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My name is Raissa Grigorievna Makarevich. That's my maiden name, I didn’t change it after I got married. I was born on 12 February 1922 in Kiev.
My grandmother and grandfather on my mother’s side died before I was born, so all I know about them is what my mother told me.My maternal grandfather’s first name was Fivel, his last name was Golubchik. My maternal grandmother’s name was Leya Golubchik. I don’t know her maiden name. They lived in the town of Gornostaipol in Chernigov province. Later they moved to Kiev. I don’t know exactly what my grandfather did for a living. Mamma said he owned a business, it may have been a small store. They were relatively well off. My mamma told me that my grandfather and grandmother were very religious. They attended their town's synagogue. Grandfather began each day with a prayer. He put on his tallit and tefillin. They celebrated all the religious holidays at home, and strictly observed kashrut. A Ukrainian woman, their neighbor, came to their place every Saturday to start the fire and help my grandmother around the house. On Saturdays Grandmother didn’t do anything. Grandfather had been married before. Grandmother Leya was his second wife. He had one daughter, Lisa, from his first marriage. She was my mamma’s older stepsister. Her last name was Gershman after she got married. She lived in Kiev. I called her aunt Leika. She died before the war. She left two daughters, Bella and Sarra. Bella was an English teacher, but she got sick after the evacuation and died in the mid-1950s. Sarra moved to the USA. She died there in 2001.
My mother had siblings: an older sister, Rysia, and a younger sister, Fruma. Mamma’s older sister Rysia’s married name was Shekhtman. She died before the revolution. I was born in 1922 and they gave me her name. Rysia Shekhtman had three children: a daughter, Ania, and twins, Boris and Naum. Ania got married. Her married name was Rappo. She finished high school in Kiev and worked as an economist. During the war she was evacuated and died around 1960 in Kiev. Boris finished military college before the war, was summoned to the front as a lieutenant, and perished in 1942. Naum finished his degree at an institute in Kiev before the war. After Ukraine's western territories were united with the rest of Ukraine, he was sent to work there. He disappeared before the war. Mamma’s younger sister Fruma was married but she didn’t have any children. During a flu epidemic, Fruma got sick and died at the age of 32.
My mother, Dvoira Makarevich (née Golubchik), was born in Gornostaipol in 1894. Her family eventually moved to Kiev, but I don’t know when or why they moved. In Kiev, Mamma finished high school. Later she became a seamstress - a prestigious profession for Jewish girls. She met my father in Kiev.
My grandmother and grandfather on my mother’s side died before I was born, so all I know about them is what my mother told me.My maternal grandfather’s first name was Fivel, his last name was Golubchik. My maternal grandmother’s name was Leya Golubchik. I don’t know her maiden name. They lived in the town of Gornostaipol in Chernigov province. Later they moved to Kiev. I don’t know exactly what my grandfather did for a living. Mamma said he owned a business, it may have been a small store. They were relatively well off. My mamma told me that my grandfather and grandmother were very religious. They attended their town's synagogue. Grandfather began each day with a prayer. He put on his tallit and tefillin. They celebrated all the religious holidays at home, and strictly observed kashrut. A Ukrainian woman, their neighbor, came to their place every Saturday to start the fire and help my grandmother around the house. On Saturdays Grandmother didn’t do anything. Grandfather had been married before. Grandmother Leya was his second wife. He had one daughter, Lisa, from his first marriage. She was my mamma’s older stepsister. Her last name was Gershman after she got married. She lived in Kiev. I called her aunt Leika. She died before the war. She left two daughters, Bella and Sarra. Bella was an English teacher, but she got sick after the evacuation and died in the mid-1950s. Sarra moved to the USA. She died there in 2001.
My mother had siblings: an older sister, Rysia, and a younger sister, Fruma. Mamma’s older sister Rysia’s married name was Shekhtman. She died before the revolution. I was born in 1922 and they gave me her name. Rysia Shekhtman had three children: a daughter, Ania, and twins, Boris and Naum. Ania got married. Her married name was Rappo. She finished high school in Kiev and worked as an economist. During the war she was evacuated and died around 1960 in Kiev. Boris finished military college before the war, was summoned to the front as a lieutenant, and perished in 1942. Naum finished his degree at an institute in Kiev before the war. After Ukraine's western territories were united with the rest of Ukraine, he was sent to work there. He disappeared before the war. Mamma’s younger sister Fruma was married but she didn’t have any children. During a flu epidemic, Fruma got sick and died at the age of 32.
My mother, Dvoira Makarevich (née Golubchik), was born in Gornostaipol in 1894. Her family eventually moved to Kiev, but I don’t know when or why they moved. In Kiev, Mamma finished high school. Later she became a seamstress - a prestigious profession for Jewish girls. She met my father in Kiev.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Raissa Makarevich
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