However, in spite of poverty, grandparents tried to provide their children with some education. I remember they even had some teacher, who came to the house and taught children minimal literacy: to read, write and count. Later mother with her friends attended some courses, which were called “likbez” in those days [“liquidation of illiteracy”], which provided her with knowledge, equal to 7-year educational course. The brother did not get more education that the sisters, he was taught as much as they were.
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Displaying 38821 - 38850 of 50826 results
Blyuma Perlstein
My parents were religious and both attended the synagogue. There were two synagogues in Yanovichi. My parents attended one of them. We always celebrated Sabbath and cooked some special meat meals on these days. We also celebrated all Jewish holidays. Those days remain the brightest days of my childhood. I remember very well – approximately from the age of six – how we celebrated Pesach. We were all believers. Before Pesach everything was cleaned, the apartment was tidied up and washed. We put away kitchen utensils which we used daily and solemnly took out the Pesach utensils. I still remember the matzah stock: a huge basket of cylindrical shape, I think, one meter wide, which stood in the room.
, Belarus
My brothers went to school, we had textbooks and books at home, so with their assistance very early – when I was five years old or even earlier – I learnt to read and write. I even tried to use the drafting instruments. I went to the only seven-year Russian school, though there were Jewish schools. My parents considered it better to send me to a Russian school. We had wonderful teachers. My brothers and sisters went to the same school before me. I advanced in all subjects very well and liked algebra most of all. I also liked literature and read a lot. Our teacher of literature, Mikhail Vasilyevich, called me out when it was required to read something aloud for the class; I was his assistant. I read a lot of works of literature aloud. He even thought that I had a gift for literature. We also had a remarkable relationship with our teacher of physics and drawing. Radio was just introduced and we dismantled a crystal receiver and drew a lot. I even keep drawings which we made in our physics classes. I drew and designed a lot at home, so there are a lot of drawings in ink left.
I went to a kindergarten for one summer, which was located in the former estate building. It was necessary to walk through the whole borough to reach the kindergarten.
, Belarus
My sister Sofia worked in Leningrad at the ‘Electropribor’ plant. During the war she was evacuated with her children – together with the plant – to the Urals. She died there in 1942 of stomach cancer.
My sister Raisa, or Rasya, lived in Yanovichi borough and was a housewife. Her husband Sigalevich-Grigoryev and son Isaac were murdered by the Germans on 10th September 1941 [in Yanovichi]. Only her son Lev managed to escape the massacre and remained alive. He got into the military school and served in a tank unit. He retired holding the rank of lieutenant colonel.
My brother Grigory left Yanovichi for Leningrad after Father died. He stayed with my brother Lev in Leningrad and worked as a foreman at a candy factory. Later he graduated from the Leningrad Aircraft Military School and was assigned to Novocherkassk [9], where he worked as a mechanical pilot. During the Great Patriotic War he served in the North. After the war, in 1945, he returned to Novocherkassk and continued working as a foreman at the factory. In 1970 he retired and moved to Moscow with his family.
My brother Iosif graduated from a military topographic school and the Military Land-surveying Academy, faculty of land-surveying. He worked in Kiev [today Ukraine] and in Moscow. The last rank he was conferred was lieutenant colonel. He also took part in the Great Patriotic War.
My other three brothers, Aron, Iosif and Grigory, joined the military. Aron, the eldest among them, was a pilot and worked as an instructor in the Crimea, not far from Simferopol, and later as head of the Aircraft School in the cities of Poltava and Kherson [today Ukraine]. In 1938 he was arrested on a false accusation of sabotage. He spent almost a year in prison, later he was acquitted and transferred to Moscow to the Gosaviakhim Administration. [Gosaviakhim – a club, a voluntary defense society of air force friends.] He took part in the Great Patriotic War [8], was at the front and died in Moscow in 1977, holding the rank of colonel.
