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My father's older sister Tyoma, born in 1906, finished the 'Ikh Duh Arbet' school for Jewish girls where they were trained in crafts. [Editor's note: 'Ikh Duh Arbet', lit. Assist by Working, Jewish organization established by the Jewish community in Vilnius in the 1920s. It was an 8-year school for girls who were taught various crafts there. The school only existed before WWII.] Tyoma learned to sew, knit and embroider and worked in a handicrafts store owned by Russian immigrants. The store sold yarn and embroidery accessories. Tyoma wanted me to be good at handicrafts and gave me embroidery sets as birthday gifts. Only once she bought me an umbrella on my birthday. Her husband's surname was Finskiy. Tyoma had a daughter with two names: Genia was her name registered in the documents, but her family called her Bira after the Jewish autonomous region of Birobidjan [9]. Tyoma, her husband and their child perished in the Vilnius ghetto.
Location
Lithuania
Interview
Fania Brantsovskaya