In 1948 persecution of Jews commenced in the USSR. It started with the campaign against cosmopolitans [34], and in January 1953 there was the Doctors' Plot' [35]. We learned about that from newspapers. We were untouched for the reason that Subbotin, the first secretary of the regional party committee in our area, was a smart man. When the Doctors' Plot commenced the NKVD commissar asked whether the only Jewish doctor, who worked as a venerologist in the local hospital, should be fired. Subbotin replied diplomatically: 'Let us wait.' If there were a direct order from Moscow to fire all Jews, he would have to fulfill it. Since there were no directives like that, the Jew kept on working as a venerologist in the hospital until Stalin's death.
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simon rapoport
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Thus, my roaming on the way to Malmyzh started. It was a horrible time. I was to take the train to Sverdlovsk from Leningrad. People were given a ration depending on the durability of the trip. I got bread, but my cellmate told me to eat the ration before leaving otherwise it would be taken away from me in any case. The prisoners took the train to Sverdlovsk, but I did not reach the destination as I was told to get off the train in Kirov and was sent to prison. I was starving. I stayed for a month in Kirov prison. The prison warden didn't know what to do with me. There was no train to Malmyzh from there and they didn't want or couldn't send me there by ship.
After Kirov I was sent from one lock-up ward to another. In each of them I had to wait for them to collect a couple more people to send me to another prison by train. It took time. A scarce prison ration consisting of 400 grams of bread and half a liter of soup was ordered one day in advance. When I arrived at the next prison I remained hungry as the ration was not ordered for me. The morning after, when I was supposed to get my ration, I was to leave on the train with another group of prisoners, who were transferred to another prison. The story would repeat itself at the next prison: the ration was not ordered for me on the arrival date. Maybe because of that I ate very skimpily for a month. When I was in Tallinn I weighed 56 kg and I lost 8 kg within a month.
I was lice-ridden. The prisons were relatively clean, but the trains and lock-up wards were teeming with fleas and lice. There was famishing. A human being can get used to anything. I remember what happened to me in Urzhum prison. At 2 o'clock in the morning the door of the ward was unlocked and a turnkey pushed a scary-looking creature. It was an old man with a sack on his back. He was very ill-kept, with a tattered beard. When the door was locked, I asked him how old he was and he said that he was 100. The old man said that he was incarcerated because he killed his granddaughter who didn't give him food. I didn't believe him and considered him to be a dotard. I asked if he had some food with him. The old man said that he had bread that he made himself: flour mixed with sawdust and dried herbs. He pulled a loaf of bread from the sack and divided it in two halves and gave me one half. At that time I paid attention to his hands, with a coat of filth. I was so hungry that I was not grouchy. Then I studied his hands closely and saw that they were really covered by clotted blood. I hungrily ate the bread and went to sleep. That bread, given to me by the bloody hands of a murderer, did taste good!
After Kirov I was sent from one lock-up ward to another. In each of them I had to wait for them to collect a couple more people to send me to another prison by train. It took time. A scarce prison ration consisting of 400 grams of bread and half a liter of soup was ordered one day in advance. When I arrived at the next prison I remained hungry as the ration was not ordered for me. The morning after, when I was supposed to get my ration, I was to leave on the train with another group of prisoners, who were transferred to another prison. The story would repeat itself at the next prison: the ration was not ordered for me on the arrival date. Maybe because of that I ate very skimpily for a month. When I was in Tallinn I weighed 56 kg and I lost 8 kg within a month.
I was lice-ridden. The prisons were relatively clean, but the trains and lock-up wards were teeming with fleas and lice. There was famishing. A human being can get used to anything. I remember what happened to me in Urzhum prison. At 2 o'clock in the morning the door of the ward was unlocked and a turnkey pushed a scary-looking creature. It was an old man with a sack on his back. He was very ill-kept, with a tattered beard. When the door was locked, I asked him how old he was and he said that he was 100. The old man said that he was incarcerated because he killed his granddaughter who didn't give him food. I didn't believe him and considered him to be a dotard. I asked if he had some food with him. The old man said that he had bread that he made himself: flour mixed with sawdust and dried herbs. He pulled a loaf of bread from the sack and divided it in two halves and gave me one half. At that time I paid attention to his hands, with a coat of filth. I was so hungry that I was not grouchy. Then I studied his hands closely and saw that they were really covered by clotted blood. I hungrily ate the bread and went to sleep. That bread, given to me by the bloody hands of a murderer, did taste good!
