RelatioNet SI GR 43 SA AU

RelatioNet SI GR 43 SA AU

Silvi Green

Holocaust Project Katzanelson High School

Kfar Saba  Israel

emails: nadavziv1998@gmail.com, uzielinbal123@gmail.com, relationet2014@gmail.com

First name: Silvi

Last name: Green

Previous name: Yungebirt

Date of birth: September 18th 1943                                

Country of birth: Auzbekistan

City of birth: Samarkand 

Samarqand

Samarqand or Samarcand, is a city in modern-day Uzbekistan and is one of the oldest inhabited cities in Central Asia.
 There is evidence of human activity in the area of the city from the late Paleolithic era, though there is no direct evidence of when exactly Samarkand was founded: according to some theories it was founded between the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Prospering from its location on the Silk Road between China and the Mediterranean, at times Samarkand was one of the greatest cities of Central Asia.

Historically, Samarkand was a diverse religious community. Since the 8th century when the Arabs entered Central Asia, Islam has become the main religion. According to some sources, approximately 90% of people are Sunni while Christianity, and Judaism are minor religions.

By the time of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, it was the capital of the Sogdian satrapy. The city was taken by Alexander the Great in 329 BC, when it was known by its Greek name of Marakanda. The city was ruled by a succession of Iranian, Persian, and Turkish peoples until the Mongols under Genghis    Khan conquered Samarkand in 1220.

In 1500 the Uzbek nomadic warriors took control of Samarkand. The Shaybanids emerged as the Uzbek leaders at or about this time.

 In the second quarter of 16th century, the Shaybanids moved their capital to Bukhara and Samarkand went into decline. After an assault by Nader Shah the city was abandoned in the 18th century. About 1720 or a few years later, Samarkand was ruled by the mighty emirs of Bukhara.

Today, Samarkand is the capital of Samarqand Region, and Uzbekistan's second largest city. The city is noted for being an Islamic center for scholarly study.

Silvi's Story

Silvi was born on 28/9/1943 in Samarqand.

Before the world war II:

The Green family consisted of a father, Yehezkel, a mother, Falomeya and two girls, Miryam and Malka.

Silvi doesn’t know how her parents met each other, but she knows that her father was a good friend of her mother's uncle.

Yehezkel and Falomeya, Silvi's parents, were the only ones that survived from their families. All her father's brothers died. Each one of her sisters has children and grandchildren.
Silvi’s parents were religious and kept a Kosher home.

During the World War II:

Silvi's mother hid 10 partisans until someone informed on her and she was about to be executed with her older sister.  The German who was about to execute her decided to release her because she told him about her children. As a result, he remembered his own children, acted mercifully and let her go.

Her family escaped to Russia to a small place and then moved to Siberia.

Her family remained in Siberia for several years and then they moved to Uzbekistan. Afterwards, Silvi was born in 1943.  

 

At the end of the world war II:

 Silvi and her family came back to Poland.

One of the hardest things that Silvi remembers is the fact that her parents have never talked with her at home about the Holocaust and about what they had gone through.

After the World War II:

Silvi’s family made “Aliya” to Israel and she studied in Katzanelson high school in Kfar Saba.

Today, she volunteers in the library of Brener primary school and she likes to travel a lot, especially to Greece.

Silvi has a few good friends. She likes to volunteer at the library of the primary school Brenner and help the children. In addition, She likes to read books: she reads about 6-5 books per month.

Silvi speaks 7 languages: Polish (native language), Russian, Latin (the language she learned in school) and Spanish that she learned during her work at the embassy of Israel in Argentina.

She believes in God. She is a traditional Jew. She lights candles on Fridays. On Saturday night she says " Shabat prayer", but she doesn’t keep kosher as before at home, where her parents kept a Kosher kitchen.

Silvi was celebrating the Jewish religious festivals with her family and since her parents died she doesn’t like to celebrate these Jewish religious festivals like she used to.

One of her sisters, Miryam is holding a senior position as a gynecologist in Switzerland and Poland. Her other sister, Malka works as a secretary in Tel Aviv University.

Her youngest sister is keeping kosher and goes to the synagogue in the Jewish religious festivals. Her older sister does not keep kosher.

Every time the children of her sisters come to visit, they make Kiddush and she likes it.

map: Silvi's voyage to Israel