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I had no toys in my childhood. The first time I got a celluloid toy doll, I was ten years old. I was so happy to have it that I wrapped it in a piece of blanket and went outside, to the gates, singing as if putting it to sleep. People mistakenly took my doll for a real baby and said my mother had given birth to the third child. When I was seven, my brother brought me skates, 'Nurmis', tied them to my shoes, and I began to go skating. At the age of 14 I could already skate race. I'm 80 years old now, but I still go skate racing at the Ice Stadium in Kiev.
Between themselves my parents spoke Yiddish, but with us only Russian. My mother spoke Russian very well. I believe she knew Russian better than me. She also knew Polish very well. When the first Polish refugees arrived in Kiev in 1939, my mother could communicate with them easily. My mother also spoke German fluently.
Between themselves my parents spoke Yiddish, but with us only Russian. My mother spoke Russian very well. I believe she knew Russian better than me. She also knew Polish very well. When the first Polish refugees arrived in Kiev in 1939, my mother could communicate with them easily. My mother also spoke German fluently.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Deborah Averbukh