I understood that there was nothing for me to hope for and I decided to run away from exile. In late October 1946 I went to Kazan on foot, as I was afraid to get on the train in the vicinity of our settlement. I had to walk for 150 kilometers. On the holiday of 7th November [33] 1946 I bought a ticket for Kazan-Leningrad. I hoped that on holidays the documents wouldn't be checked on the train. Of course, I didn't have documents. I purchased the ticket for that day, hoping that there would be less suspicion. I was the only passenger in the compartment and maybe in the entire car.
I reached Leningrad, wherefrom I went to Tallinn. In Leningrad, at the market, I had bought a passport with a different name and I felt safe. I didn't stay in Tallinn for a long time. I was subject of an all-union search. It was pretty expensive. At that time a search cost 25,000 rubles. I was arrested in Tallinn on 9th May 1947. First I was incarcerated in Tallinn for two weeks. Then I was sent to Leningrad. I stayed in the receiving prison for a month while my fate was being decided on. Of course, I could have been imprisoned or sent to Gulag. I was saved by a formality. When we arrived in Malmyzh, everybody was to sign a paper stating that he would be obliged not to leave the area of exile. For some reason I wasn't given that paper to sign. Since my signature on the resolution on the area of exile was missing, I could not be charged with an escape from exile. It saved me. Such punctiliousness was strange in the environment of total arbitrariness reigning in the USSR. Owing to that I was supposed to come back to the area of exile.
I reached Leningrad, wherefrom I went to Tallinn. In Leningrad, at the market, I had bought a passport with a different name and I felt safe. I didn't stay in Tallinn for a long time. I was subject of an all-union search. It was pretty expensive. At that time a search cost 25,000 rubles. I was arrested in Tallinn on 9th May 1947. First I was incarcerated in Tallinn for two weeks. Then I was sent to Leningrad. I stayed in the receiving prison for a month while my fate was being decided on. Of course, I could have been imprisoned or sent to Gulag. I was saved by a formality. When we arrived in Malmyzh, everybody was to sign a paper stating that he would be obliged not to leave the area of exile. For some reason I wasn't given that paper to sign. Since my signature on the resolution on the area of exile was missing, I could not be charged with an escape from exile. It saved me. Such punctiliousness was strange in the environment of total arbitrariness reigning in the USSR. Owing to that I was supposed to come back to the area of exile.
I was worried for having neither education nor profession and I wanted to study somewhere at any cost. There were three-month driver's courses in the adjacent town Urzhum, where exiled also lived. I wrote an application to the commissar of the NKVD in Malmyzh asking for permission to take the courses, but I was refused. Then by chance I was offered a job as a foreman at the construction site. It was close to Malmyzh and I agreed. Of course, it was my adolescent zealotry - to assume work I had no idea of. In the end, the work was performed pretty well. There was an episode when the construction manager and some outsider official came to the site to check my work. I was very worried. It looked like the work was solid and of good quality. After that I was known as a good builder and I was offered a job at the construction trust Vyapolyanles. It was a very high result for me, as I was almost illiterate and my education was only nine grades.
I cannot forget one appalling episode: the Gendels family from Tallinn was in exile in Malmyzh. The head of the family was the representative of the company 'Nokia' in Tallinn. The company produced rubber goods, and Gendel got from them rubber goods and condoms and sold them. He was charged with having connections with foreigners and even espionage and was sentenced to either 10 or 15 years in the camps. The investigator told him during interrogations: 'If you confess in things written here, we would send you to the camps, where you will most likely survive. If not, you would get the same sentence, but you would be brought into such a state that it would be most unlikely that you will remain alive there longer than a couple of months.' It was blatantly clear. He was sent to the Gulag, where he had stayed for five years. In 1946 his presence was certified. It meant that when a person was on the brink of death, he was released from the camp to die on the free side for the sake of improvement of the camp statistics. Thus, the lethal rate in the camps was within the allowable standards.
