Maria Vulih and her father Lev Vulih

Maria Vulih and her father Lev Vulih

This is a picture of my mother Maria Vulih and my grandfather Lev Vulih. The photo was taken in Kiev in the 1920s. My grandfather was a very well read and educated man. He followed all political events in the country. He was critical about what was going on during the period of Stalin's repression [the so-called Great Terror]. He was a very intelligent and a very reserved man. He never raised his voice. My grandmother Sabina was also a very intelligent and educated woman. She was also very kind. The family didn't observe any Jewish traditions. They talked in Russian in my presence, although they could speak Yiddish. My grandparents only spoke Yiddish when they wanted to keep something a secret from me. My mother finished grammar school in Berdichev. When the family moved to Kiev in the 1920s she entered the Department of Biology of Kiev State University. She earned her living giving classes in mathematics. She was very good at it. She was also fond of French. In the late 1920s Mama fell ill with tuberculosis. She was severely ill but she survived. She had to quit her studies and work until her full recovery in the early 1930s. As soon as the doctors allowed her to have children I was born in Kiev on 30th July 1932. I don't know where Mama met my father in 1930, but I know that my father had already had a family. I don't know anything about that previous family of his. My parents just lived together for some time. But then, after I was born in 1932, they got officially married although without any grand ceremonies. They had a very good life together. They had lots of Jewish friends. They got together to party and used to dance and enjoy themselves until late at night. It was either at our place or somebody else's. My parents often took me with them.
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