Description
The Russian Civil War (1917-1921) was fought among Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, and Germans, and transformed Eastern Europe. Horrific pogroms against Jews were perpetrated by all sides. Michael Nutkiewicz’s uncle, Eli Gumener was a Jewish aid worker in Ukraine during the war. Gumener’s memoir, originally published in 1921, and newly translated by Nutkiewicz, recounts the dislocations and violence, and the complications of bringing relief to victims. The geo-political consequences of this war can be seen in today’s conflicts.
Michael Nutkiewicz taught Jewish history at UNM. He directed the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, was senior historian at the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, led the Program for Torture Victims in Los Angeles, and managed the refugee resettlement program at Catholic Charities New Mexico. He was director of Oasis Albuquerque from 2010-2014. Nutkiewicz’s translation of Gumener’s memoir, A Ukrainian Chapter: A Jewish Aid Worker’s Memoir of Sorrow, was published in 2022.