In the early 20th century, when the revolutionary ideas seized over workers and craftsmen, my father also joined the advanced proletariat. Though he earned well and was not poor, he was attracted like many other Jewish young people by the ideas of equality and fraternity of all people propagated by the Bolsheviks: Jews referred themselves to the oppressed in the czarist Russia due to the 5% quota of Jewish admission to higher educational institutions [7], and no possibilities of being elected to state organs, etc.
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Displaying 36751 - 36780 of 50826 results
Zinoviy Rukinglaz
In 1905 there were riots in Kherson. My father organized and headed a riot of craftsmen. Fortunately for him, he didn’t suffer during this period. There was a Manifest issued by the czarist government on 17 October 1905 (editor’s note: this manifest granted freedom of speech, meetings and demonstrations resulted in a number of riots that were cruelly suppressed by the government) resulted in the Jewish pogrom during which a significant part of the Jewish population suffered.
He didn’t join the Bolshevik Party, but he didn’t give up his revolutionary convictions.
My father was a very good designer and was awarded the title of Hero of Labor; I remember the ribbon with the award pinned to it.
I don’t know how my parents met. They probably got married through matchmakers, according to Jewish customs.
Many people evacuated by boats. The first heavy bombing happened in late July: German bombers dropped bombs in the harbor where people were waiting for their turn to board the boats. There were many craftsmen with their families. They all perished.
In middle August, when fascists invaded Nikolaev [80 km from Kherson, 420 – from Kiev], panic broke up in the town: people broke into the shops taking home whatever they could grab: flour, soap, cereals.
Director of my father’s factory Riaboy obtained permission to evacuate the factory. It was to evacuate in three stages: equipment, engineering personnel and management and then on 13 August we evacuated along with other workers’ families. This was the last train leaving Kherson. I remember that we saw German tanks moving to our town, when passing the Belaya Krinitsa station. There were 6 of us evacuating: my parents and I and Grunia with her two children. Our train consisted of freight railcars and open platforms. Our trip lasted for about a month and a half. We knew that our point of destination was Kustanai in Kazakhstan [about 2500 km from home], where the factory evacuated. We had some food with us and the management of the factory made arrangements for our meals at the stations that we stopped at. We had food coupons and the canteens had lists of the factory employees to have meals. The train was often bombed on the way and once I had my eye injured with a splinter. They removed the splinter, but my sight got much worse.
We arrived at Kustanai in late September 1941. Kustanai was a small town and there were mostly private houses in it. There were aryk canals [artificial canals] in the streets. There was a bazaar with plenty of fruit, watermelons and melons in the center of the town. Even we, residents of the south of Ukraine, were amazed at this plentiful of everything. At first we were accommodated in a school building. One month later we were accommodated in two rooms in a private house. The owners of the house were Kazakh people and they were very good to us. In December we received a letter from Grisha’s wife Raisa and then she joined us with her two-year-old daughter Yeva. We didn’t have enough space, but this was a common thing with all those who was in the evacuation. Raya and my mother slept on the beds in a bigger room. Raya’s children slept on couches. In a smaller room Grunia and Sima slept on the bed and Boria and I slept on the planks supported by chairs. My father slept on the floor in the kitchen.
He worked at the factory. The local authorities soon heard about his professional skills, and their wives soon became his clients: the wife of secretary of the regional party committee, the wife of secretary of the district party committee, etc. They paid for his work in food products: cereals, flour, meat and eggs and or family had sufficient food.
Grunia and Raya worked at the factory and received workers’ cards for themselves and dependents’ cards for my mother and the children.
I talked with my parents and we decided that I should go to work rather than going to school to finish the 10th form. In November 1941 I became an apprentice of electrician at the ‘Bolshevichka’ factory and half a year later I began to work independently. I worked at the factory throughout the war and joined the Komsomol there. However, my sight was growing worse and it was hard for me to work.
Miron’s wife Anna Palker worked with communists in the underground and he didn’t suffer the arrest. During the soviet regime Anna became a Minister in Moldova.
