Anna Dremlug with her work colleagues on 'Subbotnik'

This photo was taken in 1960s in Leningrad during one of our 'Subbotnics'.

When Doctor's Plot started, I worked at the sanitary epidemiological station, and we had quite a few Jews over there. They left only two persons: me and the main Epidemiologic, all other were dismissed on grounds of staff reduction.

And among them, the head, Rosenshtein, who went at me and said: 'Anna Matveevna, please write the retiring statement to free the working place' (they threw him away because there 'were no vacancies'). And my husband also said: 'Leave your work, you won't be nervous'.

Anyway, in 1952 I retired and didn't go to work for couple of years. My husband earned enough, and I didn't want to suffer from anti-Semitism. So when the situation stabilized and turned to be better, I began to work again.

But, being honest, that was the only situation, when I observed Anti-Semitism: never ever, never more it happened something bad to me because I'm a Jew. They never oppressed, and never insulted me. I lived in Russian family, among Russians and worked where there were both Russians and Jews.

And then, thank you to protection of husband's pal Jacob Katznelson (all Valentines' friends, are, besides, Jews), I started to work at the State Institute of examination the abilities to work, in the department of placing the job for people with special needs.

Later director of the clinic department advised me to write a dissertation. I was interested in people, suffered with heart-vascular diseases, and chose the topic of 'Placing the job for people with myocardial infarct': I studied heart-vascular pathologies, made an experiment on the Kirov factory [one of the largest metallurgical factories in whole country] and completed the dissertation in January of 1971.

After I turned fifty five, I became a part-time staff in a clinic, where I worked till 1981, when we moved to our new apartment.

Here I've got a part-time job in policlinic #51; I became social researcher in rehabilitation department and worked there for ten years. So far I have quite an impressive working experience.