Sophie Pinkas with university colleagues

This photo was taken in Sofia in on 9th August 1951. I am in my last year of university before my training. I recognize one of the assistants in skin diseases, but I don?t remember his name. On my left side is Spiro Duda, who was an Albanian. The one kneeling first on the right is Isak Varsano. After he graduated, he left for Israel. Our group was very nice. Our student years weren?t easy, but we did not only studied hard, but also partied a lot. I was one of the few married students and I had a child, but this didn't prevent me from joining the activities of the group and the whole alumni. I was admitted to study medicine easily because I had been at the front. I rented a room in the apartment of one of the families, who lived in our house during the internment. I started studying in December 1944. I started studying in Sofia, but I was recalled to work in the UYW in Vidin. Then I left my studies and went back. In the UYW I did some political work, which had to be paid, but since they had no money, I worked almost for free. When my brother graduated from high school he left for Sofia and finished his medical university education earlier than me. We had a very good time as students. My mother looked after my child and I had all the time I needed to study. I took my son only when we went to manifestations; we went to a lot of manifestations at that time: on various holidays such as 9th September, 1st May. Usually, we, the university students, gathered at a certain hour on the day of the manifestation, for example on 9th September or 24th May. We gathered in front of the Medical Academy by faculties and groups. I always took my son with me. Then we marched to the former 9th September Square, now named Alexander Batenberg in front of the mausoleum [of Georgi Dimitrov] and the palace [the former king's palace]. We weren't ordered in neat lines, we just passed with much enthusiasm, singing, carrying slogans on science, the fatherland and the Slavic script. We always had a lot of fun. Sometimes we organized parties after the manifestations.