Gendel came to Malmyzh. His wife sold last things for him to regain his footing. He must have been very sturdy and he survived. The NKVD didn't let its victims go that easy though; Gendel was framed with the organization of a counterrevolutionary Estonian fascist plot. An almost insane woman called Lagoutkina lived in exile in Malmyzh. Her husband was the owner of the fabric store in Tallinn. After exile Lagoutkina ran amuck as a result of the things she had to go through. She had been wandering in the streets and told everybody who was willing to listen that she was a friend of the Queen of England and similar tosh. That poor woman was 'assigned' by Schastlivtsev as the leader of the plotters' headquarters. She willingly signed all papers she was asked to as it was flattering to her. Many people signed the papers with the charges understanding that they wouldn't be able to justify themselves, but Gendel was adamant and didn't confess. He was beaten during interrogations. He couldn't stand the torture, broke his eye- glasses and swallowed the glass. He was sent to the hospital and the interrogations resumed, but Gendel said he would die rather than sign a mendacious accusation.
Gendel came to Malmyzh. His wife sold last things for him to regain his footing. He must have been very sturdy and he survived. The NKVD didn't let its victims go that easy though; Gendel was framed with the organization of a counterrevolutionary Estonian fascist plot. An almost insane woman called Lagoutkina lived in exile in Malmyzh. Her husband was the owner of the fabric store in Tallinn. After exile Lagoutkina ran amuck as a result of the things she had to go through. She had been wandering in the streets and told everybody who was willing to listen that she was a friend of the Queen of England and similar tosh. That poor woman was 'assigned' by Schastlivtsev as the leader of the plotters' headquarters. She willingly signed all papers she was asked to as it was flattering to her. Many people signed the papers with the charges understanding that they wouldn't be able to justify themselves, but Gendel was adamant and didn't confess. He was beaten during interrogations. He couldn't stand the torture, broke his eye- glasses and swallowed the glass. He was sent to the hospital and the interrogations resumed, but Gendel said he would die rather than sign a mendacious accusation.
, Russia
At the train station in Kotelnich we heard Molotov's speech [24] via loud- speaker. He informed people that Germany had attacked the Soviet Union. We were told to go to the town. Nobody accompanied us. We felt a brewing chaos and people getting out of control. There must have been no directions from Moscow and local party authorities were calling the shots. We were told to spend a night at the school. Nobody was awaiting us, so we just lay on the floor in the empty classrooms. Our things were left at the train station and guarded by the soldiers.
Somebody rang at the door early in the morning on 14th June. My mother and brother were off to work and I was by myself. People were standing on the steps: An NKVD officer wearing a cap with a blue stripe on the top, two soldiers with rifles and two pallid and frightened witnesses -Estonians. The officer didn't ask for permission to come in, he just pushed me aside and entered the room. The only thing he asked - who was in. I said that I was by myself and that my mother and brother were at work. He told me to call them. I gave mother a call and soon she and my brother came over. Then the NKVD officer informed us that we would be exiled to the remote region of the Soviet Union. Mother asked on what grounds, but no explanation was coming, they just said that it was the resolution of the Supreme Council of the USSR and that we had two hours to pack our things. Later, when we were in exile we found out that there was no resolution. It was an oral order of Beriya [20] regarding deportation of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians [21].
We were permitted to take 20kg of luggage either per family or per person. We were at a loss without knowing what to do first and which things to take with us. Fortunately, my sister and her husband came over and helped us pack. The NKVD officers whispered to us that we could take more things as nobody would be weighing our luggage and added that we would need warm things. Then we understood that he was a decent man. Many NKVD officers merely plundered the exiled, ordering them to take out money and precious things and put them on the table. Then they misappropriated them. The apartments were confiscated and then everything that new host took an interest in was loaded in the trucks. Luckily, we didn't come across that.
A large truck was waiting for us in the yard. There was an elderly couple with their belongings. We got in the car. We were driven to the harbor. There were railway lines for unloading the ships and there were six trains consisting of 50 cars each on every line. The trucks with the arrested families came from all parts of the town. The families were separated: men were put in one car and women with children in another. Then it turned out that the cars with men headed to the Gulag camps [22], and the ones with women into exile. Eighty percent of the arrested were women and children. 10,000 people were exiled from Estonia on that day, 14th June 1941.
