Selected text
I got married on 31st December 1948. I met my wife Riva in Tartu. I am not going to say much about my wife and her family: this is her private life and I do not think I have the right to touch it. She was born in Riga in 1926. When she was a little girl, her family moved to Tartu. Riva has a sister, a couple of years old than she. Riva’s parents were very religious and the daughters were taught Jewish traditions and religion. Riva and her sister studied in a Jewish school in Tartu.
During the war, their family was in evacuation in Kirghizia. There Riva finished а compulsory school. After the war her family came back to Tartu. When I met Riva, she worked in the municipal Ispolkom [37]. We fell in love with each other and got married soon. We had an ordinary wedding for those times. We registered our marriage in the marriage registration office and had a modest party with close people. There was no opportunity to arrange for a Jewish wedding and there was no place for it. The Tallinn synagogue [38] was burned down in 1944. Besides, I was not willing to be wed under a chuppah. I was an atheist and a party member. It was not acceptable for me.
During the war, their family was in evacuation in Kirghizia. There Riva finished а compulsory school. After the war her family came back to Tartu. When I met Riva, she worked in the municipal Ispolkom [37]. We fell in love with each other and got married soon. We had an ordinary wedding for those times. We registered our marriage in the marriage registration office and had a modest party with close people. There was no opportunity to arrange for a Jewish wedding and there was no place for it. The Tallinn synagogue [38] was burned down in 1944. Besides, I was not willing to be wed under a chuppah. I was an atheist and a party member. It was not acceptable for me.
Period
Year
1948
Location
Talinn
Estonia
Interview
Isaac Serman