When I turned 28 [the age of 28 was the end of Komsomol membership], I did not apply to the party. It was compulsory for key personnel to be members of the party and the town party committee watched that all managers were communists, but it was not quite necessary for workers. I worked decently and this was sufficient.
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Major events (political and historical)
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Holocaust
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Displaying 33301 - 33330 of 50826 results
Leonid Aptekar
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At this time one could not go to the synagogue or celebrate Jewish holidays openly, but my wife and I celebrated holidays to the extent we could afford. It was difficult to get matzah for Pesach and we just had sufficient to keep it as a symbol of the holiday. We also had traditional Jewish food: sweet and sour stew, chicken broth, gefilte fish. It was a tradition, but also, the memory of my mama and grandma for me.
We celebrated Soviet holidays at home: 1 May , 7 November [October revolution Day] [43], Soviet army Day [42], New Year. Of course, my favorite holidays is Victory Day [44]. If our army had not chased away the enemy from the USSR and other European countries the fascist black death would have spread all over the world.
I was happy to have survived, of course, and have a family, have my daughter growing and then grandchildren, but there was always sadness and sorrow about those who became victims of this horrible war: my dear ones, friends and comrades. I always remember them. One cannot forget this.
Anti-Semitism, which mitigated after Stalin’s death and during the Khrushchev’s rule started growing again. I remember Khrushchev’s visit to Kiev. He visited our plant. He made a tour of the shops and then asked without any confusion: ‘How come you have so many Jews working here?’ Later he repeated this question at the district party committee. Jews were removed from their high posts. Our shop superintendent, a very decent and highly qualified person, was fired.
In the 1970s Jewish mass emigration to Israel began. When Israel was officially recognized as a state in 1948, the USSR was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Israel supporting it. However, at that time Jews were not allowed to leave the USSR.
I understood that many of them were escaping from anti-Semitism, because their children could not go to study in higher educational institutions and their parents could not find jobs. As for me, I was not considering leaving my home. I was a worker and faced no anti-Semitism. I grew up here, I fought for this country and my dear ones were buried here. I thought that my place is here and my wife shared my opinion.
I visit the graves in the cemetery and go to the monument on the common grave at the shooting spot. I recite Kaddish for the deceased and think about them. If only they were beside me… There are no more Jews in Skvira. In the early 1990s, when industry decayed, people could find no jobs, there were no pensions paid. Many people moved to Israel. Older people receive pensions and younger people found jobs. The others moved to where their children or relatives lived. There is nobody I can visit or talk to in Skvira…
After finishing school my daughter Svetlana studied in Kiev Industrial high school. After finishing it she worked as a rate setter at a plant and later she became an economist. Later she went to work as an economist at the district trade department. In August 1975 Svetlana married Igor Benyumov, a nice Jewish guy. Igor was born in Kiev in 1951. He finished a college and worked as an engineer. They had a secular wedding. Traditional Jewish weddings were very rare at that time. My older grandson Vladislav was born in 1977, and Mikhail, the younger one, was born in 1985.
In the late 1980s General Secretary of the CPSU Gorbachev [46] decided to change the course of the party and initiated Perestroika [47] in the USSR. Of course, not everything was right, but Perestroika brought much positive. I think that the most important thing is that the Jewish life revived during Perestroika. At first these were books of Jewish writers, which had not been published in the USSR since about the 1930s. There were plays by Jewish writers staged in theaters and there were concerts of Jewish music. We were happy about it. Jewish newspapers and magazines started to be published, and various Jewish societies were established. Of course, I did not appreciate the final outcome of perestroika, the break up of the USSR [in 1991].
Of course, I did not appreciate the final outcome of perestroika, the break up of the USSR [in 1991]. But now, I think, the situation is getting better. The national segregation in Ukraine has mitigated. Jews can enjoy the freedoms and we are second-rate people no longer.
However, there are outbursts of anti-Semitism like the attack on the Brodskiy synagogue in Kiev [in 2002 hooligans broke windows at the Kiev synagogue, and it is not known where this was a demonstration of anti-Semitism or just the hooliganism of drunk teenagers], desecration of Jewish cemeteries, but now we can talk about such occurrences and fight with them. It is most important that the state policy condemns such occurrences.