We stayed at the harbor for 24 hours. People were told to get on the cattle cars and then they weren't allowed to leave them. There were no toilets in the cars. There was a hole in the floor. There were double-tiered bunks along the walls of the cars and that was it. We were not fed on our way. We were eating the food we managed to take from home.
We were permitted to take 20kg of luggage either per family or per person. We were at a loss without knowing what to do first and which things to take with us. Fortunately, my sister and her husband came over and helped us pack. The NKVD officers whispered to us that we could take more things as nobody would be weighing our luggage and added that we would need warm things. Then we understood that he was a decent man. Many NKVD officers merely plundered the exiled, ordering them to take out money and precious things and put them on the table. Then they misappropriated them. The apartments were confiscated and then everything that new host took an interest in was loaded in the trucks. Luckily, we didn't come across that.
A large truck was waiting for us in the yard. There was an elderly couple with their belongings. We got in the car. We were driven to the harbor. There were railway lines for unloading the ships and there were six trains consisting of 50 cars each on every line. The trucks with the arrested families came from all parts of the town. The families were separated: men were put in one car and women with children in another. Then it turned out that the cars with men headed to the Gulag camps [22], and the ones with women into exile. Eighty percent of the arrested were women and children. 10,000 people were exiled from Estonia on that day, 14th June 1941.
We stayed at the harbor for 24 hours. People were told to get on the cattle cars and then they weren't allowed to leave them. There were no toilets in the cars. There was a hole in the floor. There were double-tiered bunks along the walls of the cars and that was it. We were not fed on our way. We were eating the food we managed to take from home.
The invasion of Poland by Hitler's troops, which was considered to be the beginning of World War II, was swiftly suppressed by Soviet troops. It was far from us and things were calm in Estonia. When Germany was defeated, the Molotov- Ribbentrop pact [13] was signed and in fall 1939 Soviet troops started entering Estonia [14]. It was announced that Soviet military bases would be established in Estonia. The troops were peaceful, thus there was no resistance from the Estonian army. I remember I was struck that Soviet soldiers were so poorly dressed. Boots and coats were of very bad quality. I remember a Soviet officer standing by the best hotel in Tallinn, the Golden Lion. It was a typical weather for Tallinn - it was sleeting, and he was standing in the puddle in 'valenki' [warm Russian felt boots]. I was so surprised that I remembered it. In general, Soviet militaries were very peaceful and we didn't pay that much attention to them.
Then a lot of Soviet movies were screened. Of course, most of them were more or less propaganda but we were surprised that we didn't manage to get the message of the picture. People left the movie houses and were at a loss. I remember one of those movies. I don't remember its name, but the plot was as follows: the director or a chief engineer of a power station was trying to blast the power station for the entire time of the movie. The picture ended with the scene that the director was arrested and the first secretary of the regional party committee congratulated the head of the NKVD [15] on the divulgement of the enemies of the Motherland. It was totally unclear for us. At that time we didn't know anything about the repressions in the USSR [16] and didn't even suspect the existence of 'peoples' enemies' [17]. Then there were rumors on the things happening in the USSR, but they seemed savage and implausible to us. People barely believed in them. Apart from the movies, a lot of Soviet newspapers and magazines appeared. I enjoyed reading educational and technical Soviet journals.
In 1940 I finished the 1st course of the college and was supposed to go through training at the machine building plant Franz Krul. It was a very old plant of a diversified production range - small locomotives for the narrow-gauge railroad between Tallinn and Tartu, cast-iron products, consumer goods and boilers. When I came to the plant for the first time I had to find the person in charge of the workshop. I asked the worker, who was sweeping the floor, where to find him. The person who did odd jobs was a local Russian, a good-looking, jovial, pleasant guy. Then I had to meet that person, Vasiliy Vasiliev, but on other terms.
