Lisa's Ukrainian Heritage

I have been exceedingly lucky - I have been able to see both where my grandmother Eva was born in western Ukraine, as well as where my mother was born in Germany during World War II!

In 2006 I went with my mother on a Western Ukraine Trip to meet with my grandmother's relatives, and to visit where she was born and where her parents were born. Earlier, in 2001, I had gone with my mother to visit Augsburg Germany, where my grandmother ended up during World War II.

My grandmother Eva was born in Brody Ukraine to a farming family. She was Eva Makowsky Sydorovna, born 18-Feb-1910. In Russian/Ukrainian a person's full name was first name/family name/father's first name with -ovna for women and -ovich for men. When the war hit and Eva's true love was swept away by the conflicts, Eva's dad Sydor yelled at her for waiting around for her love to return - that she was now an old maid at 28. She grew tired of this was lured by German "we need workers" ads and went to Germany with her brother.

Eva worked on a farm in Pforzheim, Germany, a medium sized town with a railway station. The farm was run by a wife - the husband was off to war. Her younger brother was sent to the coal mines, which he hated, and he tried to go back home. The Germans caught him and sent him to the concentration camps, where he starved to death two years later. My grandmother dreamt one night that he came to her, saying he tried to stay alive but they didn't feed him enough. She woke up calling to him and her farmhouse woman tried to say it was just a dream.

After the US forces came in to Germany, Eva was gathered up as one of the "dispossesed people" along with her infant - my mom. They were brough to the American barracks in Augsburg. When my mom was 6 they then came over to New Haven with my mom's stepfather, Anton, to set up their new life.

Brody, Ukraine - the big red spot

Maps of the Brody, Ukraine region
History of Brody, Ukraine and Eva's links to Brody

Photos and Notes
Large collection of photos from the Ukraine, from Germany, and from New Haven
Germany Travelogue with Photos
Ukraine Travelogue with Photos

Ukrainian Culture
Reviews of Movies about Ukraine
Reviews of Ukrainian Music CDs

Lisa's Genealogy Pages