I became a Young Octobrist 4 and then a pioneer. I was very proud of wearing a red necktie and took an active part in public activities. The majority of my classmates were Jews. There were also quite a few Jewish teachers, so we didn't face any anti-Semitism at school. The period of the campaign against cosmopolitans 5 in 1948 didn't affect me.
- Traditions 11756
- Language spoken 3019
- Identity 7808
- Description of town 2440
- Education, school 8506
- Economics 8772
- Work 11672
- Love & romance 4929
- Leisure/Social life 4159
- Antisemitism 4822
-
Major events (political and historical)
4256
- Armenian genocide 2
- Doctor's Plot (1953) 178
- Soviet invasion of Poland 31
- Siege of Leningrad 86
- The Six Day War 4
- Yom Kippur War 2
- Ataturk's death 5
- Balkan Wars (1912-1913) 35
- First Soviet-Finnish War 37
- Occupation of Czechoslovakia 1938 83
- Invasion of France 9
- Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact 65
- Varlik Vergisi (Wealth Tax) 36
- First World War (1914-1918) 216
- Spanish flu (1918-1920) 14
- Latvian War of Independence (1918-1920) 4
- The Great Depression (1929-1933) 20
- Hitler comes to power (1933) 127
- 151 Hospital 1
- Fire of Thessaloniki (1917) 9
- Greek Civil War (1946-49) 12
- Thessaloniki International Trade Fair 5
- Annexation of Bukovina to Romania (1918) 7
- Annexation of Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union (1940) 19
- The German invasion of Poland (1939) 94
- Kishinev Pogrom (1903) 7
- Romanian Annexation of Bessarabia (1918) 25
- Returning of the Hungarian rule in Transylvania (1940-1944) 43
- Soviet Occupation of Bessarabia (1940) 59
- Second Vienna Dictate 27
- Estonian war of independence 3
- Warsaw Uprising 2
- Soviet occupation of the Balitc states (1940) 147
- Austrian Civil War (1934) 9
- Anschluss (1938) 71
- Collapse of Habsburg empire 3
- Dollfuß Regime 3
- Emigration to Vienna before WWII 36
- Kolkhoz 131
- KuK - Königlich und Kaiserlich 40
- Mineriade 1
- Post War Allied occupation 7
- Waldheim affair 5
- Trianon Peace Treaty 12
- NEP 56
- Russian Revolution 351
- Ukrainian Famine 199
- The Great Terror 283
- Perestroika 233
- 22nd June 1941 468
- Molotov's radio speech 115
- Victory Day 147
- Stalin's death 365
- Khrushchev's speech at 20th Congress 148
- KGB 62
- NKVD 153
- German occupation of Hungary (18-19 March 1944) 45
- Józef Pilsudski (until 1935) 33
- 1956 revolution 84
- Prague Spring (1968) 73
- 1989 change of regime 174
- Gomulka campaign (1968) 81
-
Holocaust
9685
- Holocaust (in general) 2789
- Concentration camp / Work camp 1235
- Mass shooting operations 337
- Ghetto 1183
- Death / extermination camp 647
- Deportation 1063
- Forced labor 791
- Flight 1410
- Hiding 594
- Resistance 121
- 1941 evacuations 866
- Novemberpogrom / Kristallnacht 34
- Eleftherias Square 10
- Kasztner group 1
- Pogrom in Iasi and the Death Train 21
- Sammelwohnungen 9
- Strohmann system 11
- Struma ship 17
- Life under occupation 803
- Yellow star house 72
- Protected house 15
- Arrow Cross ("nyilasok") 42
- Danube bank shots 6
- Kindertransport 26
- Schutzpass / false papers 95
- Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943) 24
- Warsaw Uprising (1944) 23
- Helpers 521
- Righteous Gentiles 269
- Returning home 1090
- Holocaust compensation 112
- Restitution 109
- Property (loss of property) 595
- Loss of loved ones 1724
- Trauma 1029
- Talking about what happened 1807
- Liberation 558
- Military 3322
- Politics 2640
-
Communism
4468
- Life in the Soviet Union/under Communism (in general) 2592
- Anti-communist resistance in general 63
- Nationalization under Communism 221
- Illegal communist movements 98
- Systematic demolitions under communism 45
- Communist holidays 311
- Sentiments about the communist rule 930
- Collectivization 94
- Experiences with state police 349
- Prison/Forced labor under communist/socialist rule 449
- Lack or violation of human and citizen rights 483
- Life after the change of the regime (1989) 493
- Israel / Palestine 2190
- Zionism 847
- Jewish Organizations 1200
Displaying 14701 - 14730 of 50826 results
Michael Kotliar
I finished the 6th grade in 1950 when I turned 16 and could no longer stay at school. My older brother was a shoemaker and my father was a tailor, but they couldn't provide well for the family. Life was pretty expensive after the war. A loaf of bread cost almost half of my brother's monthly salary. I went to the 7th grade of an evening school and worked as a shoemaker during the day. Most of the shoemakers in Chernovtsy were Jews. I didn't really like this work. It was hard work, and I didn't feel like fixing other people's worn shoes for the rest of my life. I joined a crew of electricians at the Selenergo association. I was an apprentice there. We were responsible for power supply to the surrounding villages. Our crew leader was an older Jewish man. He treated me kindly and taught me everything he knew. Later he went to work at the motor plant and I was appointed crew leader.
