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I liked walking on the beach, swimming and sailing. I learned to swim when I was in the 2nd grade. My friends and I went to Lanjeron or Austrian beach on the outer side of the pier. In Odessa we went to the Opera and Russian Drama Theater. The Jewish Theater was very popular in the 1930s. It was a Jewish cultural center. Its performances were always sold out. They were in Yiddish and it was mainly attended by those Jews whose mother tongue was Yiddish. I didn't go to the Jewish Theater. I only spoke Russian and wasn't interested in performances in Yiddish. My friends and I were cinema-goers. I can still remember popular [prewar] Soviet films such as Chapaev, A Start in Life and Goalkeeper. We got together for parties where we danced and sang. We didn't drink much, even though there were many wine cellars in Odessa when I was a student. Many young people smoked, but I managed to give up.
I met my first wife, Valentina Umanskaya, when I was a 1st-year student. She was a student of the Faculty of History, too. Her mother was a teacher. She died before we met. Her father, Samuel Umanski, was a blacksmith. He was a very old man by the time I met Valentina. She had two sisters and a brother. Her older sister worked at a garment factory. She perished in Odessa during World War II. Her other sister was a teacher. She was in evacuation during the war. Her son Senia finished communications college. In the 1970s they moved to the US where Senia worked as an electrician in the New York metro. Later he became an engineer. His wife Tatiana is Russian. We keep in touch. They often travel to Odessa and visit us. Zinaida died in the 1990s. I had very good relationships with my in-laws. Her family wasn't religious, but not as assimilated as my family. Her sisters spoke Yiddish at home.
We got married in April 1938. We only had a civil ceremony. After the wedding we lived with my mother. Our son Semyon, named after my father, was born in 1940. He was a healthy boy, quite like his grandfather.
In 1937 [during the Great Terror] [27] I was a college student. Quite a few of our lecturers disappeared. Our first lecturer in pedagogic was arrested, than another one and only the third one finished our course of lectures. Our brilliant teachers of history, Gordievski and Arnautov, were arrested. Between 1932-1937 many of my father's acquaintances were arrested as well. They were members of the RSDP before 1920 and took part in the Revolution. They often came to see us. They all disappeared in 1937. My mother didn't say a word regarding this subject. I knew a priest from Slobodka [28], a very educated man. He was executed, probably on false charges.
I met my first wife, Valentina Umanskaya, when I was a 1st-year student. She was a student of the Faculty of History, too. Her mother was a teacher. She died before we met. Her father, Samuel Umanski, was a blacksmith. He was a very old man by the time I met Valentina. She had two sisters and a brother. Her older sister worked at a garment factory. She perished in Odessa during World War II. Her other sister was a teacher. She was in evacuation during the war. Her son Senia finished communications college. In the 1970s they moved to the US where Senia worked as an electrician in the New York metro. Later he became an engineer. His wife Tatiana is Russian. We keep in touch. They often travel to Odessa and visit us. Zinaida died in the 1990s. I had very good relationships with my in-laws. Her family wasn't religious, but not as assimilated as my family. Her sisters spoke Yiddish at home.
We got married in April 1938. We only had a civil ceremony. After the wedding we lived with my mother. Our son Semyon, named after my father, was born in 1940. He was a healthy boy, quite like his grandfather.
In 1937 [during the Great Terror] [27] I was a college student. Quite a few of our lecturers disappeared. Our first lecturer in pedagogic was arrested, than another one and only the third one finished our course of lectures. Our brilliant teachers of history, Gordievski and Arnautov, were arrested. Between 1932-1937 many of my father's acquaintances were arrested as well. They were members of the RSDP before 1920 and took part in the Revolution. They often came to see us. They all disappeared in 1937. My mother didn't say a word regarding this subject. I knew a priest from Slobodka [28], a very educated man. He was executed, probably on false charges.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Victor Feldman