Morits Shouman

This is my father Morits Shouman, as a student of the Russian lyceum of Tallinn. The picture was taken in Tallinn in 1898, by Atelier Reval, photographer Meyer. My paternal grandparents had four children. The eldest was Anna, Jewish name Chana. The second was Sarah. My father's third sister was Marzi but her nickname was Masha. My father was the youngest, the long-awaited son. He was born on 16th January 1883. In accordance with the certificate, issued by the town rabbi, he went through the circumcision rite on the eighth day after he was born and was given the name Movshe-Shlem. His father had initially named him Morits. According to my father, my grandparents were religious. They must have tried raising their children to be religious. My father got some sort of religious education in his childhood. He diverged from religion when he was an adult. My grandfather made sure that his children got a good education. My father went to Revelskaya lyceum and studied there for ten years. Upon graduation Father left for Germany and entered a university in Geiselberg. He studied there and obtained his degree of Doctor of Medicine. After that he was on probation for two years at the university clinic. Then he went back to Estonia, but he wasn't entitled to work on the territory of the Russian empire with a degree from Geiselberg University. He had to sit for some exams in a Russian university to confirm his doctor's degree. He left for Tartu. It was called Yuriev at that time. He stayed at his grandfather's brother's place. My father started getting ready for the exams in all the subjects taught at the medical faculty of the university. He passed all the exams and in 1911 he was reinstated the title of a doctor at the medical faculty of the Emperor's Yuriev University.