Tag #152518 - Interview #101417 (Sarah Kaplan)

My grandfather and grandmother on my mother’s side, Joseph and Khaika Kivnik, were born in Berdichev in the 1870s. More than 90 per cent of the population of Berdichev was Jewish. The rest of the inhabitants were Ukrainians. They lived in the outskirts of town, where land wasn’t so expensive and where they could have enough space for gardens and orchards. People spoke Yiddish and Ukrainian in the town. There were several synagogues, cheders and Jewish schools in town. Jews were craftsmen for the most part. They bought products from the local farmers. There was a shochet at the market where Jews bought their poultry.