Witness Testimony of Shena Abramovna Konfino (née Peysakh)

Note: This originated from krymchaks.info, a Russian language blog on all things Krymchak, and has been translated by Bethany (Batya) Klein in order to bring it to the broader English speaking world.

Mikhail Gurdzhi | The Crimean Holocaust | December 06, 2020

On the 80th anniversary of the tragic events of the Crimean Holocaust, in memory of our relatives and loved ones killed by the Nazis in 1941–1942, we publish the complete list of genocide victims from the letter of Shena Abramovna Konfino (born 1917), a resident of Feodosia who miraculously survived the war. The list was forwarded by us to Yad Vashem.

Date: 29.11.2020

To: Yad Vashem – The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority

From: Gurdzhi Mikhail

Greetings,

I have the honor of forwarding to you a copy of an original letter that I received on March 16, 1991, at my address in the city of Simferopol, Crimean Region, USSR, from Holocaust survivor Ms. Konfino (maiden name Peysakh), born in the city of Feodosia (birth year 1917), who lived in her hometown in the early 1990s.

Her name in English: SHENA ABRAMOVNA KONFINO

Ms. Shena Konfino's letter is an important testimony from the period of the Holocaust on the Crimean Peninsula in the years 1941–1942 regarding Jews of the Krymchak community: most of them are members of Ms. Shena Konfino's (Peysakh) extended family. The letter contains a list of those murdered, categorized by the cities of Simferopol, Kerch, and Feodosia. The letter was written in Russian, so I will also write the names in the Russian language.

I am also attaching to this letter a family photograph from 1925 showing some of those who perished in the Holocaust, accompanied by my research in Russian, which explains this photograph in detail.

I request that you add all missing names to your lists of Holocaust victims at Yad Vashem and confirm this to me in writing. Below is the list from the letter:

Feodosia. Executed on December 11, 1941

Konfino Stera with two children

Konfino Anichka (Anna)

Konfino Boris

Konfino, biological mother (mother of Sh.A. Konfino’s husband, Zakhar Borisovich Konfino)

Levi Sofya (Sultan) Abramovna (biological sister of Sh.A. Konfino, née Peysakh)

Levi Shomel (husband of S.A. Levi)

Their children: Levi Fira, 10 years old, and Levi Riva, 12 years old

Mangupli Yudokai

Mangupli Klara-apa

Mangupli Rina

Mangupli Sonya

Mangupli Anya

Mangupli Stera

Mangupli Betya

Peysakh Yakov Davidovich (biological brother of Sh.A. Konfino's father)

Peysakh Donapay — his wife

Peysakh Yesik (Iosif) Yakovlevich — their son

Peysakh Olga Yakovlevna — their daughter

Peysakh Khana Yakovlevna — their daughter

Levi Zinaida Aronovna

Levi Aleksandra Isakovna

Khafuz Raisa Yakovlevna

Gurevich Anna Yakovlevna

Simferopol. Executed on December 11–13, 1941

24. Kaya Lazer (Lazar) Yevshuvovich (biological brother of Sh.A. Konfino's mother)

25. Kaya Riva — his wife

26. Kaya Liza (Elizaveta) Lazarevna — their daughter

27. Kaya Yura (Yuri) Lazarevich — their son

28. Kaya Anechka (Anna) Lazarevna — their daughter

Feodosia. Executed on December 11, 1941

29. Peysakh Nysym-aka (biological brother of Sh.A. Konfino's father)

30. Peysakh Bacheva (Basheva)-apa

Kerch. Executed on June 26, 1942

31. Peysakh Abram Davidovich (father of Sh.A. Konfino)

32. Peysakh Olya (Ora-Khaya) Yevshuvovna (mother of Sh.A. Konfino)

33. Peysakh Yura (Yuri) Abramovich (biological brother of Sh.A. Konfino)

34. Peysakh (by marriage Filipskaia) Tamara Abramovna (biological sister of Sh.A. Konfino)

35. Peysakh (Filipskaia) Svetochka (Svetlana), 3 years old, daughter of Tamara Peysakh (according to E.A. Peysakh, the children bore the father's surname, Filipsky)

36. Peysakh (Filipsky) Vitinka (Viktor), 1 year old, son of Tamara Peysakh

37. Bakshi Ilyusha

38. Bakshi Olya

39. Bakshi Sima

40. Bakshi Zhenya

42. Bakshi Vera

43. Gabai Olga and her entire family

44. Anzhelo Yesik (Iosif) with the note "were partisans"

45. Anzhelo Yasha with the note "were partisans"

46. Anzhelo Isak with the note "were partisans"

47. Anzhelo Zhenya

48. Anzhelo Lenya

49. Valit Mikhail

50. Konfino Yefim Borisovich

51. Konfino Yesik (Iosif)

Feodosia. Executed on December 12, 1941

52. Konfino Yefim Borisovich — listed repeatedly

53. Konfino Yesik (Iosif) Borisovich — listed repeatedly

54. Levi Isak

55. Levi Abram

56. Piastro Isak

57. Piastro Raya

58. Konfino Raya

59. Konfino Musya

60. Tokatly Yudopay (Yuda)

61. Tokatly Raya

62. Achkinazi Masey (Moisei)

63. Achkinazi Isak

64. Achkinazi Ava-apa

65. Achkinazi (first name illegible)

66. Omitted

67. Anzhelo Isak — listed repeatedly with the note "died as partisans in Feodosia"

68. Anzhelo Yasha — listed repeatedly with the note "died as partisans in Feodosia"

69. Anzhelo Zhenya with 2 children — Zhenya listed repeatedly; two children listed for the first time

70. Anzhelo Yesik (Iosif) — listed repeatedly

71. Valit Mikhail — listed repeatedly

72. Anzhelo Lenya — listed repeatedly

Surnames and names without a number:

Simferopol

Abraben Yusuf-aka and his entire large family — lived at Vostochny Lane in Simferopol, relatives of Sh.A. Konfino.

Neiman Masha (Maria)

Neiman Misha (Mikhail) — relative of Sh.A. Konfino.

Letter from Shena (Yevgenia) Abramovna Konfino (née Peysakh) to M.Ya. Gurdzhi, dated March 16, 1991.