Story by Yakira Bass, Nesanel branch, 6th generation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introduction<\/strong> Antisemitism in the countryside: Pogroms<\/strong> Later in 1928 Nesanel and Rachil and their five youngest children, came to Canada. And joined
My Family History. To begin my family history project I am going to discuss some of the
events\/and situations that were going on during or before my family’s emigration. My paternal
family all stem from Eastern Europe. Namely Ukraine, Russia, and Poland. So let\u2019s take a look at
what was happening in the countries.
Antisemitism in The Russian Empire<\/strong>
In Eastern Europe specifically, The Russian Empire instituted many Antisemitic
laws\/policies made by the government. One of these was the Pale of Settlement. The Pale of
Settlement was a designated region where Jews were forced to live. Meaning that if the Jews left
this specific area they risked being killed. The Pale of Settlement was officialized in 1791 with
the purpose of ridding Moscow of Jews. The Pale finally ended in 1917 because of the Russian
Revolution. Unfortunately, the Pale was not the only Antisemitic Policy put in place under the
Russian Empire. One prime example of this is the May laws. The May laws were regulations
regarding the Jewish population of The Russian Empire. They were put in place in 1882 by Tsar
Alexander III. Originally they were intended to be temporary but they ended up staying in effect
for over thirty years. One of the May laws includes a law that Jews weren\u2019t allowed to own
property. These are both displays of Antisemitism in the Russian Empire\u2019s government.
However, Antisemitism in The Russian Empire didn\u2019t just exist in the cities. It was also found in
villages in the countryside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A particularly disturbing example of Antisemitism in the countryside is pogroms.
Oxford dictionary defines pogrom as \u201cAn organized massacre of a particular ethnic group, in
particular, that of Jewish people in Russia or eastern Europe.\u201d In simpler words essentially a
pogrom is a planned attack against a group of Jews. In the late 19th century and early 20th
century, Pogroms began to spread through Eastern Europe, beginning with the Odessa pogroms
in 1881. Some pogroms that may have directly impacted my family include the First and Second
Russian Tsarist Pogroms, the Kyiv pogrom, and the Lw\u00f3w (lwuf) pogrom. And if we total the
number of deaths directly resulting from just these four pogroms we can estimate that about
3,000 jews were killed.
Forced Conscription<\/strong>
In 1825, Tsar Nicholas I ordered the conscription of all Jewish males into the Russian imperial
military, with the conscription beginning at age 12. Many of the boys forced into the military
were captured by “snatchers” (khapers). Khapers were Jews who caught\/kidnapped other Jews of
any age or status and handed them over to conscription centers. This was a brutal way to fulfill
the enlistment quotas set by the Tsar. For many Jewish communities in the Russian Empire, the
19th century is often recalled as a time where Jews were forced to the front line and used as
“cannon fodder”. This was a very hard time with many families losing their fathers, brothers, and
sons.
Russian Revolution<\/strong>
The Russian Revolution was a political and social revolution that took place in the Russian
Empire. It began near the end of the First World War, in 1917 with the fall of the House of
Romanov. And it concluded in 1923 with the Bolshevik establishment of the Soviet Union. The
Russian Revolution was a series of two revolutions: the first of which overthrew the imperial
government and the second placed the Bolsheviks in power. The Bolsheviks later became the
communist party. The actual revolution consisted of the working class revolting against Tsar
Nicholas II.
My History<\/strong>
Now that we\u2019ve covered some of the main events happening while my relatives were in Europe
let’s begin talking about my family. Today I am primarily going to be focusing on my great
grandmother\u2019s family and her emmigration process. However, I will briefly touch on my other
family member\u2019s origins. And with that let\u2019s begin.
My great grandmother Bobl Kudinsky was born in 1903 to Nesanel and Rachil Kudinsky. She
was the fourth of her parent\u2019s ten children. And was born in Belilovka, Ukraine. A small
village\/shtetl with a Jewish population of about 2,223 (In the 1897 census). The Jewish
community was small, making up only 46% of the village. Bobl and her family were religious
Jews. Meaning they were subjected to the Antisemitism of the Russian Empire. This was one of
the main reasons for my family\u2019s migration.
The first of my family to leave was Bobl\u2019s brother Leib. Nesanel and Rachil sent Leib away out
of fear he would be conscripted into the Russian Army. They sent Leib to palestine. He lived
there for about three years. But ultimately the family decided that he should go to Canada where
relatives from other branches of the Kudinsky family would welcome him. He arrived in
Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1924.
Bobl left Ukraine in 1926 with her sister Raisal, brother-in-law Bentzie and their two daughters
Sarah and Dwasa. All together they boarded the SS Melita and disembarked in Quebec City 7
days later. Because Leib was already in Winnipeg the group settled there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the family in Winnipeg. That same year Max\/Mordechai Applebaum, a man Bobl had met in
Ukraine, came to Canada. Max came from a small town in Poland called Slavutich. He came to
Canada mainly to marry Bobl. And so they did, Bobl and Max married in the summer of 1930.
Then in 1939 Bobl gave birth to my grandmother Miriam \u201cMimi\u201d. She was the second of their
five children and was born in Winnipeg.
Mimi grew up and met Jake Bass. Jake was the son of two immigrants from Pavlovitch, Russia.
He fought in the Canadian Navy in WWII. And after took a job in Vancouver. Jake and Mimi
married in 1960. And Mimi moved to Vancouver to live with Jake. In August of 1961, Mimi
gave birth to my father Richard Bass. The first of their three children.
In 1967 the family moved to Toronto, Ontario, because Jake got a job offer there. Years and
years later my dad met my mother Michelle \u201cEllie\u201d Stoker in 2004. Ellie was a new convert to
Judaism and the daughter of a British immigrant and a French Canadian. Ellie and Richard
married in August of 2005. And in July of 2006 gave birth to me. Yakira Rachel Bass. A year
and a half later in March of 2008 they gave birth to my brother Yonah. And that is how my
family came to be in Toronto, Ontario. Many people and many situations have led me and my
family to this very moment, and I could not be more grateful for my ancestors and the sacrifices
they made to give me such a privileged life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n