LUBOW BAZIUK

Social Worker and Librarian

Date and Place of Birth: 1929 in Viderta, Kamin-Kashyrskyi raion, Volyn oblast, Polissia, Ukraine

Date of Interview: June 8, 2017

Place of Interview: Toronto, Ontario

Interviewer: Zoriana Kilyk

Length of Interview: 01:39:43 (raw)

(Excerpt):

This is the situation, the new immigrants assimilate faster than we did. Because we didn’t come here to get wealthier. And the new immigrants come here to become wealthier.

We lived through such hardships in the camps where we had only two pairs of linens. I finished my gymnasium [equivalent to US preparatory high school] in one skirt and two blouses. For me, material things were not important. If I could buy a purse for $2, I wasn’t going to buy another one for $4 even if it’s better leather. I always thought to buy the cheapest thing. In Polish times, I lived in a village until I was 8 years old and went to a village school with village kids. When I was in the [European] gymnasium I was with the kids of intellectuals, and there was a war on and we wore whatever our mother gave us, and we never thought of any material belongings. We thought about bread and about being able to live during German times. We lived on the food that they gave us during war and a few people got second hand clothing that was sent to the camps. Mama was able to sew some things or launder, press and resew the second hand things. But I had a black skirt and 2 blouses, one white and one checkered, and 1 dress printed with cherry blossoms for zabavas [dances] and I was so happy and I didn’t need anything else. And that is the difference in psychology of our generation that we were happy that we were free, that we weren’t under the Bilshoveks, that we have freedom of speach, that we can read books, that we can publish books – I’ll show you my library. And we were happy with this. For us, materials things did not attract us.                                            

CROSS REFERENCES:

• Lubow Baziuk was interviewed by Chrystia Kolos on December 10, 2014 for the World War II oral history project. File #530 (Audio).

• Lubow Baziuk’s sister, Kateryna Sydorenko’s obituary

• Lubow Baziuk’s book Paths of Life downloadable in PDF on bukvoid.com.ua [in Ukrainian]

• Lubow Baziuk talks about her book Five Ears, the story about her ancestors, to dt.ua [in Ukrainian]

• Lubow Baziuk’s daughter, Dr. Natalia Baziuk, receives an award for her services