Selected text
In 1936 my mother’s dream came true. She bought a small 2-bedroom apartment in a 2-storied house in the Komsomolskaya Street in the suburb of the town. There were 4 apartments in this house. There were two small rooms, a fore room and a kitchen in the apartment. It was so good to have our own apartment! I remember how we were happy to move into our new apartment. Mama hired two wagons to haul our belongings to the new place. When the older children went to school, mama bought a used desk for them to study. Mama took every effort to make our home a cozy place to live: she made new curtains and quilt rugs. There were no comforts in the apartment. There was a toilet in the yard and we fetched water from the well from across the street. Our neighbors were a Ukrainian family of the Kolesniks and two Jewish families: the Zilberts and the Goizbergs. All families had daughters of about the same age with me. Galina Kolesnik and I have been lifelong friends. Zilbert was a wealthy man. He owned a mill. His daughter Yevgenia was also my friend. Goizberg was a military. Shortly after we moved into our new apartment he got an assignment in Leningrad, and his family followed him there. Two older Ukrainian women, the Romanenko sisters, moved into their apartment. Ours was the only house with Jewish tenants in our street – the rest of tenants were Ukrainian. We had a big backyard. There was a swing in the yard. My friends and I spent much time playing in the yard.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Riva Pizman Biography