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My grandfather perished in 1920. Three Polish horse riders came to his house once. My grandmother gave them some food and talked with them in Polish. The Polish men were pleased with the reception. They thanked my grandparents and left. My grandfather went outside. He needed to climb to the attic. One of these Polish men turned back and shot my grandfather in his head, probably for no reason. My grandfather was in his early 50s when he perished. Many Jews came to his funeral. He was buried according to Jewish tradition at the Jewish cemetery.
I remember my grandmother Tsyrl on my mother’s side. My grandmother was born in Matsevichi in 1860s. She was a short and fat woman. She was wearing a wig. I asked my mother why my grandmother was wearing a wig and my mother told that such was a rule for a rabbi’s wife. It was a nicely combed wig with a lock on the forehead My grandmother always wore long dark dresses with long sleeves and many small buttons. She was a very nice and kind woman. She always had a smile on her face.
My father came to Matsevichi on business looking for sheepskin. He saw my mother incidentally and fell in love with her. At that time my mother was meeting with a nice Jewish young man. He was a shy man, while my father was a troubleshooter. Girls like men like my father and my mother preferred him. My father began to make passes to my mother coming to the village more often than his business required. He met with her parents and they liked him, too. My parents got married in 1919 and my mother moved to Starokonstantinov. They had a traditional wedding with a huppah. My grandfather – the rabbi – conducted the wedding ceremony with a huppah at the synagogue. They had a small wedding party and my parents moved to their lodging that they were renting until my father received an apartment where my family lived before the war and where I was born. It was half a house and another half was occupied by anther family. We had two rooms and a kitchen. There was a small yard with a flower garden and few fruit trees.
I remember my grandmother Tsyrl on my mother’s side. My grandmother was born in Matsevichi in 1860s. She was a short and fat woman. She was wearing a wig. I asked my mother why my grandmother was wearing a wig and my mother told that such was a rule for a rabbi’s wife. It was a nicely combed wig with a lock on the forehead My grandmother always wore long dark dresses with long sleeves and many small buttons. She was a very nice and kind woman. She always had a smile on her face.
My father came to Matsevichi on business looking for sheepskin. He saw my mother incidentally and fell in love with her. At that time my mother was meeting with a nice Jewish young man. He was a shy man, while my father was a troubleshooter. Girls like men like my father and my mother preferred him. My father began to make passes to my mother coming to the village more often than his business required. He met with her parents and they liked him, too. My parents got married in 1919 and my mother moved to Starokonstantinov. They had a traditional wedding with a huppah. My grandfather – the rabbi – conducted the wedding ceremony with a huppah at the synagogue. They had a small wedding party and my parents moved to their lodging that they were renting until my father received an apartment where my family lived before the war and where I was born. It was half a house and another half was occupied by anther family. We had two rooms and a kitchen. There was a small yard with a flower garden and few fruit trees.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Faina Volper Biography