How My Grandfather Stole a Shoe (And Survived the Holocaust in Ukraine)

April 8, 2026 Newbury Free
Cobbler Shoes Shoemaker Paul Stollery Unsplash
(Photo: Paul Stollery/iStock)

During World War II, thousands of Moldovan Jews were imprisoned in the Obodovka ghetto, located in the Romanian-occupied part of Ukraine. Unlike the areas under German control where Jews faced systematic extermination, survival rates were marginally higher under Romanian occupation, as soldiers there did not pursue mass executions with bullets. Despite this, most of the ghetto’s inhabitants succumbed to starvation and disease during the harsh first winter.

Journalist Julie Masis captures this lesser-known chapter of the Holocaust through the memories of her grandfather Shlomo Masis, a survivor who lived to the remarkable age of 102.

His recollections reveal stories of resilience, including how some Ukrainians aided the Jews in the ghetto. Masis also delves into a poignant family legend about a German medic who reportedly fell in love with her Jewish grandmother.

This narrative sheds light on both the horrors and the unexpected human connections that emerged during one of history’s darkest periods.

Julie Masis is the editor and publisher of the Russian Boston Gazette. She is also a freelance journalist whose stories have been published in The Boston Globe, The Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post, Christian Science Monitor, The Guardian, and in other newspapers and magazines.

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Fact Sheet
When
Wednesday, April 8, 2026, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Where
Newbury Town Hall
12 Kent Way
Newbury, MA 01922
Price
Free

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