One day I was invited by the secretary of the party unit. He offered me to become a member of the party. It was my dream so I agreed. I believed in the ideas of communism. Lenin and Stalin were my idols. I entered the Evening University of Marxism-Leninism. I graduated from three faculties: philosophy, Marxism-Leninism and esthetics. I was very fond of reading classic works of Marxism-Leninism and believed in the bright and happy future of mankind. Religion was a vestige of the past for me. Upon graduation from the University of Marxism-Leninism I first became deputy secretary of the party unit of the factory and then secretary. I was involved in public activities arranging socialist competition between crews at the plant, performed our obligatory scope of work and surpassed our plans. On Soviet holidays we marched at parades carrying red flags and banners with communist slogans. I was well respected at work and there was no anti-Semitism.
I remember Stalin's death in March 1953. I was working at the factory when I heard the announcement on the radio about Stalin. People were crying and feeling lost. All of a sudden we heard the sound of sirens on the building of the factory. I was in grief and so were many other people. Nobody was hiding his tears. We felt like our life was over and we didn't know what was going to happen to us.
When Khrushchev 7 spoke at the Twentieth Party Congress 8 and denounced Stalin's crimes many of my friends, Jews, refused to believe it. Even an acquaintance of mine who had spent 20 years in the Gulag 9 thought that it was a lie. However, I believed what Khrushchev said and thought it was necessary to tell people about Stalin's crimes. I still believed in the ideals of communism and was an active member of the Communist Party: I attended meetings and spoke at the meetings, but I began to understand that there were different people among communists, some of whom were far from decent.
My parents continued observing all Jewish traditions after the war. It was a rule of life for them. They always celebrated Pesach. I respected their way of life. Although I was a Komsomol and a party member I joined them for the celebration of Pesach and other Jewish holidays. I didn't see any contradiction between my new outlooks and my respectful attitude towards family traditions. I didn't join them for prayers as I was a convinced communist, but I enjoyed the festive dinner on Sabbath. On Saturdays and Jewish holidays my parents went to the synagogue. They had their own seats in the synagogue. My father always made a contribution to the synagogue. He was a respectable member of the community.
My mother had special fancy dishes for Pesach that she kept in a box during the year. She also bought a live chicken that she took to the shochet who worked from home. All religious Jews knew his address. He was an old man and not afraid of any discontent from the Soviet authorities in case they found out that he did this job. My mother made chicken broth, gefilte fish, honey cakes and strudels for Pesach. My parents always had matzah on Pesach. Their four children and their families came to visit them on Pesach, and they were happy to have a family reunion. At Chanukkah my father gave all children Chanukkah gelt. When I think of my parents I understand how Jewish traditions and rituals have been preserved throughout centuries. I'm often reproached for not knowing prayers when my parents were so deeply religious. I reply that at that time my faith was Marxism- Leninism. I had different values back then. I feel so sorry now that I didn't learn more about Jewish traditions and rituals from my father, but I was a communist and believed in the ideals of communism. That's my only excuse.
I was eager to continue my studies. In 1966 I decided to try and enter the Faculty of Geography at Chernovtsy University. I was a tourist instructor, a party member and an udarnik [advanced employee] of communist labor - these were my advantages to help me enter a higher educational institution. I couldn't prepare for the entrance exams at my parents' home with nine tenants around. My mother's acquaintance, who lived alone, offered me to stay with her. I recapitulated all school textbooks, beginning from the 5th grade, and passed my entrance exams successfully. I was the only Jew that entered this faculty. I didn't have any influential friends. I guess my knowledge, work experience and party membership played a part for being admitted. In total two Jews were admitted to the university that year.
I was successful with my studies and received the highest grades in all subjects. I was a senior student in my group for five years. I didn't face any anti-Semitism until it came to defending my diploma thesis. Representatives of the Ministry of Education in Kiev came to attend the event. They liked my thesis, which was about the development of natural deposits in Western Ukraine, but still I only received a 'good' mark for it. Later my tutor told me confidentially that the commission wanted to give me an 'excellent', but representative of the Ministry said that it wouldn't be politically correct. I was hurt but decided to ignore it. I was happy about getting an education and didn't feel like wasting time by trying to argue with the commission.
