Ludmila Pavlovskaya’s class portret

My 6 class, school #82, Kiev. I, Ludmila Pavlovskaya, am the first on the left in the 2nd row. My friend Mary Fridman is the 3rd on the left in the lower row. The 3rd on the left in the 2nd row is my teacher of the Ukrainian language Fanni Yudkovna. I don't remember her last name. On her right is Raissa Efimovna Leskova, our teacher of the Russian language and literature. I finished 3 grades in Stalingrad and went to the 4th grade in Kiev in 1946. I went to Russian secondary school #118 in Podol, because were residing in Podol at that time. We had to hide from raids all the time - militia was searching for those who didn't have a residence permit and sent them out of Kiev. I went to the 5th form in school #147 near the Musical Comedy Theater and later I went to school #82 in Engels street. When school #51 was reconstructed I went to this school and completed my secondary education in it. It was a school for girls. The following year after I finished school boys and girls began to study together . I was a young Octobrist and a pioneer at school. I took an active part in the social life. In the 7th grade I became a Komsomol member. We had to know by heart the names of the leaders of the Communist Party in all countries as well as many other dull and useless things. It was an exam that we had to pass to become a Komsomol member. We were admitted at the district Komsomol committee and we were very nervous about being good at our responses. Actually we were asked easier questions and were all admitted. We were very happy about it and wore our Komsomol badge proudly. I always took part in preparations to the Soviet holidays. We arranged concerts and invited our parents. We also made little flags and paper flowers for the parades. It was mandatory for teachers and schoolchildren to go to parades. When we became senior schoolchildren we had cadets of the Suvorov military school invited to our parties at school. We danced and our teachers were sitting at tables and talking. I was 12 when struggle against cosmopolites began in 1948. The words "cosmopolite" and "Jew" became synonyms. We couldn't even understand what these people did wrong to become cosmopolites. I remember the hatred in the eyes of non-Jews when they pronounced the word cosmopolite. We were told at school about cosmopolites scheming against the Soviet way of life. I can't even remember what exactly they were saying but they said it to implant hatred towards innocent people. It was the first time when I realized that I disagreed with what our teachers were saying. I didn't know whether it was true or not, but I disliked these demonstrations of public hatred. My parents never commented on this subject. People were so intimidated that they were afraid to speak even in the presence of their children. I was fond of literature at school. Our teacher of the Russian language and literature Raissa Efimovna Leskova was a wonderful teacher. She taught me to love reading and books. My favorite writers are Pushkin and Turgenev. I like a Jewish writer Sholom Alechem , but I can only read his books in Russian.