Family History

By Matthew Nemirov

“We carry responsibility for our ancestor, for our grandparents, great-grandparents and we carry a lot.”

Matthew: Hi, I’m Matthew Nemirov and I’m here with my father…

Peter: Peter Nemirovksy

Matthew: And we’re going to be talking about our Jewish values and our Jewish family history. All right, so, what is a story that most often is being brought up in our family, that's very common?

Peter: Yeah, the most story, it's a story of our family, which has started, I think, a hundred years ago back in Russia and actually in Ukraine, in the shtetl, in the Jewish shtetl when our ancestors just have been living and they move from country to country. They tried to survive and being in exile and finally they settle in the Ukraine shtetl and then it's a root of our family started there. And then they go through whole torment and the torture and went through the World War I, World War II. Big part of that family had been executed by Nazi and the survivors moved to United States. And a huge part of our family have been settled here and now we continue our…genetics is continue to be, and our family continue to grow. It's like in a whole, whole long story which I look it back from maybe based off our last name, which is going root back to ancient period of Jewish history and way back today to United States. And recently, we have a family reunion and all of a big part of our family, which is spread around the United States and different state, we come together one day, the grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren would get together and we'd be surprised how strong our family is and we still growing.

Matthew: Yeah. So, on that note, how does knowing our family history and how far back we go and how much our whole family had to go through, how does that motivate you or what does that remind you of in your head and how does that push you forward?

Peter: Well, first of all, it's feeling of togetherness and feeling of belonging. And also it's give us a understanding that we… not ourself. We are part of a big temple of family and this kind of small, small synagogue. Our family, it's a huge family. Its part of like a… I could say it's a synagogue and we carry responsibility for our ancestor, for our grandparents, great-grandparents and we carry a lot of… it's give us a feeling of responsibility and feeling of belonging to something. We are not like dust on the wind. We are deeply rooted to the history, like in the whole Jewish and a big part of Jewish history.

Matthew: Now, since we're rooted in history and all that, as you said, how does… so, was it, like, easy for you, knowing what our family's been through and how does… when you come in, since you were born, since you had to move and immigrate, was this easy for you, you know, to take on?

Peter: Of course it's not easier. Absolutely not. It's a lot of struggle, a lot of challenges, a lot of work. And everybody will find his own way to live, of course. But at the same time…and I been proud to see, again, when it was at this family reunion, it's very proud and very interesting to see that each of us…achieve, make a lot of achievement in a different area of life. We have a doctor, we have a social worker, we have a writer, we have a lawyer, we have a rabbi in our family. We have a variety of choices. We representing the whole area of human life. And it was amazing how everybody struggle on his own but achieves a lot, which give us a feeling that we are the great, great family. And so I was…proud, and I believe everybody very proud in that day.

Matthew: All right, well, thank you so much for your time and for this interview.