We drove from Chortkiv on to Tovste, which is the town that Lisa lived in prior to WWII, and the place she fled to the forest from when the Nazis pushed the Red Army back--the region was invaded by the Russians in 1939, then the Nazis held the region from 1941 until 1944, when the Red Army recaptured the area. The town is now very poor. Our driver, a native Pole, said that it was the most depressing place that he had visited. Which, he was quick to point out, was saying something.
So amidst the poverty, we were amazed at the relatively good condition of the Jewish cemetary in Tovste. It was overgrown a bit with grass, but the tombstones themselves were spared being destroyed in a purposeful way (which we saw repeatedly throughout Poland), and had survived the neglect over the years. it was a place that could be fixed up and restored. That was an unexpected and welcome surprise.
We drove from Chortkiv on to Tovste, which is the town that Lisa lived in prior to WWII, and the place she fled to the forest from when the Nazis pushed the Red Army back--the region was invaded by the Russians in 1939, then the Nazis held the region from 1941 until 1944, when the Red Army recaptured the area. The town is now very poor. Our driver, a native Pole, said that it was the most depressing place that he had visited. Which, he was quick to point out, was saying something.
So amidst the poverty, we were amazed at the relatively good condition of the Jewish cemetary in Tovste. It was overgrown a bit with grass, but the tombstones themselves were spared being destroyed in a purposeful way (which we saw repeatedly throughout Poland), and had survived the neglect over the years. it was a place that could be fixed up and restored. That was an unexpected and welcome surprise.
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