Tag #116662 - Interview #78774 (Fania Brantsovskaya)

The Soviet regime needed specialists to restore the economy. We were invited to the Komsomol central committee where they asked where my husband and I had worked before the war. My husband had been a worker at a shoe factory and they made him director of the factory. He turned down this high level position and became its technical manager. My friend, who was just a first year student of the Faculty of Economics, was appointed manager of the planning department. Since I knew Russian, I was sent to work as secretary of a ministry. At first all ministers sat in one office. Later the minister I worked for got another office. I used to take my rifle to work putting it in the corner. The minister joked: 'One day you'll shoot me!' We didn't care for any material riches. They didn't seem to matter in comparison to victory and freedom. However, we had to get used to peaceful life. Some time later we were ordered to submit our weapons. In summer 1945 Mikhail and I were in the Lithuanian delegation standing on the Red Square [in Moscow] at the Victory Parade. These were unforgettable moments. My husband and five others were awarded the 'Medal for Partisan of the Great Patriotic War' [37], Grade I, and they were one of the first awardees.