Selected text
My father, Isak Yakov Samoilov, was born in 1890 in Ruse. He liked people calling him Izidor. He also loved calling himself Izidor Yakov and all his books at home were stamped with the name ‘Izidor Yakov.’ My father served in the artillery regiment in Ruse as an artillery signaler. He connected the command with the canons and during one bombardment he managed to ensure the connection through a torn cable by biting the two ends of the cable. They gave him a medal of valor for that.
My father had leftist, that is, communist beliefs. His weakness was subscribing to whole literary movements. We had all volumes by Lev Tolstoy [7], including one of the first editions in Bulgarian, Jack London, Maxim Gorky [8], Victor Hugo, Emil Zola, Stendhal and Balzac. [London, Jack (real name John Griffith London) (1876-1916): American writer, best known for works such as ‘The Call of the Wild’ and ‘White Fang.’ Hugo, Victor (1802-1885): French writer, poet and playwright, best known for ‘Les Miserables,’ one of the brightest representatives of progressive romantic literature of the 19th century. Zola, Emile (1840-1902): French writer and critic, leader of the naturalist school. Stendhal (pen name of Marie Henri Beyle) (1783-1842): French novelist and critic, best known for his work ‘The Red and the Black.’ Balzac, Honore dé (1799-1850): French novelist, best known for his masterpiece ‘La Comédie humaine.’]
Many Jews in Ruse, including my father, took part in the wars – the First Balkan War, the Second Balkan War and World War I. My father took part in the last two and is a bearer of a Medal of Valor from the Second Balkan War, in which he fought as a signaler. My uncles were also at the front during World War I – David was a sailor and Simanto was wounded in the leg and was a disabled soldier.
Since my father was a traveling salesman, he couldn't go to the synagogue every Sabbath, but he always went on the Jewish holidays, because his trips in the countryside lasted around a month, a month and a half. There was a mezuzah at home. My father had a tallit and prayer books. When he was absent, my mother was the head of the family. I remember that the members of the Association of Traveling Salesmen organized a ball every year. I eagerly awaited my parents' return from the ball, because they always brought me an orange.
My father had leftist, that is, communist beliefs. His weakness was subscribing to whole literary movements. We had all volumes by Lev Tolstoy [7], including one of the first editions in Bulgarian, Jack London, Maxim Gorky [8], Victor Hugo, Emil Zola, Stendhal and Balzac. [London, Jack (real name John Griffith London) (1876-1916): American writer, best known for works such as ‘The Call of the Wild’ and ‘White Fang.’ Hugo, Victor (1802-1885): French writer, poet and playwright, best known for ‘Les Miserables,’ one of the brightest representatives of progressive romantic literature of the 19th century. Zola, Emile (1840-1902): French writer and critic, leader of the naturalist school. Stendhal (pen name of Marie Henri Beyle) (1783-1842): French novelist and critic, best known for his work ‘The Red and the Black.’ Balzac, Honore dé (1799-1850): French novelist, best known for his masterpiece ‘La Comédie humaine.’]
Many Jews in Ruse, including my father, took part in the wars – the First Balkan War, the Second Balkan War and World War I. My father took part in the last two and is a bearer of a Medal of Valor from the Second Balkan War, in which he fought as a signaler. My uncles were also at the front during World War I – David was a sailor and Simanto was wounded in the leg and was a disabled soldier.
Since my father was a traveling salesman, he couldn't go to the synagogue every Sabbath, but he always went on the Jewish holidays, because his trips in the countryside lasted around a month, a month and a half. There was a mezuzah at home. My father had a tallit and prayer books. When he was absent, my mother was the head of the family. I remember that the members of the Association of Traveling Salesmen organized a ball every year. I eagerly awaited my parents' return from the ball, because they always brought me an orange.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Yako Yakov