Leizer and Devora Finchelstein at home

The photograph was taken during a visit of some of our relatives or acquaintances from Israel. From what I remember, the photograph was taken around 1970-1975. You can see a Chinese painting on the wall and a lamp post next to the sofa we owned a long time ago. I, Leizer Finchelstein, am the one on the left, and my wife Devora is on the right.

My wife's maiden name was Devora Faiestein. She too was born in Iasi, in January 1925. We met for the first time in our Jewish neighborhood, I fell in love with her and to this age, after 56 years of marriage, I'm still in love with her. When I come home and ring the doorbell, and she opens the door for me, it's as if a spotlight lights up the entire house. When I was going to work in the morning and by the time I returned home, I'd start missing her as I didn't see her all day long.

After August 23, many people were given apartments in blocks of flats. They were fitted with a bathroom, central heating and electricity. People's lives changed. When we were given the apartment, I can say that I kissed its walls. One couldn't even compare it to our home located on Conductelor St. Formerly all of us, our parents, 9 siblings, 6 brothers and 3 sisters, lived in 2 rooms and a kitchen which were rented, in fact. We slept 3 people in 1 bed, there was no electricity, no running water, the toilets were outside in the courtyard, and we shared the courtyard with 14 other tenants. Now, everything was new, the house was very clean, the windows were wiped, everything was very bright, the conditions were very good, even though the apartment that we received was located on the top floor of the building, on the 4th floor, that is. I remember that some television crews came there when these blocks of flats were given to people. The blocks of flats had been designed by students for their diploma paper.