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In 1937 my sister finished school and entered Medical Institute in Kharkov. She lived in a hostel. Once she fell ill and my mother went to look after her. My father didn’t cook at home. I came to his work and we went to the restaurant. We had pork chops that were delicious. We never had pork at home. We never told mother about it – she wouldn’t have appreciated it.
WWII began on 1 September 1939. My classmate Kaminskiy had a Jewish mother and a Polish father. His mother was a military and she was sent to Poland. When his mother returned she brought her son a pen that was rare at that time. Her son shared a desk with me and he gave me this pen. When I went to see him at his home, his mother told us what it was like in Poland when Germans came. They began mass extermination of Jews. It didn’t even occur to us that Hitler would dare to attack our country.
In the 5th form in 1938 we began to attend military classes. We were taught what we had to do in case of air raid and to provide assistance to the wounded. Patriotic propaganda was very strong and slogans “For Stalin! For our Motherland!” reached even our subconsciusness.
WWII began on 1 September 1939. My classmate Kaminskiy had a Jewish mother and a Polish father. His mother was a military and she was sent to Poland. When his mother returned she brought her son a pen that was rare at that time. Her son shared a desk with me and he gave me this pen. When I went to see him at his home, his mother told us what it was like in Poland when Germans came. They began mass extermination of Jews. It didn’t even occur to us that Hitler would dare to attack our country.
In the 5th form in 1938 we began to attend military classes. We were taught what we had to do in case of air raid and to provide assistance to the wounded. Patriotic propaganda was very strong and slogans “For Stalin! For our Motherland!” reached even our subconsciusness.
Period
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Faina Volper Biography