We didn't have a traditional Jewish wedding. I was a communist and didn't want to have a chuppah. I didn't want to hide things from my comrades. My wife didn't want a religious wedding either. We had a civil ceremony and a wedding dinner with members of the family. My father was angry that we didn't have a chuppah and didn't attend the wedding. My mother came to the wedding, but my father didn't even congratulate me. He never came to visit us. When my wife and I went to visit my parents my father didn't say a word of reproach, but he never came to see us in our house.
My son, Jacob, was born in 1970. He wasn't circumcised and doesn't know a word of Yiddish.
I found a job as a methodologist at a tourist station. I worked there for more than ten years. I was awarded diplomas of honor, and my tourist teams were among the best ones in Ukraine and the USSR. I was very fond of this work.
Later I was asked to accept the job of a tutor in a club for teenagers. When I came to the building on the outskirts of town I found it damaged, dirty and abandoned. There were different children in this club: children from well-off families and teenagers with problems. There were even teenagers who were registered in the militia for their conduct. We repaired and fixed the building, and the children got involved in various activities. We had different sections: a chess club, a tourist section and even a motor club. The children changed for the better and developed many interests. We got broken cars that we fixed and taught the children to drive. Many of the teenagers became good drivers when they grew up. We had wrestling and boxing sections and a dance club. I found enthusiasts that agreed to work with the children at no cost. The children, their parents and my management respected me. I retired after 22 years of work.
Later I was asked to accept the job of a tutor in a club for teenagers. When I came to the building on the outskirts of town I found it damaged, dirty and abandoned. There were different children in this club: children from well-off families and teenagers with problems. There were even teenagers who were registered in the militia for their conduct. We repaired and fixed the building, and the children got involved in various activities. We had different sections: a chess club, a tourist section and even a motor club. The children changed for the better and developed many interests. We got broken cars that we fixed and taught the children to drive. Many of the teenagers became good drivers when they grew up. We had wrestling and boxing sections and a dance club. I found enthusiasts that agreed to work with the children at no cost. The children, their parents and my management respected me. I retired after 22 years of work.
Our son takes after her. He didn't want to continue his education after finishing school. Jacob works as a locksmith at a plant and watches football matches on TV - that's all he likes.
When Jews began to move to Israel in the 1970s I sincerely believed them to be traitors. I couldn't understand what they were driven by, but when I attended meetings where those people were condemned and humiliated I changed my attitude. People shouted 'Traitors' at them at such meetings, especially when party members were leaving. They were fired if it became known that they were planning to move to Israel. The district party committee suggested that I made a speech to condemn the ones that were leaving, but I refused. Many of those people were my friends, and I couldn't throw mud at them. Later I was responsible for visiting those people that had submitted their documents to obtain a permit to move. I was supposed to convince them to change their mind. I talked with them and understood that every person has the right to choose his own country of living and way of life, and that there's only one place where people can be forced to stay, and that is a prison.
My mother died in 1994 after the collapse of the USSR. I buried her according to Jewish traditions. Her grave is near my father's grave. I come to the cemetery to recite the Kaddish, the mourning prayer, on the anniversary of their death. Then I go to the synagogue.
nina polubelova
My mother began working as a pharmacist in a private apothecary. She was educated, but I don't know the details. My mother had worked for a year in the apothecary and in that time she met my father.
I don't know how my parents met. I know for sure that it wasn't a pre- arranged marriage. They must have had a traditional Jewish wedding, as both my paternal and maternal grandparents were religious and wouldn't have agreed to a secular wedding. At that time my grandparents' opinion was of importance.
After the wedding my parents rented an apartment. It was a big four-room apartment in downtown. My mother kept working after getting married. I was born in 1933. I was named Nina. When I was born, my mother didn't want to quit her job and become a housewife. My parents hired a baby-sitter for me. My mother did all the work about the house. The baby-sitter was Lett from a village. She lived with our family. Her bed was in the children's room. When I got older, I had a governess instead of a baby-sitter. She spoke Lettish and German with me, and it was she who taught me those languages. I knew German best of all. I spent my childhood with those two loving women. My parents worked and came back home in the evening, but they always found time to play with me, to read me a book and tuck me in.
Russian was spoken at home. When my parents wanted to conceal something from me, they spoke French. I understood Yiddish since childhood as my paternal grandparents spoke it. My father spoke Yiddish with his brothers in the presence of my grandparents. If they weren't around, Russian was spoken. Apart from Yiddish, my grandparents knew Russian and German.