My parents’ families lived in Kherson [480 km south of Kiev, Kherson], a young town [editor’s note: Kherson is a little older than 220 years; the town was founded during the reign of Katherine II 1] in the early 20th century its population was about 60 thousand people with about 20 thousand Jewish residents]. This town was within the pale of Settlement [2], and had mild climate, fruitful soil and clean water and favorable trading conditions. Kherson stands at the spot where the Dnieper flows into the Black Sea. There are two ports: a river port and a seaport. There was also Ukrainian, Russian, Tatar, Greek and German population: it was a multinational town. There were 26 synagogues and houses of prayer, three yeshivah schools, Saturday schools for boys and girls, free vocational schools for boys and girls, few private grammar schools and vocational schools, a Jewish hospital and an elderly people home. Wealthier Jews – doctors, lawyers and merchants – lived in their mansions in the center of the town. There was well-developed commerce in the town: wholesale grain, sunflower, corn and plant oil trade.
Kurt Sadlik
My mother was a hairdresser. Before Sabbath and Jewish holidays she did the hair of rich women in their homes. The rest of the time my mother did sewing at home. She sewed bed sheets, nightgowns and fixed clothes. She had a Singer sewing machine at home.
My father wore common clothes. He didn’t have a beard or payes. He didn’t cover his head. My mother didn’t cover her head either. Only orthodox Jewish women wore wigs and dark clothes. My mother had long and very thick dark hair that she wore in a knot. My parents covered their heads only when they went to the synagogue. My grandmother and my mother’s sisters had their hair done in the same fashion. They also wore common clothes in the fashion of this time.
Our family and my mother’s relatives were religious. We had faith in God and prayed. We observed traditions, but we didn’t always observe the kashrut in everyday life at home.
On Friday my mother made food and baked challah for Sabbath. There were two Jewish bakeries in the town: one owned by Altman and another was owned by Nyumberg. Mother made dough for challah and plated it. She also made bagels and rolls. She put those in a big canvas bad and covered it with a white napkin. I took this bag to the bakery: they did it for peanuts. In the afternoon I picked up the pastries. I can still remember the wonderful smell!
In the evening my mother lit candles and prayed over them. We recited a prayer and sat down to dinner. On Sabbath our Christian neighbors came to stoke the stove to warm up the food and to light lamps.
My mother and father went to the synagogue on Sabbath. My mother took me with her. Many women took their children to the synagogue with them if there was nobody to leave them with at home. Women were on the second floor at the synagogue. There were three rows of seats with stands for prayer books.
My mother and father went to the synagogue on Sabbath. My mother took me with her. Many women took their children to the synagogue with them if there was nobody to leave them with at home. Women were on the second floor at the synagogue. There were three rows of seats with stands for prayer books.
We made a general cleanup of the house before Pesach. Our fancy crockery that we only used at Pesach was stored in the attic. We took it from there before Pesach and kept it in the boiling water. Everyday utensils were taken to the attic.
We bought matzah in the Nyumberg bakery. That matzah was different from what they make nowadays: those were round-shaped thin flat cookies baked on charcoal in ovens. It was such yummy matzah! Present-day matzah has a different taste. The recipe is the same: water and flour, but the taste is different. The matzah of my time was crispy and I enjoyed eating it. Present-day matzah is like straw, far from what I remember.
We didn’t have any bread at home throughout the eight days of Pesach. Mother cooked traditional Jewish food at Pesach: chicken broth with matzah, fried chicken or geese, stuffed gooseneck, pudding with matzah and eggs and strudels with jam, nuts and raisins. We only had kosher food at Pesach.
We spent both seders at Aunt Cecilia’s home. We visited them after the synagogue in the morning and stayed almost until the next morning, the end of seder. Her son Altrey, the one who converted to Lutheranism during World War II, was very religious at that time. He conducted the seder. They had a big room and a table big enough for all of us. The family got together, said a common prayer [broche] and then sat down to a meal.