, Russia
My second brother Yuda left home right after my elder brother. He lived and worked in Lugansk [today Ukraine], then in Kharkov [today Ukraine] in the Hunters and Fishermen Union as a chief accountant.
, Ukraine
During the war Lev was in evacuation in the Urals. He died in 1954 in Leningrad.
My elder brother Lev left Yanovichi for Petrograd [later Leningrad, today St. Petersburg] and served in the Imperial Army of Nikolai II [7], in a musical detachment of a small military orchestra, which accompanied governmental ceremonies. He took part in World War I. He was a very experienced watch-maker. Lev worked in Petrograd as a master at the ‘Electropribor’ plant. He spent a lot of time on inventions.
Before I went to school, my elder brothers taught me, so I learnt to read, write and draw at an early age.
There were various books at home, both religious and common literature. Father played the violin.
Mother baked bread herself – it wasn’t available in stores – and cooked. She was a very good housewife. We didn’t have any water supply system; there was a well outside in the yard, which we used for the cattle. Drinking water was supplied from the river in barrels. We cooked on the stove and heated the house with it. There was a special department in the stove which was stoked for the purpose of heating the house.
The children helped with the household. There were eight of us and we all helped our mother with the household.
The children helped with the household. There were eight of us and we all helped our mother with the household.
There was a small plot of land attached to the house, where Mother kept a small vegetable garden, she grew vegetables for our own consumption; we had a cow, a cow-shed, a hay-loft, a pantry and a barn. The house consisted of two rooms and a kitchen. It was very cozy. There was an entrance-room, a Russian stove [6], which was used for cooking and where it was possible to get warm. There wasn’t much furniture, just the most necessary things: a table, chairs, a wardrobe and beds. There was a stove-bench.
We lived in comfortable circumstances, not poor and not rich.
My parents led a typical Jewish way of life, observing all customs and traditions, separating dairy and meat products. The children were also raised in this atmosphere.
My parents purchased a house and set up a small household store. Dad worked in that store until 1919.
Father [Isaac Chaimovich Perlstein] was born near Vitebsk in 1868. He found out about my mother somehow, came to Yanovichi, married her and stayed with her in Yanovichi. Mother was one of the beauties in our borough. They had their wedding in Yanovichi with a Jewish chuppah according to Jewish tradition. There was no borough council at that time, so they invited a rabbi from Vitebsk. A lot of guests came.
Mom’s elder brother Mendel-Chaim Pakson [1865-1941] also lived in Yanovichi with his family and worked as a carter, delivering food products. He was executed by the Germans. His daughter Genya was a housewife. Genya’s husband, Lev Shaikevich, lived next door to us. Genya and Lev had two kids. In 1941 the entire Shaikevich family was executed by the Germans in the neighboring Akhryutki village.
Mom didn’t wear a wig, she only wore a kerchief.
My mother, Chasya-Ita Leibovna – we called her Chasita – was born in 1871 in Yanovichi borough of Vitebsk region. She learnt only the Yiddish language and knew it very well. She had big prayer books in Yiddish and she always read prayers to us. Mother spoke mostly Yiddish and a little Russian, since we lived close to Russians. But she couldn’t write in Russian.
There was a street which led past the estate of the former Polish landowner, ex-owner of the Yanovichi borough, to Vitebsk. After the Revolution this manor served the Yanovichi population. A kindergarten was arranged in one of the buildings. I attended that kindergarten.
There was a beautiful Russian Orthodox Church in the middle of the settlement close to the market square. It was used for weddings and prayers. Sometimes children came inside to watch a wedding or some other ceremony. The settlement, the market square and nice houses, where not very rich but well-to-do and rather prosperous people lived, were located around the church. There was also a big park not far from it. A big wooden bridge led to the church across the Vymnyanka River. There was a street which led past the estate of the former Polish landowner, ex-owner of the Yanovichi borough, to Vitebsk. After the Revolution this manor served the Yanovichi population. A kindergarten was arranged in one of the buildings. I attended that kindergarten. Mostly craftsmen lived in that street behind the bridge. Every evening young people gathered on the bridge to spend their free time, especially on holidays and weekends. We had real fun.
