Tag #130631 - Interview #87383 (Carol Margulies)

The Russians had very few communist Jews. In fact, people were anything but Communists in Russia. During Stalin’s regime, people were sent to prison for no reason at all. We didn’t know that from official sources, but we knew. Along with the Russian army came a number of civilians who occupied the vacant houses in Czernowitz and settled there. One day, my mother met a Jewish woman at the marketplace. She knew she was Jewish because of her outfit. She didn’t speak Russian, only Yiddish. My mother asked her, ‘How are things in your country?’ She replied, ‘Things will be just fine; if not for us, then for our children; if not for our children, then for our children’s children. Things will be fine.’ This was all she said. She was afraid to add anything else. The following joke was born at that time: Some people who were visiting Russia noticed that most Russians had bruises on their face. ‘What happened to you?’ ‘I went to the dentist.’ ‘So? Teeth are inside the mouth, not on the outside.’ ‘It’s true, but, down here, we aren’t allowed to open our mouths.