Selected text
In 1937 repression and arrests began [16]. I had a friend whose father was the director of the paper mill in Malin – he was arrested. Grinfeld, a party official and our neighbor, and many others were arrested. Our teacher of Ukrainian language, a nice and quiet man, was arrested, too. We stayed near the cell of imprisonment before the trial for hours to see him. We saw him at dawn, after a few days, when he was taken to a different place with some other prisoners. He looked exhausted and beaten up. Nobody ever saw him again.
Regardless of anything we were inspired by the ideas of socialism and communism. We believed everything that was published in newspapers and said on the radio, but what happened to our teacher shook our faith in the Soviet authorities – we knew him and couldn’t believe that this man was an enemy. When I asked my mother whether what was published in newspapers was true, she kept silent and didn’t answer my questions.
Regardless of anything we were inspired by the ideas of socialism and communism. We believed everything that was published in newspapers and said on the radio, but what happened to our teacher shook our faith in the Soviet authorities – we knew him and couldn’t believe that this man was an enemy. When I asked my mother whether what was published in newspapers was true, she kept silent and didn’t answer my questions.
Period
Year
1937
Location
Malin
Zhytomyrska oblast
Ukraine
Interview
Tsylia Shapiro