There is a number of Jewish organizations, but the most significant among them for older people is Hesed [48]. Jews get assistance from all over the world and Hesed is an evidence of this. At one time they were collecting questionnaires and assessing, who the war had affected at the utmost. They took the right decision: it’s hard to provide for each and every one, but it’s possible to provide for all. The Hesed helps us a lot. We also receive food packages ad medical care. Hesed pays for surgeries and hospital bills. This is important since older people could hardly find such money. However, this is not all. The Hesed also takes care of the young generation. I have two grandchildren and one great grandson and Hesed did a lot to raise them Jewish. Svetlana’s husband, my son-in-law, also works in the Hesed.
When the Jewish school was opened, my grandsons went to study there. They were eager to learn about Jewish traditions and the Jewish history. They also have classes where they study prayers. When in my older grandson’s class the teacher asked who wanted to be circumcised, my grandson Vladislav was the first to raise his hand. The ceremony was conducted at the synagogue. My grandson went there with his father. At first the children had treatments and then the brit milah was conducted. Later my younger grandson was also circumcised. My grandchildren are religious. They have everything a Jew needs for a prayer: a tallit and tefillin. My older grandson is married and has a son. He had a traditional Jewish wedding. Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Yakov Bleich conducted the wedding ceremony of my grandson. It was beautiful and festive: the holiday that they would remember for life. My grandson’s son is 11 months old. He had a brit milah, as the Jewish tradition requires. My grandson and his wife observe Jewish traditions, go to the synagogue and pray. My younger grandson is also religious. My grandsons study at the International Solomon University [Jewish University in Kiev, established in 1995] , a higher educational institution. It teaches highly qualified professionals and also, the students observe Jewish traditions, and study Jewish subjects.
I try to take part in the Jewish life. I subscribe to Jewish newspapers and magazines ‘VEK’ [monthly newspaper issued by the World Jewish Congress, circulation 5 000 copies], ‘Evreyskie Vesty’ [‘Jewish news’, the newspaper of the Jewish council of Ukraine, issued twice a month since 1990], magazine ‘Ot Srdtsa k Srdtsu’ [‘From Heart to Heart’, monthly magazine of the Chabad Lubavich movement, issued since 1992] and read them with interest. I also got enrolled in the organization of Jewish veterans of the war, when it was established in the Jewish cultural society. I attend all meetings of the organization. They are always interesting. Veterans share their memories; we watch movies and discuss what we have read. There are concerts and lectures. We celebrate Jewish holidays, Victory Day and the Soviet army Day.
I served in the reconnaissance squad. During intervals between battles our mission was to identify German weapons emplacements, and mark their mortar locations on the map. We did reconnaissance and captured prisoners for interrogation. They were to describe their troops’ positions. Their input and our maps indicating the enemy’s weapon emplacements made preparation for an offensive. At the beginning of an offensive our batteries shot about 200 shells and mines to eliminate those emplacements. After the artillery preparation we got on our feet: ‘Vpered! Za rodiny! Za Stalina’ [‘Forward! For Motherland! For Stalin!’] and went into offensives.
,
During WW2
See text in interview
There was no anti-Semitism during the war. Nobody gave any thought to the nationality issues. We fought and lived like friends.
,
During WW2
See text in interview
Each regiment had NKVD and SMERSH units [Abbreviation (‘Smert Shpionam’ meaning death for the spies). It was the 9th division of the KGB, dedicated to Terror and Diversion. It worked within the Soviet Army, ferreting out dissident soldiers, former prisoners-of-war, or those who had been in encirclements, and summarily executing them.] representatives. I did not encounter working with them and it’s hard to say what their mission was. Our army liberated Soviet prisoners-of-war from camps and then SMERSH dealt with them. If they detected no crimes against the Soviet regime they gave them uniforms and assigned to the front line forces, while bandits, policemen and German accomplices were convicted and sent to the GULAG [29] in Siberia.
,
During WW2
See text in interview
Moscow was preparing for the victory parade. I was notified that General Major Dragunskiy [Dragunskiy, David Abramovich (1910-92), Jew, Soviet commander, General Colonel (1970), twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, for crossing of the Wisla River; 1945, for the Berlin operation). During the Great Patriotic War he was Commander of a Guard tank division. In 1969-85 chief of the higher ‘Vystrel’ (‘Shot’) course.], the current Army Commander and a Jew, by the way, had appointed few representatives of our division, including me, to participate in the parade. My army headquarters declared that I could not take part in the parade, being a short guy. I am sure that it had to do with my Jewish identity, but they did not mention this, of course. I felt hurt: when they were sending me to where bullets and shells were flying my shortness was of no account, but it was not appropriate for the parade… So I did not go to the victory parade.