During seder each of us including children was to drink four glasses of wine. Of course, children had small glasses. In the center of the table there was an extra glass for Elijah the Prophet [5]. The front door was open for him to come into the house.
It didn’t usually happen that people stopped working throughout the eight days of Pesach. Only on the first and the second day when the first and second seder was conducted nobody worked. On the other days a person could decide for himself whether he needed to do some work or not.
Our father worked from the third day of the holiday to the last, eighth day. There were tourists coming to town and they needed a bus to transport them. My father made an arrangement with his colleague to have the first two days off at Pesach. When my father was at work my mother and I visited relatives and had guests at home.
We bought matzah in the Nyumberg bakery. That matzah was different from what they make nowadays: those were round-shaped thin flat cookies baked on charcoal in ovens. It was such yummy matzah! Present-day matzah has a different taste. The recipe is the same: water and flour, but the taste is different. The matzah of my time was crispy and I enjoyed eating it. Present-day matzah is like straw, far from what I remember.
We didn’t have any bread at home throughout the eight days of Pesach. Mother cooked traditional Jewish food at Pesach: chicken broth with matzah, fried chicken or geese, stuffed gooseneck, pudding with matzah and eggs and strudels with jam, nuts and raisins. We only had kosher food at Pesach.
We spent both seders at Aunt Cecilia’s home. We visited them after the synagogue in the morning and stayed almost until the next morning, the end of seder. Her son Altrey, the one who converted to Lutheranism during World War II, was very religious at that time. He conducted the seder. They had a big room and a table big enough for all of us. The family got together, said a common prayer [broche] and then sat down to a meal.
During seder each of us including children was to drink four glasses of wine. Of course, children had small glasses. In the center of the table there was an extra glass for Elijah the Prophet [5]. The front door was open for him to come into the house.
It didn’t usually happen that people stopped working throughout the eight days of Pesach. Only on the first and the second day when the first and second seder was conducted nobody worked. On the other days a person could decide for himself whether he needed to do some work or not.
Our father worked from the third day of the holiday to the last, eighth day. There were tourists coming to town and they needed a bus to transport them. My father made an arrangement with his colleague to have the first two days off at Pesach. When my father was at work my mother and I visited relatives and had guests at home.
At Rosh Hashanah my mother always made a festive meal. In the morning the family went to the synagogue to pray.
At Yom Kippur adults fasted. They had dinner a day before Yom Kippur before the first evening star. They tried to have a bigger meal since they had 24 hours ahead of them with no eating.
I remember that my mother and aunt Adelina stuck cloves into an apple that they took with them to the synagogue. When they couldn’t stand the hunger any longer, at 3-4pm, they smelled these cloves. Its heady smell made them feel better. Children fasted from morning till lunch and adults fasted until the first evening star appeared in the sky.
I remember that my mother and aunt Adelina stuck cloves into an apple that they took with them to the synagogue. When they couldn’t stand the hunger any longer, at 3-4pm, they smelled these cloves. Its heady smell made them feel better. Children fasted from morning till lunch and adults fasted until the first evening star appeared in the sky.
I remember Chanukkah very well. My mother put a big bronze Chanukkah candle stand and lit one more candle every day with the same candle. All Jewish children received presents from the Jewish community: bags full of candy, peanuts and chocolate. Our guests always gave me some money at Chanukkah.
At Purim performers came to Jewish houses. They were wearing costumes to act as characters of the Book of Ester: Mordecai, King Ahasuerus and Haman, the villain of the story. The performers sang songs asking to give them a few coins for their performance. When I turned six I also performed in houses. We were given some change, candy and honey cakes.
In spring 1942 all Jews in Liptovsky Mikulas were ordered to gather in the yard of the synagogue near my school. Ordered means fascists came to Jewish houses and told people to gather in the yard of the synagogue. They said that people didn’t need much luggage, just for two or three days. They said that people didn’t have to worry about their houses, they would be sealed.
People went there as obediently as sheep to a slaughterhouse as if they were hypnotized. I still cannot understand how come they didn’t resist, but kept praying and wondering what was going to happen to them. Of course, nobody knew that they were going to die.