On Sabbath and Jewish holidays we went to see my grandparents. My father's brothers came there with their families. I was close with my cousins and always was happy to see them. On Sabbath my grandmother lit candles and prayed over them. Then everybody sat at a festive table. I remember my grandfather blessing the bread before starting a meal. On Jewish holidays my father, his brothers and my grandfather went to the synagogue, and my grandmother went there with her daughters-in-law and grandchildren. After the synagogue everybody came to their parents' place. My grandmother was a great cook. I remember how tasty her dishes were. The holidays were marked with all rules being observed. All men wore kippot. My grandfather put his kippah on every day, but my father and his brothers only on Sabbath and holidays.
On Pesach my grandfather led the seder. It was the only night in a year, when children weren't made to go to bed, but stay with the adults at the table. We felt grown-up on that day. My grandfather, clad in white attire, would recline on the pillows. His seat was at the head of the table, which was covered with a white cloth. There were festive dishes and goblets with wine on the table. The largest goblet with wine for Prophet Eliagu was in the center of the table. My elder cousin Valentin asked my grandfather the traditional paschal questions. Grandfather hid the afikoman, read the Haggadah. Everybody sang mirthful paschal songs. In general, things were done the way they were supposed to. On Yom Kippur my parents fasted for 24 hours. I was a kid, so I could get away for not fasting. Other Jewish holidays were marked, but I don't remember them.
There was a large Jewish community in Riga until 1940. Before 1917 Riga Jews mostly lived in Moscowskiy forstadt [6], the district of the poor Jews on the outskirt of the city. Jews made the most population of that part of the city. Jewish houses were in the Old City. Well-off Jews could settle in the downtown area. There were no Jewish streets and houses in downtown. People lived in the parts they could afford.
In 1940 Latvia became a part of the Soviet Union [see Annexation of Latvia to the USSR] [7]. I remember tanks moving in the downtown Riga. We went out to welcome the Soviet army [8]. I remember that everybody was with flowers. The faces of the people were blithe. Tank hatches were open and Soviet soldiers got out of them. People hugged them and gave them flowers. There was no shooting, no resistance. There was normal life. It seemed to me there were barely any changes for our family. Of course, the adults perceived it in a different way. From the scraps of conversation of my parents I remember that the newcomers' behaviors and manners surprised them. At that time that didn't affect me. Before 1940 Russian was spoken at home, so it was easier for us than for those who didn't know Russian.
In 1940 before Latvia was annexed to the USSR, my father's sister Rosa Zilberman, her husband and son Lucien came to see us. Paris had been occupied by the Germans and they fled from Paris miraculously. They moved in with my grandparents, who lived in a large apartment by themselves.
In May 1941 Grandmother Hanna died. She was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Riga. She had a traditional Jewish funeral.
On Sunday 22nd June 1941 my parents were going to take me for a stroll in the park. We had breakfast. While my mother was doing things about the house, my father listened to the news on the radio. Then I found out that the German army had attacked the Soviet Union and battles were held in Belarus.
Probably from Aunt Rosa, my parents knew that the Germans didn't spare Jews. They decided to evacuate. Not everybody in the family was willing to leave. Grandfather Zalman flatly refused to leave his house. He said he was too old to drop everything and run away, besides he said that during World War One he had seen Germans and their good attitude towards Jews. My mother's father also didn't want to evacuate. Of course, we could understand the old people, but my father's younger brother, Uncle Vulf, also decided to stay in Riga with his family. The rest of the people weren't against departure.
My father was drafted into the army in Almaty. His eyesight was poor and the medical board by the military enlistment office disqualified him from military service. My father was drafted into the labor army [10] in Kazakhstan. There he worked as a truck driver by the end of the war.
My mother thought that it would be easier for us to survive in a small town or a hamlet. We stayed in Almaty for a while and headed for the small town Issyk [today Kazakhstan]. Aunt Rosa, her husband and Lucien went with us. Uncle Samuel and his family stayed in Almaty.
Unfortunately, my mother's expectations were unmet. She couldn't find a job as a pharmacist or as a nurse, so she started working in a kolkhoz [11]: in the field. Rosa also worked with my mother. They were given 450 grams of bread for work from dawn till sunset. My mother found lodging for us in a basement. Aunt Rosa lived with her family separately. Apart from us there was another Jewish family in the basement. They were evacuated from Kiev [today Ukraine].
Unfortunately, my mother's expectations were unmet. She couldn't find a job as a pharmacist or as a nurse, so she started working in a kolkhoz [11]: in the field. Rosa also worked with my mother. They were given 450 grams of bread for work from dawn till sunset. My mother found lodging for us in a basement. Aunt Rosa lived with her family separately. Apart from us there was another Jewish family in the basement. They were evacuated from Kiev [today Ukraine].
The local population sympathized with the evacuees. There was no animosity. Issyk was mostly inhabited by Kazakhs, but there were some Russian people as well. They had never seen Jews, but still soon they started using the word 'kike.' I remember when I went out, local boys were running around and crying, 'Kike, running on the rope.' I don't know if they knew what that word meant, but they teased me constantly.