Estera Perelmut

This is a photo of my mother, Estera Perelmut (née Lapidus). The photo was taken in Lublin, in the 1930s. I have got this photo thanks to my two aunts: Mania and Ania, from Moscow. I am in possesion of many pictures that were saved by my family in Moscow. And it happened because my parents would send many pictures and letters to them before the war broke out. And all those pictures were saved. The ones we had in our home in Bialystok got lost, naturally. After World War II I found out that my two aunts kept our family archives. I was really happy to get those precious things back. Mother's first name was Estera, but at home, among family, she was called Esfir, from Russian. Mother stayed at home, she was a housewife. She was a very intelligent, wise woman. When I remember my adolescence and my behavior and Mother's calmness among all this, she never reproached me, I'm at a loss for words about her wisdom. Because I know what I did and how I stirred things up. She was very tolerant. I don't know how she could have been so tolerant to me. I wouldn't have been able to be like that. In some ways I resemble my mother, my nose, hair color - Mother was also a dark blonde. Father was almost white, he had very fair hair and I don't know how it was that my sister Dina was red haired. Mother attended a Russian gymnasium, I don't know if she ever graduated. And she was a bit involved in political activity in her youth. Once she told me how she even transported guns from Warsaw to Bialystok in her youth. Yes, mother was a bit different from the rest of the family. She was also very considerate to Father. Once, this was already in Lublin in the 1930s, Father was nervous, he had lost his job, there were bankruptcies and he'd sometimes raise his voice at Mother? And I remember I'd say to her, 'Mommy, why don't you talk back to Father?' And she'd say, 'And who is this poor Jew supposed to talk to?' So - I am the wife, I have to understand him and help him in this situation.