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As for the other members of our family: Aunt Berta, her husband and son were murdered by fascists in Tartu. They were not willing to get evacuated, neither did my father’s brother Bernhard, who also lived in Tartu with his family. He perished with his wife Rebekka and their two sons.
My uncle German, who lived in Tallinn was a dentist. He was not going to get evacuated. He was a very good dentist and all local Germans were treated by him. German could not imagine that the Nazis would come and exterminate all the Jews. He said, ‘Germans have always been my friends.’ He did not want to leave. German’s married daughters Babi Firk and Reni – I do not remember their husbands – were evacuated with their families and came back to Tallinn after the war. Uncle German’s wife, Stanislava was worried. She cried, but her husband’s word was the law. Germans took them to a concentration camp. German Kljass had a loyal maid – an Estonian. Her name was Yulya. She bribed the guard in the concentration camp and brought food to my uncle. Once she came there and the camp was empty. Nobody knew what happened. Either they were transferred to another place or exterminated.
The Germans put my uncle Eduard in Tallinn prison. They started incarcerating Jewish men on the first day. What an amazing coincidence: when Yulya went home from the empty camp, she walked by the prison during the time when the arrested were taken out. There were many of them and she recognized Eduard. He threw away his wedding ring through the bars and she gave it to Anna when we came back from the evacuation. It was spoiled and crooked, but still something was left from him. Eduard was a very good person.
Thus, almost all our family died. It happened because people tried to escape from Germans much less than from Bolsheviks [14]. They thought nothing would happen. After a year of the Soviet regime all Estonian citizens were afraid of Bolsheviks rather than Germans, who were living nearby. Besides, they were used to Germans much more.
Both my mother’s brothers survived the German occupation in France. Uncle Illia and his wife moved to a part of France that was not occupied by Germans. They lived there calmly until the end of the war. Many French people helped Jews and sheltered them. Uncle Voldemar and his son joined the French resistance. Voldemar’s wife Jenny stayed in Paris. When the Germans occupied Paris, she was called to the commandant’s office. At that time many Jews were called there. Aunt Jenny went and made a scandal there: ‘How dare you calling us here?’ They let her go. After that she moved to Uncle Illia. They were not touched. After the war Aunt Jenny met her husband and son. Some of their acquaintances, Jews, perished. I never saw Uncle Illia after that. Once, in 1961 Uncle Voldemar and his wife came to Riga from Paris and my mother and I also went there to see them. Boris, their son, once came to Tallinn for a visit. My mother was still alive at the time.
My uncle German, who lived in Tallinn was a dentist. He was not going to get evacuated. He was a very good dentist and all local Germans were treated by him. German could not imagine that the Nazis would come and exterminate all the Jews. He said, ‘Germans have always been my friends.’ He did not want to leave. German’s married daughters Babi Firk and Reni – I do not remember their husbands – were evacuated with their families and came back to Tallinn after the war. Uncle German’s wife, Stanislava was worried. She cried, but her husband’s word was the law. Germans took them to a concentration camp. German Kljass had a loyal maid – an Estonian. Her name was Yulya. She bribed the guard in the concentration camp and brought food to my uncle. Once she came there and the camp was empty. Nobody knew what happened. Either they were transferred to another place or exterminated.
The Germans put my uncle Eduard in Tallinn prison. They started incarcerating Jewish men on the first day. What an amazing coincidence: when Yulya went home from the empty camp, she walked by the prison during the time when the arrested were taken out. There were many of them and she recognized Eduard. He threw away his wedding ring through the bars and she gave it to Anna when we came back from the evacuation. It was spoiled and crooked, but still something was left from him. Eduard was a very good person.
Thus, almost all our family died. It happened because people tried to escape from Germans much less than from Bolsheviks [14]. They thought nothing would happen. After a year of the Soviet regime all Estonian citizens were afraid of Bolsheviks rather than Germans, who were living nearby. Besides, they were used to Germans much more.
Both my mother’s brothers survived the German occupation in France. Uncle Illia and his wife moved to a part of France that was not occupied by Germans. They lived there calmly until the end of the war. Many French people helped Jews and sheltered them. Uncle Voldemar and his son joined the French resistance. Voldemar’s wife Jenny stayed in Paris. When the Germans occupied Paris, she was called to the commandant’s office. At that time many Jews were called there. Aunt Jenny went and made a scandal there: ‘How dare you calling us here?’ They let her go. After that she moved to Uncle Illia. They were not touched. After the war Aunt Jenny met her husband and son. Some of their acquaintances, Jews, perished. I never saw Uncle Illia after that. Once, in 1961 Uncle Voldemar and his wife came to Riga from Paris and my mother and I also went there to see them. Boris, their son, once came to Tallinn for a visit. My mother was still alive at the time.
Period
Interview
Ester Khanson