Selected text
In June 1940 Soviet troops came to Estonia. The parliament was dissolved and new elections were announced. I took part in them. I was for the Soviets. Of course, at that time I knew hardly anything about the Soviet Union. I thought that it was the country, where everybody was equal, and not oppressed. If I would have known what the Soviet Union really was…
My former classmate, who knew that I was a scout master and worked with children, suggested that I should work with school children and form a pioneer organization [15] in Rakvere. I happily accepted the offer. None of us knew what kind of pioneer organizations were in the USSR and we made that organization as per sample of a scout organization. I was captured by work. I decided to enter the Komsomol [16]. My form was sent to the Central Komsomol committee. They refused me on the ground that my father owned a store. Then nationalization commenced and my father’s store was taken. We were lucky that it was a small store bearing scarce income. Owing to that our family escaped deportation [17].
My former classmate, who knew that I was a scout master and worked with children, suggested that I should work with school children and form a pioneer organization [15] in Rakvere. I happily accepted the offer. None of us knew what kind of pioneer organizations were in the USSR and we made that organization as per sample of a scout organization. I was captured by work. I decided to enter the Komsomol [16]. My form was sent to the Central Komsomol committee. They refused me on the ground that my father owned a store. Then nationalization commenced and my father’s store was taken. We were lucky that it was a small store bearing scarce income. Owing to that our family escaped deportation [17].
Period
Year
1940
Location
Rakvere
Estonia
Interview
Isaac Serman