,
1945
See text in interview
The Soviet Army begun to attack the Japanese occupiers from Soviet and Mongolian territory in August 1945.] At 2 o’clock in the morning we were read Stalin’s order stating that we were fulfilling our agreement with the USA, and it was our duty to attack and take revenge over the Japanese. And we went into the offensive.
When we reached Hingan, our armed forces had already accumulated there: the Katyusha [The 82mm BM-8 and 132mm BM-13 Katyusha rocket launchers were built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. The launcher got this unofficial, but immediately recognized in the Red Army, name from the title of a Russian wartime song, Katyusha.] missile units, air forces and artillery. There was artillery preparation conducted and we went into attack. We were fighting with a Samurai [Editor’s note: The Samurai caste was abolished in late 19th Century. The cavalry the Soviet Army fought with could not be made of Samurai warriors] cavalry division. We defeated them. The battle was over and we went on.
There were 700 recruits from Skvira, my hometown, but only 200 of them returned home. They survived thought they became invalids, but they lived.
We stayed in this area for 2 years. The situation changed radically through this period. Struggle for the power began in China. America supported Chiang Kai-shek and the USSR stood for Mao Tse-Tung. Their armies fought in China. The Chan Kai-shek troops intended to land on the Kuan Tung Peninsula and our troops relocated to the seashore. To support the Mao Tse-Tung troops we gave them our 46 mm mortars. We were to delay the advance of the Chan Kai-shek troops. I was on this Peninsula until 1947. By that time the tension of situation reduced. The Chinese revolutionary army advanced to attack. In 1949 the Chan Kai-shek troops won the victory. Mao Tse-Tung and Chou En-lai were the leaders of China at the time.
In September 1941 German troops invaded Skvira. The German commandment appointed the time for all Jewish families to gather in the central square of Skvira. Some had evacuated and some managed to hide away, but not my family. They failed to evacuate. They were taken out of town and killed. In 1941 Riva, my mother’s brother Teviye’s daughter, was spending her summer vacations with my family. Riva perished along with my grandmother, mother, my mother’s sisters Udl and Boba and Boba’s family.
I wrote my uncles and since then we corresponded. Gersh was at the front and Teviye and his family evacuated with the Soviet of Ministers and its employees. Gersh was in the army since the beginning of the war. He was wounded near Kiev in August 1941. He was taken to a hospital and after the hospital he was sent to an artillery school. After finishing the school he went back to the front as an artillery battery commanding officer. He took part in battles near Konigsberg and had a number of combat awards. After the war my mother’s brothers returned home.
Olga Bernstein
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Since 1978 I’ve lived with my second husband Grigoriy Levin. He was born in 1916 in Uman [about 200 km from Kiev]. We are some distant relatives. Grigoriy finished a military pilot school. He was a military pilot and served in different locations. I’ve known him since 1940. He was at the New Year party with his brothers at our home. Then we went different ways. In 1974 we met in hospital by chance. I was visiting my relative and he came to see his wife. In 1975 Grigoriy’s wife died. They had no children. By the time we met he was a pensioner. He lived alone for a long time before he began to visit me. We’ve been together for 25 years. Our children love us and we love them. They help and support us as much as they can. We have a much better life now when we are old. We were always hard up. Our children have grown up and became good specialists. They support us. We are eager to socialize and we like coming to Hesed. Whenever they invite us we are happy to go there to socialize with people. We attend lectures about Jewish traditions, mainly before holidays. We also celebrate Saturday there. We’ve learned to celebrate it at home. We like it. We didn’t know many things before; the regime stole much from us. That we studied in Jewish schools doesn’t fill in the gaps, but it was this way at this period of time when they destroyed churches and synagogues.
