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When I was a student at Tartu University, my father had to quit his job due to his health condition. I also earned to pay for my studies by helping my co-students and giving classes to them. Rosa, who had graduated and worked as a dentist, sent me some pocket money. Rosa got married in 1925. Her husband, Efrayim Shein, lived in the Estonian town of Valga, near the Latvian border [150km from Riga]. They met in a train, and Efrayim proposed to Rosa shortly after. His family was religious. Efrayim’s great-grandfather and his great-grandfather’s father were rabbis. His family observed all Jewish traditions. Rosa had a traditional Jewish wedding. After the wedding she moved to Valga, where she worked as a dentist. Efrayim dealt in forestry. Rosa, her husband and I were very close.
My father died in 1927. We didn’t want to bury him in a common cemetery in Aluksne. He was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Valga, where Rosa and her husband lived. It was a traditional Jewish funeral. There was a gravestone installed on his grave. After the funeral my older brother tried to convince my mother to live with him and his family, but she didn’t want to stay in Aluksne. She moved from her daughters in Riga, to Rosa in Valga. She also visited me, when I went to work.
I graduated from university in 1925. After university I worked as a dentist in Tartu for some time before I received a job offer in Sigulda [today Latvia], a resort town where I worked before getting married. I met my future husband, David Sorkin, at Tartu University. David’s family lived in Tartu. He had two brothers: Shulim and another brother, who was called Mulia in the family. I don’t remember his full name. David also had a younger sister. Her name was Inna. David was born in Tartu in 1903. He studied at the Medical Faculty of Tartu University. We met at a lecture. These lectures were given in German at David’s Faculty, and in Russian at ours. Some students, whose German wasn’t good enough, attended Russian lectures at our faculty. Later, he told me that he had noticed me and had asked someone about me. I liked him a lot. We used to see each other at student balls, but these were just instances of meetings.
My father died in 1927. We didn’t want to bury him in a common cemetery in Aluksne. He was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Valga, where Rosa and her husband lived. It was a traditional Jewish funeral. There was a gravestone installed on his grave. After the funeral my older brother tried to convince my mother to live with him and his family, but she didn’t want to stay in Aluksne. She moved from her daughters in Riga, to Rosa in Valga. She also visited me, when I went to work.
I graduated from university in 1925. After university I worked as a dentist in Tartu for some time before I received a job offer in Sigulda [today Latvia], a resort town where I worked before getting married. I met my future husband, David Sorkin, at Tartu University. David’s family lived in Tartu. He had two brothers: Shulim and another brother, who was called Mulia in the family. I don’t remember his full name. David also had a younger sister. Her name was Inna. David was born in Tartu in 1903. He studied at the Medical Faculty of Tartu University. We met at a lecture. These lectures were given in German at David’s Faculty, and in Russian at ours. Some students, whose German wasn’t good enough, attended Russian lectures at our faculty. Later, he told me that he had noticed me and had asked someone about me. I liked him a lot. We used to see each other at student balls, but these were just instances of meetings.
Period
Location
Tartu
Estonia
Interview
Maria Sorkina