. This said, according to “1897 All Russia” censuses, 99.95% of the residents were from their present gubernias. Hence, we know, with a reasonable confidence level, that the ancestors of this Jewish family resided in Chernigov voevodeship before 1800. This is very likely true for a majority of Ukrainian Jews. Our ancestors did not come there from some faraway land. Our families lived IN UKRAINE for centuries.
The year of the photo is ~ 1911-1912
At the center of the photo is Getzel Shmuel ben Yakov Gimelberg [estimated dob: 1845-47] . Getzel is Repki's Jewish school teacher (melamed). Next to him sitting his wife Sora-Ester Yakova [estimated dob: 1849-51] (cheder's caretaker). To Getzel's right (customary) is their eldest son Chaim [dob: 1871]. To Sora's left (customary) is their second son Aron [dob: 1875].
Standing on the back (from the left): Chaim's wife Leya [dob: 1876], daughter Feiga [dob: 1894], daughter Freida [dob: 1876], Freida's husband [dob: 1872-74], daughter Gita [dob: 1897], daughter Fanya [dob: 1890], son Peisach [dob: 1888], Aron's wife Pesia [dob: 1976]
Walking behind Grandmother Sora-Ester is Fanya's little daughter
Chaim is holding his daughter Clara [dob: 1911], Aron is holding his son Iosif [dob: 1908]
Front row kindelach (from the left): Dobrusha (Debora) bat Leya [dob: 1907], Fanya bat Leya [dob: 1909], Yankel ben Chaim [dob: 1903]
Missing from the picture:
Getzel and Sora older daughter (~ dob: 1873) moved to Argentina with her family
Getzel and Sora second daughter Bracha bat Sora (dob: 1882) moved to USA with her family
Getzel and Sora oldest grandson Jakov ben Aron (dob 1899) was attending religious school out of Repki
Altogether there are four generations: parents, elder children, younger children, and grandkids
Getzel Gimelberg is moonlighting in retail. Sora-Ester is a skilled dressmaker, a chef and a master gardener. This is the only way they can survive. They are lucky. Only one of their children died in infancy. The rest are strong and healthy.
Chaim ben Getzel with his brother Peisach and brather-in-law pursuing commercial deliveries (RUS: "izvoz"). They transport goods, Between Poland and Ukraine. Sometimes they go as far South as Crimea.
Aron ben Getzel is following his father footsteps - he is a melamed.
Gimelberg daughters have learned from their mother, they are skilled seamstresses/dressmakers
The youngest daughter Gita, in addition dressmaking, is also keeping family tiny haberdashery "lavka" (a small store in town)
This is how Gimelber's home must have looked.
Those are visual aide photos. They are in fact the period items from Repki
This is how Gimelber's kitchen must have looked.
Those are period exhibits from the Ripky local museum
Gimelberg's mansion is a simple log cabin of about ~700 sq ft, with a wood burning stove in the middle, one matrimonial bed, one kitchen table, and a bunch of little wooden benches for children to cuddle on at night.
Their kitchen is full of imported (from 2 miles away) glechicks and misochkas (it's Ukrainian for clay pots and pans). Their "fancy’" tableware is likely made out of wood.
There is a bit of irony in this description. What I mean to say is they have NOTHING that any self-respecting thief or a robber would desire. They have no need to lock their doors. Yet "their kind" was frequently robbed and beaten for supposed "Reaches of the Jews".
Their only reaches are standing and sitting all around them on this photo. Famous Tevye the dairyman described my family precisely:"They are so happy, they do not know how miserable they are"
For the staged group, the terrible decades are seemingly behind. NO, they haven't forgotten the family stories about the Khmelnytsky atrocities. In fact, they live in the very town where the once fierce Royska sotnia of Khemelnytsky army set up its headquarters. The descendants of the Khmelnytsky insurrection live right next to them in the nearby hamlets.
There is still violence, though. Some of the older children even remember hearing about the pogroms of 1881 pogroms. All adults and adolescents most definitely were aware of the 1905 pogroms. Some probably had personal experiences with it. Because of 1905, one of the older daughters has already left for Argentina. Another has gone to America.
But it is now 1912. Things are getting better. Wise melamed sent all his children to a Russian school (a 'gymnasia'). Each knows how to read and write in Yiddish, Hebrew and Russian - even the girls. For a religious zealot, this melamed is an amazingly openminded man. Gymnasia have opened new opportunities for his children.
The younger generation is dressed as modern as they can afford. They are hoping for emancipation, for better jobs, for a little bit of normal humane life. They do make more money now. Nice dresses and hand watches are a testament of that. They even bought a new dress for their Mame. But Mother does not seem to be too sure about the future. She is obviously worried about something. Their hard life turned her into a worrier. She/they know not about the upcoming Great War, the revolution of 1917, about the terror of the White army, about occupations by Germany and Poland. They certainly do not expect that some of their neighbors would take arms against them, and reopen a new page of antisemitic violence in their little mestechko.
By 1920-21 the matriarch and mother of her older daughter in-law would be killed by the Galaka band. Her young prince (the older grandson sitting in front of her) would be murdered and robbed by 'White Liberators' of the Denikin's army. His two uncles standing on the back will disappear without a trace during their routine commercial transport trip to Crimea. Reportedly murdered and robbed by some local 'revolutionary atamans'. Getzel Gimelberg and his son Chaim would not survive the Civil war either.
By the year 1945 the photo is going to reflect Gimelberg’s Terrible Irreversible Losses
The ovals on the photo signify a violent death during the Civil War. Each star represents a loss of an immediate family member between 1936 and 1945. This tragedy would have had the most impact on the women. Given the loss of men throughout the Civil War and WW-II, the widows would seldom remarry. If their man died in battle and his body was not recovered, the worst case scenario would await her. The Soviet government would give her a measly “dependent” pension, literally leading to a life of semi-starvation. Four of the ladies on the photo will experience this ordeal. I knew two of them personally, and have a first hand preview of a “dependent pensioner” life.
Despite all of those losses and setbacks, the Family will recover. There will be military heroes, high ranking officers, artists, engineers, industrial geniuses, nurses and doctors, designers, and so on.
With time passing, the circle on the map will grow larger and larger: Chernigov, Kiev, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Riga, Israel, Italy, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco. Life is going to be good for the family.
The new grandmothers (who were those little girls back in that picture) would tell us many stories about the olden times. Stories of survival and defiance. They will recollect funny jokes; and how the streets looked back in 1917; and how their Mame made them kasha for breakfast; and how the Christian kids made fun of them at the Russian gymnasia; and what terrible things have transpired during the 1941 evacuation.
And this little town situated the farthest distance away from any government of any kind is still going to be a linchpin to our communal memories. We do not care for the house and its glechicks. The names and professions and the dreams of our ancestors are the only real “Jewish Riches” we will carry into the future.
Gimelberg's Relatives and Friends
Getzel Shmuel ben Yakov Gimelberg has relatives in town. His cousin Getzel ben Yankel Gimelberg and his wife Sora have a son Iosel Leib [dob: 1879], and daughter Mera [dob: 1882]
Three other neighbor families are worth to mention. They would become Gimelberg in-laws
Shneidermans. Shmuel Sheiderman will marry Fanya bat Leya Gimelberg
Volfsons are relatives of Gita Gimelberg future husband David ben Benzion Volfson
Federmans. Zus Federman will marry one of the Volfsons
If you wish to contact the family, please send your request there
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