Tour of Zhitomir

The city of Zhitomir lies about 180 kilometers west of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. The drive takes almost 3 hours, and we took that journey the evening after the long flight from Toronto on May 13th. Zhitomir has a population of about 250,000. We stayed at the Hotel Ukraine for 13 nights, and mostly did day trips seeking out ancestral villages requested by members of our tour group of 12 persons from Canada, USA and Britain. All of us had one thing in common - an interest in researching family history relating to the time our ancestors had lived in Volhynia.

On May 22nd we had a short tour of some of the highlights of the City of Zhitomir. Alex, Don Miller's assistnat, led the tour. He started with a height of land that marked the founding of the city by the leader of a Slavic tribe known as the Drevlians.

This Orthodox church was turned into a natural history museum in Soviet times. Today there are demands for it to be returned to the church. Ah! - but who is the rightful owner? the Bishop in Russia or in Kiev?

This picture shows part of the area where the annual Ashkenaz Jewish festival is held each year in Zhitomir. People come from many parts of the world.

The Roman Catholic Church of St. Sofia is nearby.

An adjacent construction site illustrates the different techniques used here.

Inside St Sofia's church, Alex reveals secrets about the caves that lie below. This is one place he explored and played with his friends during his childhood. During war and revolutionary times, people hid out in these caves.

We are looking at the remains of a building that became a temporary prison for thousands arrested during the Great Terror under Stalin. Many were shot in the back of the head and buried in mass graves.

This is a centre for Polish culture in Zhitomir. Later we ate dinner here and had a short tour of the facility. It was of great interest - especially for two of our group members, Anita and Michael Wasilewski.

We are approaching the monument marking the victory of the Russian Soviet troops over the Nazis in Zhitomir in 1944.

Alex explains how every battalion is listed on the monument (behind his legs). You can see how massive this monument is.

Looking away from the monument towards the River Teterev.

A local artist paints the river scene including the dam and water above the dam.

Two goats skip and play, and sometimes stop to graze in the shadow of the monument.

Looking up toward the height of land on which the monument is built.

We stopped to see the former Lutheran Church in Zhitomir. Most of the German settlers who came to Volhynia in the 19th century were Lutheran.

This large Evangelische church (Lutheran) in Zhitomir was closed for many years. In our time it has re-opened as a Baptist Church.

Here is the Zhitomir memorial to the millions who died in the massive starvation of 1932-33. Many believe there is evidence that it was a calculated effort to enforce collectivization of agriculture, and any who resisted in any way, or were even suspected, paid the price with their lives or by being exiled. Will the world finally recognize that this was indeed a holocaust? Ukraine is waiting to see.

Our group stopped for our evening meal at the Polish Cultural Centre.

Behind the centre one can see the ravine where many tried to hide from the KGB during the years of terror.

Michael and Anita Wasilewski (brother and sister) pause for a picture inside the Polish Cultural Centre. Their father was born in a Polish village in Volhynia. They came looking for their lost family history and found a new extended family of relatives who sought them out from as far away as Kazakhstan.