We have friends. Unfortunately, we don’t meet often; they have walking problems and so do Grisha [Grigoriy] and I, but we talk on the phone in the morning and in the evening. We love life and perhaps our long life – I am 83, and he is 87, perhaps this love of life and that other people come to see us and do not forget us, perhaps this has been given to us from above. We do many things about the house. I can lie down to rest and then get up and continue the housework. Grigoriy goes shopping. We do our cooking and washing, we do everything together. This helps us to live longer.
I was in America in 1994, I lived there three months and my husband and I have visited our son in Germany a few times. My relatives ask me: ‘Why are you staying?’ I say: ‘I want to be buried near Mother, there is place near her!’ I want to live here where I was born and studied.
We have friends. Unfortunately, we don’t meet often; they have walking problems and so do Grisha [Grigoriy] and I, but we talk on the phone in the morning and in the evening. We love life and perhaps our long life – I am 83, and he is 87, perhaps this love of life and that other people come to see us and do not forget us, perhaps this has been given to us from above. We do many things about the house. I can lie down to rest and then get up and continue the housework. Grigoriy goes shopping. We do our cooking and washing, we do everything together. This helps us to live longer.
I was in America in 1994, I lived there three months and my husband and I have visited our son in Germany a few times. My relatives ask me: ‘Why are you staying?’ I say: ‘I want to be buried near Mother, there is place near her!’ I want to live here where I was born and studied.
, Ukraine
Even many years later, when he came home on some business his mother talked to him from behind the door. Now, when we meet on occasions, happy or sad, I talk to him, of course. We have children, you know.
I was alone for a long time. I retired in 1975. I receive a pension, but I don’t know how I would live if it weren’t for my children…
My older son Dmitriy Minkovskiy, born in 1950, finished a secondary school, served in the army and finished a medical College. For over 20 years he has worked in Kazakhstan, in Surgut town [about 3000 km from Kiev]. He went there on job assignment after finishing his college and stayed to live there. We didn’t know that in 1991 we would be living in different countries [12]. He is married to a Kazakh woman. They have a good life together and have two daughters, very nice girls. My son deals in insurance medicine. He is very successful. The only sad thing is that we see each other rarely. Traveling is expensive.
My older son Konstantin has an engineering education. He is married to an Armenian woman. They lived in Kiev. Konstantin worked as an engineer. In the 1990s my son and his family moved to Germany. They live in Berlin. My son works in some business related to his profession of an engineer. They have a daughter named Olga after me. She is married and I have a great grandson. It’s all right that my sons have non-Jewish wives. It has never been a problem in our family. My uncle was married to a Ukrainian woman and my brother had a Russian wife. Most important is that they love each other.
I was alone for a long time. I retired in 1975. I receive a pension, but I don’t know how I would live if it weren’t for my children…
My older son Dmitriy Minkovskiy, born in 1950, finished a secondary school, served in the army and finished a medical College. For over 20 years he has worked in Kazakhstan, in Surgut town [about 3000 km from Kiev]. He went there on job assignment after finishing his college and stayed to live there. We didn’t know that in 1991 we would be living in different countries [12]. He is married to a Kazakh woman. They have a good life together and have two daughters, very nice girls. My son deals in insurance medicine. He is very successful. The only sad thing is that we see each other rarely. Traveling is expensive.
My older son Konstantin has an engineering education. He is married to an Armenian woman. They lived in Kiev. Konstantin worked as an engineer. In the 1990s my son and his family moved to Germany. They live in Berlin. My son works in some business related to his profession of an engineer. They have a daughter named Olga after me. She is married and I have a great grandson. It’s all right that my sons have non-Jewish wives. It has never been a problem in our family. My uncle was married to a Ukrainian woman and my brother had a Russian wife. Most important is that they love each other.
, Ukraine
My husband went on a spree in the early 1960. When I got to know that he was seeing another woman I said: ‘That’s it. Get packed and out of here’. I divorced him. His parents were on my side. They said: ‘You go where you were fooling around and Olga is staying with us. She belongs to us’. They felt hurt by his conduct.
I remember the day when Stalin died very well. We lived in a military unit. Of course, there was a Party unit and a political officer there. There was a funeral oration and we were kneeling on snow during this meeting held of 5 March 1953. Like everybody else! For me personally it wasn’t much of grief, but I was in terrible mood feeling like it was going to be the end of the word.
My mother-in-law parents and some of her brothers and sisters lived in Kiev before the war. They stayed in Kiev and perished in Babi Yar.