It was the time of the food card system [9]. Once a week we went to get the scarce products with our cards. We were starving now as opposed to during the war. Once we met a Jew and he said, ‘Madam Kleinstein, did you get your parcel in the synagogue?’ We went to the synagogue and it turned out that twelve parcels had been sent to my mother from her brothers and aunt from Los Angeles. They found out somehow that we were alive, but they didn’t know our address and decided to send the parcels to the address of the Vilnius synagogue. Many people did the same at that time.
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Displaying 25021 - 25050 of 50826 results
Ranana Malkhanova
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The synagogue was a kind of information center. No efforts were made by anyone to find us, though almost all the Vilnius Jews who had survived knew each other. Our parcels were misappropriated and we didn’t get them. The lawyer who lived in our house tried to convince us to file a lawsuit in court. But my mother didn’t want to wash dirty linen in public so to speak, and decided not to proceed. The synagogue assumed its obligation for the reimbursement of the lost parcels. They gave out size 40 boots while I was a size 35, and some navy-blue coats, out of which my mother fixed me a winter coat. Since that time we started getting regular parcels from our relatives. Usually there were clothes and my mother sold them. She wasn’t a saleswoman and didn’t know how to do business and sold fashionable foreign things dirt cheap. She had some regular customers. As for our material life, it got a little better in a way. My mother even sewed me a school uniform, which was the only dress I had.
My mother’s state was very bad. She had the caverns and was between life and death. My mother’s brothers assisted us. They sent penicillin, which was in deficit in the USSR at that time and my mother was getting better.
I was sent to an orphanage. It was called Jewish as there were a lot of Jewish children, who had lost their parents. Here I joined the Komsomol [10] and became the leader for junior schoolchildren: pioneers [see All-Union pioneer organization] [11].
I kept on studying right after I went back. I had straight ‘fives’ [the highest score, which is equivalent to an A in America] and was a very active Komsomol member. I was constantly busy, either organizing a tour or attending the theater, editing the paper, having classes with those who were lacking behind, etc. When I started the tenth grade, I found out that I was one of the candidates for a gold medal. [The gold medal was the highest distinction in the USSR for secondary schools.
One word led to another and one dance to another and Matvey Malkhanov, the Buryat, and I couldn’t part.
He was a very interesting person, erudite, polite and well-bred. In short, we fell in love with each other and soon became very close. We actually became husband and wife. When Matvey asked my mother for my hand, she went berserk and didn’t want to give her consent. Matvey wasn’t a Jew, and had a rare and unusual appearance. Not only my mother, but the whole Jewish Vilnius was against it. Nobody could do anything. When the two of us went to the state marriage registration office I was pregnant already.
He was a very interesting person, erudite, polite and well-bred. In short, we fell in love with each other and soon became very close. We actually became husband and wife. When Matvey asked my mother for my hand, she went berserk and didn’t want to give her consent. Matvey wasn’t a Jew, and had a rare and unusual appearance. Not only my mother, but the whole Jewish Vilnius was against it. Nobody could do anything. When the two of us went to the state marriage registration office I was pregnant already.
Matvey was born in 1928 in Kacha, Novosibirsk oblast, Krasnoyarsk [Russia, 4000km from Moscow]. In 1947 he was drafted into the Soviet army. His unit was in Lithuania. Thus, he turned out to be in Vilnius.
, Lithuania
In 1952 I entered Vilnius University, the faculty of Russian Language and Literature. It was easy for me to pass the entrance exams. I didn’t feel any bias towards me as a Jew. I wasn’t touched in the years when Jews were fired, tried in court, even in the period of the flagrant state anti-Semitism [see Campaign against ‘cosmopolitans’] [12], when the Doctors’ Plot [13] was storming.
Erna Goldmann
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My maternal grandfather’s name was Michael Rapp. In Frankfurt, we lived together with him at Eschenheimer Anlage 30. Eschenheimer Anlage was a huge complex – there were houses to the right and to the left, and the street between them was called Eschenheimer Anlage.
On it’s beginning, there was the Eschenheimer Tower, landmark and oldest building in Frankfurt. The house we lived in belonged to my grandfather. It hat three floors. On the lowest floor, a doctor lived with his family; my grandfather occupied the middle floor and we lived on the second floor. There were also rooms for the service staff in the attic.
On it’s beginning, there was the Eschenheimer Tower, landmark and oldest building in Frankfurt. The house we lived in belonged to my grandfather. It hat three floors. On the lowest floor, a doctor lived with his family; my grandfather occupied the middle floor and we lived on the second floor. There were also rooms for the service staff in the attic.
My grandfather was a tall, handsome man. Supposedly, he was very well known in Frankfurt. They told me that he had a coffee import company. Until inflation set in in 1923, he was very wealthy, but then he lost a lot of money. But when I think back, we still had a good life. We had a cook and housekeepers – and a seven-bedroom apartment.