My mother and I and my mother’s sisters and brother and their families went there, too. There was a two meter high fence around the yard. Beyond the fence there was an old Jewish cemetery. We didn’t have any idea what was going to happen to us.
People went there as obediently as sheep to a slaughterhouse as if they were hypnotized. I still cannot understand how come they didn’t resist, but kept praying and wondering what was going to happen to them. Of course, nobody knew that they were going to die.
My mother and I and my mother’s sisters and brother and their families went there, too. There was a two meter high fence around the yard. Beyond the fence there was an old Jewish cemetery. We didn’t have any idea what was going to happen to us.
,
1942
See text in interview
I cannot explain why my friend and I decided to climb over the fence to the old Jewish cemetery at night. My mother didn’t know about it. From the cemetery we went to somebody’s yard and from that yard we escaped to the forest where we stayed. Then my friend left me. His parents’ acquaintances lived in a neighboring village. He wanted me to go with him, but I was afraid since there were fascists in villages as well. I never saw him again. I don’t know what happened to him.
I was hiding in the Lower Tatry. I lived in a shepherd’s abandoned hut, in a ‘kolyba’ made of branches. There was a stove inside. These huts were usually made near a stream or spring to have potable water.
Every now and then woodcutters came to the hut. They were aware of my whereabouts, but I still hid in the woods from them. When I returned to the ‘kolyba’ I found bread, boiled potatoes and milk. They were nice people. They didn’t have much food, but they shared with me whatever little they had. They didn’t give me out to the Germans either.
In summer and fall I ate berries and eatable roots. There were lots of mushrooms, but I was afraid of making a fire in the stove to cook them for safety reasons. I didn’t have matches either. It was cold in winter. I picked pine branches to sleep on them. Anyway, I managed there until the winter of 1943-44 and never caught a cold.
I was hiding in the Lower Tatry. I lived in a shepherd’s abandoned hut, in a ‘kolyba’ made of branches. There was a stove inside. These huts were usually made near a stream or spring to have potable water.
Every now and then woodcutters came to the hut. They were aware of my whereabouts, but I still hid in the woods from them. When I returned to the ‘kolyba’ I found bread, boiled potatoes and milk. They were nice people. They didn’t have much food, but they shared with me whatever little they had. They didn’t give me out to the Germans either.
In summer and fall I ate berries and eatable roots. There were lots of mushrooms, but I was afraid of making a fire in the stove to cook them for safety reasons. I didn’t have matches either. It was cold in winter. I picked pine branches to sleep on them. Anyway, I managed there until the winter of 1943-44 and never caught a cold.
In winter 1943-44 some Russian parachutists landed nearby. I didn’t know who they were and hid in the woods. I heard some foreign languages they spoke, but it wasn’t German. They saw branches and food leftovers in my hut and understood there was someone living in it. Of course, it took them little time to find me. I didn’t know Russian, but there was a Slovakian translator with them.
I was fluent in German and the Russians took me into their group. I was a kind of spy for the Russians. I put on farmer’s clothes and went to villages to investigate where the German troops were and listen to what the Germans were saying.
I was fluent in German and the Russians took me into their group. I was a kind of spy for the Russians. I put on farmer’s clothes and went to villages to investigate where the German troops were and listen to what the Germans were saying.
On 29th August 1944 the Slovakian people’s riot began [9]. Many partisans came from the mountains. There were many Germans and Slovakian fascists killed. For five months fascists were having problems with moving their troops to the USSR across this area. Then German troops were sent there to fight with partisans and partisans had to go back to the woods. Partisans were staying in the woods until February 1945, and I stayed with them.
In 1945 I went home looking for my mother. My aunt Adelina and my mother returned home from a concentration camp.
In winter 1945 German troops began to attack our town again. In March we had to escape to the town of Poprad in the east of Slovakia, some 30 kilometers from our town. A local Jewish woman offered us accommodation in her house. We stayed there a few days.