Tag #117099 - Interview #78547 (Leo Ginovker)

On 14th June 1941 [18], at 2am, our doorbell rang. When we opened the door, a commissar and four soldiers carrying rifles came in. We were all told to get up and sit around the dining table, and the commissar read the decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR saying that our family was being resettled out of Estonia. In this decree and from that point on we were termed ‘socially dangerous elements’ because we owned private property and used hired labor. We were given two hours to pack our things, and the commissar kept saying, ‘Don’t take much! They’ll give you everything!’ We were naive enough to believe him, and all we took were some suitcases with clothes and a bit of food.