Cilja Laud with her grandmother Anna Kaplan

Cilja Laud with her grandmother Anna Kaplan

This is me during a walk with my maternal grandmother, Anna Kaplan. The picture was taken in Tallinn in 1939. My grandparents met accidentally. Grandmother came to Narva for a visit. One day she came to see some Jewish family, where she met Grandfather. She was a very beautiful, clever and witty lady. Grandfather was also handsome. Shortly after they met, they fell in love with each other. Grandmother's parents were not against her marriage and soon the wedding took place. Of course, they had a true Jewish wedding as it could not have been otherwise at that time. After the wedding Grandfather took Grandmother to Narva. My mother was born there in April 1910, but the entry in the synagogue registry was made only in August. She was named Chana. The second daughter, Nessie, and the youngest, Assia, were born in Tallinn. I do no know why my grandparents decided to move in Tallinn. Maybe Grandpa decided that he would have more customers in Tallinn. If that was the case, he was right. Very soon he had his own workshop and regular customers. The family was well-off. Grandpa was the bread winner, and his earnings were enough for the family. Grandfather bought an apartment on Viru Street in the center of Tallinn. It consisted of 13 rooms and occupied the entire floor. Apart from the apartment in Tallinn, Grandpa also bought a summer house in Lakhti, Finland. It was in the resort area. Grandfather had a yacht. In the summer the whole family took a voyage on the yacht over the weekends.
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