On 17th June 1940 it was declared that Soviet troops would be entering Estonia. The government of Estonia, led by President Konstantin Pyats, was dissolved and a new government, steered by Estonian communists came in place. The army was disarmed. All parties, but the Communist Party, which used to be underground during the period of the Estonian republic, were banned. Then the parliament was dissolved and new elections were coming. The first action taken by the parliament was - Estonia was declared Estonian Soviet Socialistic Republic and the parliament addressed the Government of the Soviet Union to include Estonia in the USSR. Thus, on 6th August 1940 Estonia became a part of the Soviet Union.
Then a lot of Soviet movies were screened. Of course, most of them were more or less propaganda but we were surprised that we didn't manage to get the message of the picture. People left the movie houses and were at a loss. I remember one of those movies. I don't remember its name, but the plot was as follows: the director or a chief engineer of a power station was trying to blast the power station for the entire time of the movie. The picture ended with the scene that the director was arrested and the first secretary of the regional party committee congratulated the head of the NKVD [15] on the divulgement of the enemies of the Motherland. It was totally unclear for us. At that time we didn't know anything about the repressions in the USSR [16] and didn't even suspect the existence of 'peoples' enemies' [17]. Then there were rumors on the things happening in the USSR, but they seemed savage and implausible to us. People barely believed in them. Apart from the movies, a lot of Soviet newspapers and magazines appeared. I enjoyed reading educational and technical Soviet journals.
In 1940 I finished the 1st course of the college and was supposed to go through training at the machine building plant Franz Krul. It was a very old plant of a diversified production range - small locomotives for the narrow-gauge railroad between Tallinn and Tartu, cast-iron products, consumer goods and boilers. When I came to the plant for the first time I had to find the person in charge of the workshop. I asked the worker, who was sweeping the floor, where to find him. The person who did odd jobs was a local Russian, a good-looking, jovial, pleasant guy. Then I had to meet that person, Vasiliy Vasiliev, but on other terms.
On 17th June 1940 it was declared that Soviet troops would be entering Estonia. The government of Estonia, led by President Konstantin Pyats, was dissolved and a new government, steered by Estonian communists came in place. The army was disarmed. All parties, but the Communist Party, which used to be underground during the period of the Estonian republic, were banned. Then the parliament was dissolved and new elections were coming. The first action taken by the parliament was - Estonia was declared Estonian Soviet Socialistic Republic and the parliament addressed the Government of the Soviet Union to include Estonia in the USSR. Thus, on 6th August 1940 Estonia became a part of the Soviet Union.
When I studied at the Jewish lyceum, I took an active part in the Zionist movement. I was a member of the youth Zionist organization Betar [10]. Jabotinsky [11] was at the head of the organization of the leaders of the right Zionistic movement. Betar's ideology differed much from many Jewish organizations. Betar members were taught that Jews were supposed not to pay more attention to praying, which would not help in the foundation of the state, but to learning craftsmanship, tilling and military professions. Israel needed those people as it was to be formed and protected.
In summer 1939 Jabotinsky came to Tallinn. I remember his visit for another reason - I and other boys were assigned to guard Jabotinsky. Of course, security was too loud of a word for that - a 15-year-old unarmed boy could hardly be named a security guard. We were supposed to stay by Jabotinsky's suite at the hotel and call for help if needed. When I was on duty Jabotinsky was leaving his suite and noticed me. He asked me in Ivrit who I was and shook my hand. I was present when Jabotinsky took the floor at the Tallinn philharmonic society. The hall was full. Everybody knew that Jabotinsky was a great speaker and were willing to listen to him. He asked the audience which language to speak: English, Russian, Yiddish or in Ivrit? Since the audience was variegated and people expressed different opinions, Jabotinsky decided to speak Russian. The lecture was held in good Russian. When the speech was over, he answered the questions of the audience. I remember somebody asked him the question whether there would be war. Jabotinsky said that there would be no war, as all were way too well armed and there would be a risk in unleashing a war. He was mistaken - after about two or three months Hitler's Germany attacked Poland [12].
