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Things were more complicated with my older sister Maria, Mura. She was a fighter like me. She studied well at school and at a technical school later. She was a quiet and humble girl. But her appeaance was typical Jewish and everywhere and everybody never missed a chance to call her a “zhydovka”. Se couldn’t fight back or respond. As a result she withdrew into herself and this had an impact on her whole life.
1952 was the year of public accusation of the Kremlin Jewish doctors of murder of their patients, the so-called “doctors’ case”[5]. I felt it on my skin, so to say. I got into a hospital with appendicitis. I was 13. Adults and children didn’t like me. They were hurting me both physically and psychologically. I fainted when the doctors were removing stitches after the surgery. Almost nobody talked to me. They told my mother nasty tings about me. When I returned home the situation there was one of concern. The family of my uncle Max and his friends were preparing for deportation to nobody knew where. They said we were going to be moved either to Brobidjan or to Siberia. People were expecting pogroms. I realized then that it might be very fearful to be a Jew.
My sister Maria was taking it very hard. My mother was afraid that she might have committed suicide. My sister told me then that life was impossible when one expects some trouble or a blow at any moment.
1952 was the year of public accusation of the Kremlin Jewish doctors of murder of their patients, the so-called “doctors’ case”[5]. I felt it on my skin, so to say. I got into a hospital with appendicitis. I was 13. Adults and children didn’t like me. They were hurting me both physically and psychologically. I fainted when the doctors were removing stitches after the surgery. Almost nobody talked to me. They told my mother nasty tings about me. When I returned home the situation there was one of concern. The family of my uncle Max and his friends were preparing for deportation to nobody knew where. They said we were going to be moved either to Brobidjan or to Siberia. People were expecting pogroms. I realized then that it might be very fearful to be a Jew.
My sister Maria was taking it very hard. My mother was afraid that she might have committed suicide. My sister told me then that life was impossible when one expects some trouble or a blow at any moment.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Ella Lukatskaya