There was a market place in Yanovichi. Among the market rows there was a two-storey building with a store on the first floor and a sewing shop on the second floor. It was set up after the Revolution. Later the Soviet Power expropriated the sewing-machines from the shop. Stores were arranged in the market rows. During holidays and days off people from neighboring villages came to the market square and brisk trade was built up. Peasants offered everything for sale: cattle, food products, fruit, hay, clothes.
There was a big three-storey mill in Yanovichi, which provided the big district with flour. Flour was also sold outside Yanovichi. The mill was located on the bank of the Vymnyanka River. In spring there was flooding so there was a dam in front of the mill from the side of the river bank. In order to protect the mill from the floating ice there was a paling in the water to the left. Normally when there was no flood it was possible to walk to the mill along the dam. The dam, which forced the water wheel, sustained the stable water level. Water passing through the logs and leaving the big pieces of ice behind, fell from a rather big height and set the mill wheels in motion. There was another steam mill behind the water mill, but it didn’t always work, mostly the water mill was used. The mill was surrounded with a high wooden fence.
There was an old public bath-house [5] on the bank of the river. There was a high chimney on the banya roof and a well, from which water was taken. The banya also had an extension, used for household purposes. The banya operated only on certain days; there were women’s days and men’s days. The mikveh was inside the banya. We went to the banya together with our mom.
There was a big open square for horses near the school, it was called the Horse Square, and was situated close to the central market square. A big building near the school was the borough council. There was an office in the council building, where the council employees based their borough administration. There was a drugstore in a small corner house to the left, at the beginning of Lyaznyanskaya Street.
There was a market place in Yanovichi. Among the market rows there was a two-storey building with a store on the first floor and a sewing shop on the second floor. It was set up after the Revolution. Later the Soviet Power expropriated the sewing-machines from the shop. Stores were arranged in the market rows. During holidays and days off people from neighboring villages came to the market square and brisk trade was built up. Peasants offered everything for sale: cattle, food products, fruit, hay, clothes.
There was a big three-storey mill in Yanovichi, which provided the big district with flour. Flour was also sold outside Yanovichi. The mill was located on the bank of the Vymnyanka River. In spring there was flooding so there was a dam in front of the mill from the side of the river bank. In order to protect the mill from the floating ice there was a paling in the water to the left. Normally when there was no flood it was possible to walk to the mill along the dam. The dam, which forced the water wheel, sustained the stable water level. Water passing through the logs and leaving the big pieces of ice behind, fell from a rather big height and set the mill wheels in motion. There was another steam mill behind the water mill, but it didn’t always work, mostly the water mill was used. The mill was surrounded with a high wooden fence.
There was an old public bath-house [5] on the bank of the river. There was a high chimney on the banya roof and a well, from which water was taken. The banya also had an extension, used for household purposes. The banya operated only on certain days; there were women’s days and men’s days. The mikveh was inside the banya. We went to the banya together with our mom.
There was a big open square for horses near the school, it was called the Horse Square, and was situated close to the central market square. A big building near the school was the borough council. There was an office in the council building, where the council employees based their borough administration. There was a drugstore in a small corner house to the left, at the beginning of Lyaznyanskaya Street.
The fire-depot was located in the center of the borough near the river. It was very well equipped with fire-engines and a fire-brigade, in case of fire they immediately arrived to extinguish the fire. A local theater group began its practice in this particular fire-depot. It was easily understood that a theater was located there, since there was a sign on the building. Their first performance, ‘On the way to business,’ was staged in 1911.
