Jemma Grinberg's father Moisey Grinberg and mother Hana Deich

My father Moisey Grinberg and my mother, Anna Deich. This photo was taken in Kiev in 1925. In 1925, my mother, Anna Deich, who, I would say, was an emancipated girl, saw a photo of my father while she was visiting his sister Rosa, who was her friend. Mother liked him a lot and wrote him a letter including her address. They corresponded with one another through letters for a whole year before they met. Then, when they finally did meet, they fell in love with each other. In 1925 my father was arrested for some reason and was imprisoned for a few months. When he was released, my parents realized that they couldn't live without each other and got married. I mean, they just began to live together, because civil registration was considered to be a vestige of the past. My mother was a very progressive girl, and she 'chose' a husband for herself, as she liked to joke. She was very much in love with her husband. She didn't hide her feelings and used to kiss and hug him in our presence. Only now have I come to understand how progressive her conduct was, considering that she was born into a provincial Jewish family. My father was very shy. He loved his wife dearly, but he was ashamed of her demonstrative emotions, especially when she expressed them in our presence. My parents didn't have an apartment until 1936 and they moved from one place to another. At first my mother worked at a home for retarded children, but as soon as she got pregnant she quit the job.