Leonid Karlinsky's father Meyer Karlinsky his brother Aron

My father, Meyer Karlinsky, photographed in his uniform (left), with his older brother Aron. The photo was taken in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1933. Aron was born in 1901. He studied at a cheder, and then went to grammar school. He was very talented musically, and could play the violin. Aron was 16 when the Revolution took place, and he went to study at the rabfak. Later, he was sdmitted to the Medical Institute in Leningrad. During the war he was director of the evacuation hospital. He was in Tomsk during the war with Japan, and after the war ended, returned to Leningrad. Before the war, Aron was very sociable and easy-going. After the war he became a different person. He was withdrawn, led a secluded way of life, and divorced his wife. He lived alone in a small room for many years and worked as a physician. Aron died in 1959.