In June 1917 a Public House was constructed in Yanovichi, so this local theater group moved there to stage their performances. [Public Houses in pre-revolutionary Russia accommodated a library, a lecture/theater hall, a Sunday school, a canteen and a book store. The first Public Houses were opened at the end of the 19th century by major manufacturers and had a significant cultural effect on the population thanks to their libraries and theatrical performances. Bolsheviks made good use of Public Houses to promote their revolutionary propaganda and organize mass meetings. After the October Revolution of 1917 Public Houses were substituted by Educational Clubs and Houses of Culture.] The Public House can also be seen in the picture [I have], there is a small house with two windows to the right. Through this small house one could get to a big auditorium with a big stage, decorations and comfortable benches for the audience. The walls and ceiling were wooden. Very often actors from other places came on tour to our borough. A Jewish troupe also visited our place. When Soviet times came, school gymnastic groups acted on stage and performed in evening shows. This small house had a room where the pioneer organization [4] was based after the Revolution of 1917. A single-storey building with a hall was located to the left. Behind the small house there was a barn and in front of the house there was a small flower garden.
In June 1917 a Public House was constructed in Yanovichi, so this local theater group moved there to stage their performances. [Public Houses in pre-revolutionary Russia accommodated a library, a lecture/theater hall, a Sunday school, a canteen and a book store. The first Public Houses were opened at the end of the 19th century by major manufacturers and had a significant cultural effect on the population thanks to their libraries and theatrical performances. Bolsheviks made good use of Public Houses to promote their revolutionary propaganda and organize mass meetings. After the October Revolution of 1917 Public Houses were substituted by Educational Clubs and Houses of Culture.] The Public House can also be seen in the picture [I have], there is a small house with two windows to the right. Through this small house one could get to a big auditorium with a big stage, decorations and comfortable benches for the audience. The walls and ceiling were wooden. Very often actors from other places came on tour to our borough. A Jewish troupe also visited our place. When Soviet times came, school gymnastic groups acted on stage and performed in evening shows. This small house had a room where the pioneer organization [4] was based after the Revolution of 1917. A single-storey building with a hall was located to the left. Behind the small house there was a barn and in front of the house there was a small flower garden.
The two-storey building of the school was situated on the outskirts of Yanovichi, on Unishevskaya Street. The school was old, several generations had studied in it. School teachers were mostly local intellectuals, however, during my and my brother Aron’s school years a lot of newcomers taught us. They lived in an extension of the school building; you can see it in the picture [I have] as a single-storey corridor. The school owned a big plot of land, there was a vegetable garden located in the yard. I studied at this school for seven years. The school was very good with a distinguished teachers’ team, who taught us a lot. Since the school was situated outside of town and the cobblestone street ended there, a planked footway was constructed to the school entrance along the school fence.
School teachers were mostly local intellectuals, however, during my and my brother Aron’s school years a lot of newcomers taught us. They lived in an extension of the school building; you can see it in the picture [I have] as a single-storey corridor.
The Yanovichi settlement, where I was born, was located 30 kilometers from Vitebsk. It was a very cultural place, since literate and intelligent Jews and Russians lived there. Before and after the Revolution all children, both Jewish and Russian, went to school together and I never heard the word ‘anti-Semitism,’ because we all lived in friendship. Only the Kolonitsky family stood out. It was a Russian family of intellectuals and three people from this family were our teachers: two women and one man, Alexey Yakovlevich, thanks to whom we have the possibility to remember Yanovichi, looking at pictures made from his drawings.
Before the Revolution [1] people were very anti-Semitic, whole crowds organized and participated in Jewish pogroms [2]. Grandpa had very good relations with the municipal officials, with the village constable and other people. [Village constable – lower rank of district police in pre-Revolution Russia. The position of village constable was introduced in 1878. They were accountable to the attachment police officer and executed supervision over the elective sotsky and desyatsky (charge-hands).] Grandfather was a respected man. In the course of one such pogrom, when the crowd was supposed to pass Grandpa’s house, the village constable came to his place, sat on the house porch and when the crowd wanted to attack the house, he told them: ‘Everything’s fine, there’s no one here, pass by.’ So Grandpa’s house remained untouched and safe.