Tag #141489 - Interview #77983 (lubov ratmanskaya)

I am Lubov Ratmanskaya. I know only about my grandfather and I know nothing about my great-grandfather. I was born when my grandfather died. His name was Leib Ramantsky. That's why all girls who were born to the Ratmansky family were named Lubov, and all the boys, Lev. Kiev was outside the Jewish Pale of Settlement [1], but my grandfather was allowed to live in Kiev as a craftsman. He was an ink maker - he made ink according to his own recipe. His sons were allowed to live in Kiev until they came of age, and his daughters, until they got married. His family lived in Podol [2].

Grandmother Etya-Hannah Zlotchenko was born in the town of Talnoye, Kiev region. I don't know much about my grandparents' life. They had a very good family. That's why their children turned out very well. They had seven children: Aro-Shloyme, Tsipa, Noah, Vera, my father Isay, aunt Manya and aunt Makhlya. All the children had some profession.

My grandparents were religious. Some of their children and grandchildren were religious, too, and some weren't. My father didn't tell me about the life of his family before the Revolution of 1917 [3]. Before 1917 they didn't hide their Jewish origin, but afterwards, somehow it didn't seem the right time to talk about it. I only know that the family was very poor.