Alexander Kann and his wife Olga Kann

Alexander Kann and his wife Olga Kann

These are my parents, Olga and Alexander Kann. The picture was given to my grandmother. It is written overleaf-  "To dear mommy from Olga and Sasha. 15th February 1934.” The picture was taken in Tartu.

My mother’s family as well as my father’s had the surname of Kann, but they were not relatives. They had actually never seen each other before. They just happened to share the same surname. My mother’s family lived in Moscow before their departure for France.

Somehow my mother made friends with my father’s sister Nata. My parents met at her wedding and fell in love with each other instantly. Father had to finish his studies at the university. He stayed in Paris for a little bit and then left for Tartu. Mother and he decided that they were going to get married. They were separated for a little while. Mother was not willing to wait for Father to finish his studies and come to Paris. In 1934 she went to Tartu. Her parents were shocked. My maternal grandmother was sure that her favorite daughter was leaving for a village, where cows were walking along the streets. Mother promised Grandmother that she would return to Paris upon her fiancé’s graduation. My parents got married, when Mother came to Tartu. They had a true Jewish wedding with numerous guests. After the wedding they settled in Grandfather’s house. Their house was large. There was enough room for everybody.

I do not know for sure what Father did in Tartu upon his graduation. Once, Mother mentioned casually that he owned a sawmill. At any rate, they stayed in Tartu for a little bit after Father had finished his studies. Of course, they planned on leaving for France, but postponed their trip. Maybe it was connected with the fact that Grandfather Julius was getting sick and Father was not willing to leave him. I do not know. Grandfather died in 1937, when my mother was pregnant. He was buried in Tartu Jewish cemetery. Crowds of people came to his funeral. He was loved and known in Tartu. Besides, many Tartu denizens were his patients. I was born on 20th June 1938 and named Juliana after my grandfather.

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