In summer 1939 Jabotinsky came to Tallinn. I remember his visit for another reason - I and other boys were assigned to guard Jabotinsky. Of course, security was too loud of a word for that - a 15-year-old unarmed boy could hardly be named a security guard. We were supposed to stay by Jabotinsky's suite at the hotel and call for help if needed. When I was on duty Jabotinsky was leaving his suite and noticed me. He asked me in Ivrit who I was and shook my hand. I was present when Jabotinsky took the floor at the Tallinn philharmonic society. The hall was full. Everybody knew that Jabotinsky was a great speaker and were willing to listen to him. He asked the audience which language to speak: English, Russian, Yiddish or in Ivrit? Since the audience was variegated and people expressed different opinions, Jabotinsky decided to speak Russian. The lecture was held in good Russian. When the speech was over, he answered the questions of the audience. I remember somebody asked him the question whether there would be war. Jabotinsky said that there would be no war, as all were way too well armed and there would be a risk in unleashing a war. He was mistaken - after about two or three months Hitler's Germany attacked Poland [12].
The three of us went to the Jewish lyceum [9]. The building of that lyceum is still there. At present the premises of the Estonian Jewish community are there. When the lyceum was founded, most of the children knew neither Ivrit, nor Yiddish, so the subjects were taught in Russian and Ivrit was one of the subjects. Gradually more subjects were taught in Yiddish. My elder sister Polina studied in that lyceum in the period when subjects were taught in Russian. When my brother Samuel was studying there, subjects were taught in Russian only at the elementary school.
When I entered the Jewish lyceum, Ivrit was taught from the first grade. I always had a propensity to languages and soon I was pretty good in Ivrit. It was not hard for me to study. The lyceum was secular and Jewish religion and traditions were taught like one of the subjects. Teaching was in Ivrit with the exception of military class, taught by the captain of the Estonian army, and gymnastics, also taught in Estonian. He had his own system of physical training. He made us work out. I am grateful to him for that. First, my results were miserable and I had the poorest score. Then I started working and training hard and became a pretty good athlete. I enjoyed being able to stand out. I found going in for sports very challenging and spent a lot of time on that. I was master of sports in wrestling and took the first prize at a competition in Tallinn. It was not a bad result. My rivals were strong Estonian guys. Maybe it was my good physical stamina which helped me survive later on.
When I turned 13 I had my bar mitzvah. I was prepared to that rite by the rabbi of the Tallinn synagogue. Things went on the way they were supposed to, but it was merely paying tribute to the Jewish traditions, as we were not very religious.
When I entered the Jewish lyceum, Ivrit was taught from the first grade. I always had a propensity to languages and soon I was pretty good in Ivrit. It was not hard for me to study. The lyceum was secular and Jewish religion and traditions were taught like one of the subjects. Teaching was in Ivrit with the exception of military class, taught by the captain of the Estonian army, and gymnastics, also taught in Estonian. He had his own system of physical training. He made us work out. I am grateful to him for that. First, my results were miserable and I had the poorest score. Then I started working and training hard and became a pretty good athlete. I enjoyed being able to stand out. I found going in for sports very challenging and spent a lot of time on that. I was master of sports in wrestling and took the first prize at a competition in Tallinn. It was not a bad result. My rivals were strong Estonian guys. Maybe it was my good physical stamina which helped me survive later on.
When I turned 13 I had my bar mitzvah. I was prepared to that rite by the rabbi of the Tallinn synagogue. Things went on the way they were supposed to, but it was merely paying tribute to the Jewish traditions, as we were not very religious.
My parents were not religious bigots, but Jewish traditions were observed at home. My parents observed the kashrut and marked Jewish holidays. Mother lit candles on Sabbath and prayed over the candles with the hands on her face. My parents went to the synagogue on holidays. We had kosher dishes - separately for meat and dairy food. Certain dishes were used only on Pesach and stored separately from the everyday ones. There was no bread on Pesach. We ate only matzah for the entire Paschal period. In general, all traditions were observed, but without any zealotry.
At home my parents spoke Russian between themselves. Russian was the state language before the First Estonian Republic was established. Thus, both of my parents were fluent in Russian. We, children, also had been speaking Russian since childhood. Before attending school, I was fluent in three languages - Russian, English and Estonian. I was taught English by my governess Mrs. Saiks. She had been in our house since I was a baby. First, she was a baby-sitter, then a governess. Mrs. Saiks spoke only English with me. When I started talking, I spoke two languages.
