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Father lived until 1959, while my mother lived with me for a long time, until 1976. They were both religious, kept holidays even in the most difficult years. Nobody bothered him. The synagogue in Podol was functioning, they baked matzo there, and my parents celebrated Passover and other holidays. It was never noisy, but nobody hindered them.
We, children, were not religious. We kept some traditions, but only for our parents’ sake. My mother always lived with me, so I would buy a chicken for Passover, go to a shoikhet to kill it, and if I could not go to the shoikhet, my friend Raya would kill the chicken, and I would say that it was the shoikhet. I did my best to keep my mother happy. I was certainly sinful before my mother. For many years she was paralyzed. Sometimes she would shout to me from her room: “What knife are you using: kosher or not?” And I would lie to her, in order to keep her happy.
My daughter, Inna Yegorovna Filko, was considered Ukrainian (by her father). At school she was told, “Though your mother is a kike, it’s ok, you are ours”. My daughter graduated from the Polytechnic Institute and worked at the cable plant until her retirement on pension. Director of the plant, Grabin, was Jewish, so he treated Jews nicely. The whole city knew him. When he died, the plant erected a monument for him at the Jewish cemetery.
My life was always hard. I always worked at two jobs. In 45 years of my work I never had a vacation.
When Israel was formed I was very happy. I always supported it. They are great, they are fighting for their existence.
Life is hard lately because our pensions are so low.
But praise God there is a Jewish community and the organization “Khesed”. They help us a lot. They give us food parcels, good meals, medicines, rolls, doughnuts, and even juice.
I certainly do not leave the house, but my daughter goes to the Jewish Culture Society, to “Khesed”. She takes part in the Jewish life, receives newspapers. So, thank you very much for all of this.
We, children, were not religious. We kept some traditions, but only for our parents’ sake. My mother always lived with me, so I would buy a chicken for Passover, go to a shoikhet to kill it, and if I could not go to the shoikhet, my friend Raya would kill the chicken, and I would say that it was the shoikhet. I did my best to keep my mother happy. I was certainly sinful before my mother. For many years she was paralyzed. Sometimes she would shout to me from her room: “What knife are you using: kosher or not?” And I would lie to her, in order to keep her happy.
My daughter, Inna Yegorovna Filko, was considered Ukrainian (by her father). At school she was told, “Though your mother is a kike, it’s ok, you are ours”. My daughter graduated from the Polytechnic Institute and worked at the cable plant until her retirement on pension. Director of the plant, Grabin, was Jewish, so he treated Jews nicely. The whole city knew him. When he died, the plant erected a monument for him at the Jewish cemetery.
My life was always hard. I always worked at two jobs. In 45 years of my work I never had a vacation.
When Israel was formed I was very happy. I always supported it. They are great, they are fighting for their existence.
Life is hard lately because our pensions are so low.
But praise God there is a Jewish community and the organization “Khesed”. They help us a lot. They give us food parcels, good meals, medicines, rolls, doughnuts, and even juice.
I certainly do not leave the house, but my daughter goes to the Jewish Culture Society, to “Khesed”. She takes part in the Jewish life, receives newspapers. So, thank you very much for all of this.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Yelizaveta Dubinskaya