Natan Shafir collection
Extent and Medium
folder
1
168 digital images, TIFF
Creator(s)
- Natan Shafir
Biographical History
Natan Aronovich Shafir was born in 1910 in the city of Detstvo, but his family moved to Odessa during his youth. He became a journalist, and moved to Kharkov, Ukraine as a young man. From there, he moved to Kiev, and married Ida Shneidermann in 1935. She was also a journalist, and worked for the popular children's journal "Periwinkle." One year later, they had a son, Yuri. Prior to the war, Natan Shafir worked as Secretary of the Communist Youth newspaper "Stalin's Tribe." In May of 1941, he enlisted in the Soviet Army as a Lieutenant in the Tank Corps, bound for the Western border. During this time, he also served as editor of the military newspaper "The Fighting Red Army." He was presumed killed a year later on May 23, 1942, during a battle around Kharkov. The last letter to his family is dated May 14, 1942.
Archival History
Center for the Studies of History and Culture of East European Jewry (Judaica Center) of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Kyiv, Ukraine
Acquisition
Forms part of the Claims Conference International Holocaust Documentation Archive at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This archive consists of documentation whose reproduction and/or acquisition was made possible with funding from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Source of acquisition is the Center for the Studies of History and Culture of East European Jewry (Judaica Center) of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Kyiv, Ukraine. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives received the photocopied collection via the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum International Archives Project in April 2006.
Scope and Content
The collection contains a photocopy of a published book of Natan Shafir's letters, saved by his son. These letters span the brief period of July 1941 to May of 1942, and were sent by Natan Shafir to his family living in Chkalov. The collection also contains photocopies of the actual letters, telegrams, and postcards, some of which display Soviet war art. There are also three photocopies of newspaper clippings.
System of Arrangement
Organized in three main sections: photocopy of the book “Letters from the Front”; photocopies of the actual letters; followed by photocopies of newspaper articles.
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Center for the Studies of History and Culture of East European Jewry (Judaica Center) of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Kyiv, Ukraine
People
- Shafir, Natan, 1910-1942.
Subjects
- World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Jewish--Ukraine.
- Jews--Ukraine--Correspondence.
- Jews--Ukraine--Memoirs.
- Jewish soldiers--Ukraine.
Genre
- Document
Copies
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum holds copies of Holocaust-relevant archives from Instytut i︠u︡daïky