At home my parents spoke Russian between themselves. Russian was the state language before the First Estonian Republic was established. Thus, both of my parents were fluent in Russian. We, children, also had been speaking Russian since childhood. Before attending school, I was fluent in three languages - Russian, English and Estonian. I was taught English by my governess Mrs. Saiks. She had been in our house since I was a baby. First, she was a baby-sitter, then a governess. Mrs. Saiks spoke only English with me. When I started talking, I spoke two languages.
My mother Berta, Jewish Rohe-Braine, was born in Dvinsk in 1890. She was an only child in her religious family. Mother had some Jewish education. I don't know exactly which school she went to, but Mother knew how to read and write Yiddish and Ivrit. In the 1900s, my mother finished a Russian lyceum. I don't know how my parents met. Maybe Mother told me the story, but I was a child and must have had other interests and don't remember her tales. Of course, my parents had a traditional Jewish wedding. Back in that time Jews stuck to Jewish traditions, even if they were not too religious.
Valeria Boguslavskaya
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Women liked him and he had the reputation of being a 'playboy' before he met my mother in 1925 and fell in love. On a photograph of my mother, father and his ex- girlfriend he wrote the words addressed to my mother, 'I used to think that sentimentality was just spree, but here - a little spring has broken in my chest'. My parents got married in 1926 never to part again.
The only elementary education my father had was cheder. He learned to read and write in Russian and then he finished a Rabfak [11] and a course of 'red directors'[political education for people holding managerial positions].
They were enthusiastic about the Revolution and the new ideas. My father quit the mill in 1917 and joined the Red Guard unit. In 1918 he became a member of the Communist International of young people. A year later my father became the secretary of the provincial Komsomol [10] committee and then instructor and political education department supervisor of the Komsomol committee in Kharkov, which was the capital of Ukraine at that time. In 1925 he became a member of the Bolshevik Party.
Although they grew up in a religious family that honored Jewish traditions they were atheists.
In 1947 Leonid Bely was allowed to return to Russia, but he wasn't allowed to settle down in Moscow, Leningrad or capitals of the union republics.
But when he was in the Red army during the revolution his commanding officer suggested that he should change his name to Boris. He said people would be teasing him, calling him Benia otherwise. Thus, he became Boris.
Bely was arrested in 1938 [during the so-called Great Terror] [7], but they didn't keep him long in the camp [see Gulag] [8].
Later Esther Malka became Esphir in Russian manner [see common name] [5].
Later I went to kindergarten, but children got very little food there. I remember our teachers and nurses having full plates of food while we received just a little bit. We were always hungry. My sister picked me up after she got bread by cards and I asked her to give me a piece of bread because I wasn't in the condition to walk home. She had to pull me behind her as I couldn't walk properly. After we received a room from the plant I was sent to the kindergarten of the plant. The children got plenty of food there. I guess military enterprises had special supplies. It was a very good kindergarten. We even went to the countryside in summer.
Once I came home from kindergarten and asked my mother, 'Who are Jews? Are we worse than the others?' She replied, 'No, we are just like anybody else. There are Russians, Ukrainians, Germans and Jews. You are a Jew and so am I'. This was the first time I questioned my nationality.
The front was moving closer and we went to my father. His plant settled down in Barnaul. I don't remember our trip to Barnaul. We arrived at the railroad workers club where all evacuated families were staying. We slept on the floor. Some people had blankets and some used their own clothes to keep warm at night. Then we moved into the house that formerly belonged to a Povolzhye German family. When the war began many Germans were deported to Siberia from Povolzhye. They stayed in Barnaul and then they were moved to the country, away from big military enterprises. Our family occupied half the house and there was another evacuated family in the other half of the house.
My father and mother walked to work across town every day in any kind of weather. They were working at the construction of a big tank plant on the outskirts of town. My grandmother woke them up at 3 o'clock in the morning. My mother worked at the headquarters of the plant and my father worked as a chief energy specialist.
My father and mother walked to work across town every day in any kind of weather. They were working at the construction of a big tank plant on the outskirts of town. My grandmother woke them up at 3 o'clock in the morning. My mother worked at the headquarters of the plant and my father worked as a chief energy specialist.
