Israel Gliazer’s grandfather Gershl Leviter

This is my maternal grandfather Gershl Leviter. This photo was taken for a document in Skalat in late 1930s.

I come from Western Ukraine. This land belonged to Austria-Hungary before World War I, later it belonged to Poland, in 1939 it became a part of the USSR and at present it is a Ukrainian terrain. My mother's mother whose name I don't remember and her father Gershl Leviter were born in a small town called Skalat, Ternopol district, in the middle of 19th century. My grandmother had died before I was born. My grandfather worked at the mill owned by some wealthy Jew. He was religious. Like all Jews of his time he wore a kippah and had beard. He went to synagogue on Saturdays and holidays. My grandparents observed traditions and holidays. My grandfather lived a long life. He died in late 1939. 

My mother's family was a middle class family. My grandparents had a house in Skalat where only my mother's older sister and her family stayed to live with their parents. Unfortunately, I don't remember the names of my mother's brothers or sisters. All I know is that their two older brothers had some argument with their father and moved to America shortly after World War I. There was no contact with them afterward. One of my mother's older sisters, her husband and their children lived in Zborov town, near Skalat.