Jemma Grinberg's father Moisey Grinberg

My father Moisey Grinberg. He was born in 1903. This photo was taken in Radzivillov in 1918. After he finished his studies at a cheder and the Jewish primary school, he worked for some time in his father's shop, helping him repair shoes. In the early 1920s my father attended a trade union activist's school and for some time was involved in trade union activities. My father did not receive any special education, but he took a number of different courses and attended several workshops. He studied German and got a job as a German teacher at a school. On the 1st of October, 1941, my father received a subpoena to appear at the recruitment office on a certain date. He was to be sent to the front. The night before he was to go, my mother told him to go and stay with our acquaintances in Moscow so he could get a good night's sleep. My father obeyed and left us. On that very night we managed to get on a train that was leaving for evacuation. We couldn't even say 'good-bye' to my father. And we never saw him again. He perished in December 1941 in the battle for Moscow.