This is a picture of me, my son Michael Galin and my mother Basia Breizman (nee Benderskaya), on the left. The photo was taken when my mother visited me and her grandson in Uzhgorod in 1954.
I got married in 1953. My husband's mother was my mother's friend. My husband, Vladimir Galin, was born in Zhytomyr in 1929. His Jewish name was Volf. We had a civil ceremony in a registry office and in the evening we had a small wedding dinner. After the wedding I followed my husband to Uzhgorod.
Vladimir served as an ensign until he retired. His management valued him highly. When he retired he went to work at the regional military registry office. When in the army my husband joined the Party - it was mandatory.
At first we rented a very small room without windows or stove. Later my husband received a room and his mother came to live with us. Our son Michael was born in 1954. We named him after my husband's father. My mother-in-law helped me a lot and my mother came to visit us to help me. Shortly before my husband retired in the 1960s he received a two-bedroom apartment. My mother-in-law was confined to bed. She stayed in one room and the three of us shared the other one. After my husband retired we received a three-bedroom apartment, which was quite a surprise for us.
I couldn't find a job for a long time. I was told there were no vacancies at school. I was about to leave for Zhytomyr when I got a job in a kindergarten. At the end of each academic year I went to the district education agency to ask them for a job at school. The management at the kindergarten valued me. Finally I got an offer for a vacancy of a primary school teacher. I worked at this primary school until I retired.
