My wife and I visited our daughter Lilia in Vinnitsa and were photographed with Santa Claus on New Year's Eve. From left to right: my daughter Lilia with her younger daughter Anna, her older daughter Svetlana, my wife Galina and I. This photo was taken in 1988.
My wife and I saved money to build a house in Lipovets. I gave our savings to my mother-in-law, but when the construction was finished, she didn't want to give us the house. I had to sue her, and the court issued its verdict in our favor. In 1962 our family moved to Lipovets. My wife is Ukrainian and we didn't observe Jewish traditions at home. We celebrated Soviet holidays: 1st May, 7th November, Victory Day, Soviet Army Day, New Year. We always celebrated our birthdays. We had guests and had jolly parties.
My daughter finished the Pedagogical College in Vinnitsa. She married Sergey Riabokon, a Ukrainian. They are the same age. Lilia didn't change her surname. Lilia worked as a teacher in a kindergarten. Lilia's first daughter, Svetlana, was born in 1981, and her second, Anna, in 1987. In 1992 Lilia died in an accident. Sergey's mother, who lives in Vinnitsa, is raising her daughters. Of course, my wife and I support them and send them money and gifts. It's hard to outlive one's child. This grief will never go away.
Lev Mistetskiy with his family
The Centropa Collection at USHMM
The Centropa archive has been acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. USHMM will soon offer a Special Collections page for Centropa.
Academics please note: USHMM can provide you with original language word-for-word transcripts and high resolution photographs. All publications should be credited: "From the Centropa Collection at the United States Memorial Museum in Washington, DC".
Please contact collection [at] centropa.org (collection[at]centropa[dot]org).