I remember little of this period. I was very ill. I had abscesses all over my body, then I fell ill with measles and then scarlet fever. Esther-Malka kept me in her compartment. It was a risk because she wasn't allowed to keep anybody with an infectious disease on the sanitary train. She confessed to the chief of the train about me and he allowed her to stay with me at Kalinovka station in Kuibyshev region. My grandmother wouldn't have been able to cope with this task alone.
My mother and Nelia went to Stalingrad with the tractor plant. My father came there, too, with his unit and decided to look for them. He knew that the plant employees lived in Beketovka and decided that he should be able to find my mother at the market. He went to the market in Beketovka. As he was short he climbed on a stand and saw my mother and Nelia at the market. My parents didn't have any information about Esther-Malka. They thought they had lost me and my grandmother. My father reproached my mother for the first time in his life for making the mistake of letting us go with Esther. Later they sent a letter to the chief of the hospital and he told them where we were. This was in summer 1942 when the Germans were already attacking Stalingrad. My father moved on with the plant and my mother and Nelia came to Kalinovka. I recognized Nelia at once, but my mother... I said, 'My mother was young and beautiful, but this is an old ugly thin woman'. My mother was crying and I was crying, too. I didn't want to leave Esther- Malka. I called her 'interim mother'. So, our reunion wasn't very happy.
My mother and Nelia went to Stalingrad with the tractor plant. My father came there, too, with his unit and decided to look for them. He knew that the plant employees lived in Beketovka and decided that he should be able to find my mother at the market. He went to the market in Beketovka. As he was short he climbed on a stand and saw my mother and Nelia at the market. My parents didn't have any information about Esther-Malka. They thought they had lost me and my grandmother. My father reproached my mother for the first time in his life for making the mistake of letting us go with Esther. Later they sent a letter to the chief of the hospital and he told them where we were. This was in summer 1942 when the Germans were already attacking Stalingrad. My father moved on with the plant and my mother and Nelia came to Kalinovka. I recognized Nelia at once, but my mother... I said, 'My mother was young and beautiful, but this is an old ugly thin woman'. My mother was crying and I was crying, too. I didn't want to leave Esther- Malka. I called her 'interim mother'. So, our reunion wasn't very happy.
My father's sister Esther-Malka was mobilized to the army in the first days of the war. She was staying near Kharkov where a hospital train was being formed and she decided to take me and my grandmother Zlata with her. She believed that at least we would have food on the train. My father was in the air-defense troops. His unit was retreating from Kharkov to Stalingrad.
My mother's younger brother Lyova, who lived in Kharkov with my grandmother Hana and was going to evacuate along with the tractor plant, said that he could only take my grandmother, my mother and my older sister with him as members of his family. My father's sister Esther-Malka was mobilized to the army in the first days of the war. She was staying near Kharkov where a hospital train was being formed and she decided to take me and my grandmother Zlata with her. She believed that at least we would have food on the train. My father was in the air-defense troops. His unit was retreating from Kharkov to Stalingrad. My mother decided that it would be better for me and my grandmother Zlata to join Esther-Malka. It happened so that we separated at the very beginning of the war: my father was on the way to Stalingrad, my mother and Nelia evacuated with Lyova and my grandmother Zlata and I joined the hospital train.
We celebrate Sabbath in the community. I have many friends there. I try to remember to light Sabbath candles and we celebrate Jewish holidays at home.
The Kiev Institute of Judaism supports my activities. So I get involved in the Jewish life and come back to my roots one way or another. I read Jewish newspapers and study at the University of Spiritual Heritage of the Jewish people.
I write and translate a lot nowadays. The Kiev Institute of Judaism supports my activities. So I get involved in the Jewish life and come back to my roots one way or another. I read Jewish newspapers and study at the University of Spiritual Heritage of the Jewish people. We celebrate Sabbath in the community. I have many friends there. I try to remember to light Sabbath candles and we celebrate Jewish holidays at home.
Stanislav was a Ukrainian nationalist, he dedicated his life to the struggle for an independent Ukraine. He had many friends among the dissidents. During the period of the struggle against dissidents in the 1970s he could have been arrested. An acquaintance of ours hid him in a mental hospital for some time.