My grandfather was religious. He only ate kosher 1 food and didn’t drive on Shabbat 2. He kept all holy days and went to the synagogue regularly. My father and my grandfather went to the synagogue together. But my grandfather also bought a Christmas tree for our non-Jewish staff, organized presents and lit candles.
My grandfather’s life ended tragically. He didn’t manage to get out of Germany. My brother, my mother and I had already been gone. He had to give up his house and lived in a Jewish hotel. When the hotel was Aryanized and the owner deported, a Christian family hid him in Frankfurt.
I don’t know when he died, but I know he didn’t die in a concentration camp. But he was alone, without his family.
I don’t know when he died, but I know he didn’t die in a concentration camp. But he was alone, without his family.
Uncle Julius fled from Berlin and made it to the south of France. But then they caught him. From the internment camp in Gurs 3 he was deported to the death camp Majdanek 4 and killed.
Aunt Gina survived the concentration camp in Bergen-Belsen 5 and died a few years later, after the end of the war, in Holland. Aunt Klara survived the war with her family in America. My other aunts were killed in the Holocaust.
I don’t know exactly, where my parents got to know each other, but I know that it was – as it was common at that time – an arranged marriage. There were no youth movements, where young people could have got to know each other. My parents got married in 1903 or 1904.
My father was a corn merchant. He took over the business from his father. He had two or three employees at the office.
We kept a kosher household. There were few kosher butchers in Frankfurt, even though there were many Jews. But Frankfurt was not a big city back then, and it wasn’t as nice at it is today. We celebrated Shabbat each Friday. They cooked in the morning and warmed it up later.
Back home in Frankfurt we used to light candles at Chanukah 6 and at Yom Kippur 7, my father spent the whole day at the synagogue. My mother wasn’t there all day, but she also fasted until the evening. My brothers did not go to the synagogue at all. They were good Jews, but they were not religious.
I continued to celebrate Shabbat later with my family. We thought that this was a nice evening. We also celebrated Chanukah. We lit the candles and gave presents to the children. It doesn’t have anything to do with religion, though; we just thought it was homely.
I continued to celebrate Shabbat later with my family. We thought that this was a nice evening. We also celebrated Chanukah. We lit the candles and gave presents to the children. It doesn’t have anything to do with religion, though; we just thought it was homely.
We celebrated all the high holidays. My husband led the Passover Seder 8; he liked to do it and he did a good job, and we used to invite a lot of friends and children. We were around fifteen, sixteen people.
We spent a lot of time preparing for these evenings, and we really looked forward to them. I don’t know when I saw the Wailing Wall for the first time. I just remember that it made a huge impression on me.
We celebrated all the high holidays. My husband led the Passover Seder 8; he liked to do it and he did a good job, and we used to invite a lot of friends and children. We were around fifteen, sixteen people.
We spent a lot of time preparing for these evenings, and we really looked forward to them. I don’t know when I saw the Wailing Wall for the first time. I just remember that it made a huge impression on me.
We had a Jewish maid and a Christian cook. And when we were small, we had a nanny, too. During the last few years, until 1929, there were only the cook and the maid. The Jewish girl lived in our house.
But not in our apartment; she lived up in the attic. She used to take me for a walk or went to the park with me. She was much older than me – I was still very young. I know that she was able to flee to the United States.
But not in our apartment; she lived up in the attic. She used to take me for a walk or went to the park with me. She was much older than me – I was still very young. I know that she was able to flee to the United States.
My parents did not go to the theater very often, but sometimes they went to see concerts and they often invited guests. We only had Jewish friends and acquaintances.
My mother attended a Jewish girls’ boarding school, where she was taught home economy.
I went to a Jewish school together with my friends. There were two Jewish schools; I attended the Samson-Raphael-Hirsch School, which was named after a famous rabbi. The Hirsch-School was the more religious school of the two. It had been modern in our circle to send the kids to a Jewish school for the first four years, and then to a Christian school, so that they would learn as much as possible.
But in my days that was not the case anymore. We were already approaching the Nazi-era. So, I didn’t go to a different school after the first four years. I attended the Samson-Raphael-Hirsch School for 10 years.
But in my days that was not the case anymore. We were already approaching the Nazi-era. So, I didn’t go to a different school after the first four years. I attended the Samson-Raphael-Hirsch School for 10 years.
Then I went down to the street to play with my friends; sometimes we played hopscotch [Hickelkreis]. We would draw different forms onto the street and hop on one leg from one box to the next. I would also ride my bicycle a lot.
My parents gave me a very pretty bike; it was my Rolls Royce. I can’t remember how old I was when I got it. Everyone had a bike at that time. I didn’t cycle to school though; I went by foot. It took me 20min to get there. In the afternoon, I would drive around with my girlfriends.
We used to dress differently back then. I was dressed very well, with coat and hat.
I also took dance lessons. For my first ball, I got a wonderful ball gown, made from light blue taffeta. It was tailor-made for me. There are beautiful photos; my brother took them. I sit in the Gentlemen’s Room, wearing the ball gown.
