Selected text
In spring 1941, I had a free two week vacation in the central trade union recreation home in Odessa. I was accompanied by an NKVD employee since Bessarabians weren't allowed entry into the USSR, so that they didn't know what was actually happening there. I saw the reality for the first time: lines for sugar and calico. They artificially created a paradise in Bessarabia with plenty of goods and low prices. The Soviet power was good at making this sham, and my father used to say that the Soviet power was a purimspiel.
Period
Year
1941
Location
Odessa
Ukraine
Interview
Mendel Kreimer