New York not on Manhattan

Founded in 1888, the village of New York in Donbas, Ukraine, was once a thriving community with a rich Mennonite German heritage. Back in the days, it prospered with mills, factories, and schools; Soviet repression, World War I, forced deportations, and now relentless bombings. The ongoing war with Russia seems to have erased New York's future and much of its past, devastating the city and transforming it in a shadow of its former self.

New York not on Manhattan portrays residents of this resilient town: two Halynas that shelter in a Baptist church, a shop assistant Lyuda, who continues her work despite the danger. Borys, now 87, mourns the harmony he knew growing up, with Ukrainian and Mennonite neighbors sharing traditions. His childhood friend Erna and the German population were deported in 1941, victims of war and repression. Similarly, Nicolaus Klassen had exiled to Kazakhstan for years, and found a town in ruins upon his return. His daughter Maria works in Bremen’s dissident archives, and views New York as a symbol of hope and identity.

Next to them, Kryvyi Torets River keeps flowing silently, as to echo the fragility of human existence.

Despite its almost complete destruction, New York endures as a testament to resilience. The series aims to show the strenght of its people and heritage, though scarred by history, in the hope to foster its renewal and recognition.