My brothers – and me too – attended a Zionist 10 youth movement named “Blau-Weiß” [Blue-White]. This youth movement was just one of many Zionist groups back then; it was very well known at the time. We didn’t go out to cafés, or to eat, we didn’t do that.
We went hiking, we sang, and we talked a lot about Israel. My life was never boring, because we were always together. We went to the Frankfurt City-Forest with our bikes and we went to camp together. I still have some photos from back then. We met several times a week, even after Hitler had risen to power.
My parents gave me a very pretty bike; it was my Rolls Royce. I can’t remember how old I was when I got it. Everyone had a bike at that time. I didn’t cycle to school though; I went by foot. It took me 20min to get there. In the afternoon, I would drive around with my girlfriends.
We used to dress differently back then. I was dressed very well, with coat and hat.
I also took dance lessons. For my first ball, I got a wonderful ball gown, made from light blue taffeta. It was tailor-made for me. There are beautiful photos; my brother took them. I sit in the Gentlemen’s Room, wearing the ball gown.
My brothers – and me too – attended a Zionist 10 youth movement named “Blau-Weiß” [Blue-White]. This youth movement was just one of many Zionist groups back then; it was very well known at the time. We didn’t go out to cafés, or to eat, we didn’t do that.
We went hiking, we sang, and we talked a lot about Israel. My life was never boring, because we were always together. We went to the Frankfurt City-Forest with our bikes and we went to camp together. I still have some photos from back then. We met several times a week, even after Hitler had risen to power.
In 1933 we went to a camp in Döringheim, which is located on the right bank of the Main, very close to Frankfurt. We slept in tents or in youth hostels and cooked over open fire. We went swimming and hiking. For our summer camp, we went to Switzerland. I loved these camps.
We often went to Holland together: my parents, my grandfather and me. Sometimes I went alone with my grandfather. We went to Delft to visit my brother, to Den Haag and to Katwijk at the North Sea. We went on vacation there, visited my brother and my grandfather’s relatives.
We always used to stay for a while; I think it was two to three weeks at a time, 10 days at the least. In 1933, I still had school vacations. So I went to Holland again with my grandfather and my aunt Flora (one of my grandfather’s nieces, who kept his household).
We always used to stay for a while; I think it was two to three weeks at a time, 10 days at the least. In 1933, I still had school vacations. So I went to Holland again with my grandfather and my aunt Flora (one of my grandfather’s nieces, who kept his household).
My brother Karl was a fervent Zionist. In 1933, he had finished his studies and he had even completed an internship at the Virchow-Hospital in Berlin. He was a general practitioner, but later, he only did scientific research.
After his internship, Karl left Germany and went to Palestine. My parents were ok with it; they were very modern. It wasn’t easy back then, you needed a certificate from the British, because Palestine was ruled by Great Britain.
Karl had realized early what happened in Germany and wrote to my parents over and over again: “You have to come, you have to come!” When he got to Palestine, he went to Jerusalem.
He had a girlfriend from Frankfurt; they met at the Zionist Youth Movement and they got married in Palestine. Her name was Irene; first she was in a Kibbutz, and then they got married and lived in Jerusalem. Karl stayed in Jerusalem.
He worked at the University, got his PhD in nutritional sciences and became a professor. Karl did nothing but read and work. My brother taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and published 250 scientific works and books.
After his internship, Karl left Germany and went to Palestine. My parents were ok with it; they were very modern. It wasn’t easy back then, you needed a certificate from the British, because Palestine was ruled by Great Britain.
Karl had realized early what happened in Germany and wrote to my parents over and over again: “You have to come, you have to come!” When he got to Palestine, he went to Jerusalem.
He had a girlfriend from Frankfurt; they met at the Zionist Youth Movement and they got married in Palestine. Her name was Irene; first she was in a Kibbutz, and then they got married and lived in Jerusalem. Karl stayed in Jerusalem.
He worked at the University, got his PhD in nutritional sciences and became a professor. Karl did nothing but read and work. My brother taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and published 250 scientific works and books.
My grandfather, too, was a glowing Zionist. He went to the 17th Zionist Congress in Basel with Moshe and Moshe’s sister Lotte. They got there, and my father-in-law was asked: “Mr. Goldmann, do you have an invitation?” Of course he didn’t have an invitation.
So he said: “My name is Goldmann, I want to get in there with my two kids.” They told him that he couldn’t come in without an invitation. So my father-in-law took the work clothes and brooms from the cleaning staff, everyone put on the clothes and took a broom, and that’s how they got in, and they even got good seats.
So he said: “My name is Goldmann, I want to get in there with my two kids.” They told him that he couldn’t come in without an invitation. So my father-in-law took the work clothes and brooms from the cleaning staff, everyone put on the clothes and took a broom, and that’s how they got in, and they even got good seats.
There was a quarter in Frankfurt – Ostende (East-End) – the eastern part of Frankfurt. Many poor Jews lived there. Those who were better off, the assimilated Jews, lived more towards the west. There’s one thing I’m thinking about at the moment.