Selected text
In 1948 we heard that Israel was being established. My family and friends were enthusiastic about it. We, boys, were thinking of what we could do for this country. At first we wanted to collect some money, but how much could we have possibly collected? Then my friends started talking about running away to Israel. But how would we have managed to do that? And what could I have done alone, without my father and mother, without knowing the language? There were too many questions and no answers, so we decided to run away later, after finishing school.
I remember the campaign against cosmopolitans, although it didn't affect our family. I was the only boy in our class who still had a father. The fathers of the other children had all perished at the front. Other boys had only mothers who were working hard to raise their children. Accordingly, none of them had anything to do with ideology. I remember that our deputy director, Maria Abramovna Levina, lost her position. She worked as a chemistry teacher. I was too young then to understand what was going on. I remember the beginning of 1953 - the 'case of the doctors-murderers' [the so-called Doctors' Plot] [16]. I was in the 9th grade. We were talking about it once, and one boy said that in any nation there were bad people and Jews weren't an exception. His companion slapped him on the face and said, 'Don't you see: It's the Beilis' case!' [17]
At about the same time people began to talk about the deportation of Jews [to Birobidzhan] [18]. We knew that these weren't just rumors. Broha's husband was a railway worker and he said there were trains at the station ready to leave. My father packed our suitcases with all necessary things to be ready in case of a deportation. Stalin's death in 1953 saved us from this lot. At that time I didn't understand many things. Stalin's death was a shock for me. I wore a red arm bandarmband with a black stripe. I didn't know at all how to go on living without Stalin. My parents took the news very calmly. My father understood a lot, but he kept silent. I don't know whether he knew the whole truth.
I studied well. My father wanted me to go to a trade school to learn some profession after I finished seven years at school. He was very ill, and he wanted to be sure that there would be someone to support the family once he would 'leave' us. But I was eager to study. I knew that I had to work and support my family, but I couldn't imagine leaving school before finishing it. When I was in the 7th grade I began to give private classes. My first student was from the 5th grade. His parents didn't pay me but they gave me food. My second student paid me 3 rubles per lesson. It wasn't just the money that attracted me but also the possibility to be a teacher. My father told me that I had been named in honor of one of his relatives, who was a teacher at cheder, and joked that I probably also borrowed his vocation. My parents gave me the opportunity to finish secondary school. My father died in 1957, and my mother died in 1977.
I remember the campaign against cosmopolitans, although it didn't affect our family. I was the only boy in our class who still had a father. The fathers of the other children had all perished at the front. Other boys had only mothers who were working hard to raise their children. Accordingly, none of them had anything to do with ideology. I remember that our deputy director, Maria Abramovna Levina, lost her position. She worked as a chemistry teacher. I was too young then to understand what was going on. I remember the beginning of 1953 - the 'case of the doctors-murderers' [the so-called Doctors' Plot] [16]. I was in the 9th grade. We were talking about it once, and one boy said that in any nation there were bad people and Jews weren't an exception. His companion slapped him on the face and said, 'Don't you see: It's the Beilis' case!' [17]
At about the same time people began to talk about the deportation of Jews [to Birobidzhan] [18]. We knew that these weren't just rumors. Broha's husband was a railway worker and he said there were trains at the station ready to leave. My father packed our suitcases with all necessary things to be ready in case of a deportation. Stalin's death in 1953 saved us from this lot. At that time I didn't understand many things. Stalin's death was a shock for me. I wore a red arm bandarmband with a black stripe. I didn't know at all how to go on living without Stalin. My parents took the news very calmly. My father understood a lot, but he kept silent. I don't know whether he knew the whole truth.
I studied well. My father wanted me to go to a trade school to learn some profession after I finished seven years at school. He was very ill, and he wanted to be sure that there would be someone to support the family once he would 'leave' us. But I was eager to study. I knew that I had to work and support my family, but I couldn't imagine leaving school before finishing it. When I was in the 7th grade I began to give private classes. My first student was from the 5th grade. His parents didn't pay me but they gave me food. My second student paid me 3 rubles per lesson. It wasn't just the money that attracted me but also the possibility to be a teacher. My father told me that I had been named in honor of one of his relatives, who was a teacher at cheder, and joked that I probably also borrowed his vocation. My parents gave me the opportunity to finish secondary school. My father died in 1957, and my mother died in 1977.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
efim pisarenko