This is my husband, I and the baby - my son Zhak Ninyo. The picture was taken in Sofia in 1952. This baby-carriage was a present to us. My mom sent me a big package from Israel and there was a fabric from which I made the dress I am wearing on the photo. My husband was a very nice person. He was fit being an officer and he had a specific way of walking, that I could always recognize.
When we got married I was studying chemistry at the university and I was in my third year. My husband was attending the evening technical high school. I received no support from my relatives. At that time, my husband didn't have a job. But my mother-in-law was an amazing woman. She could always give advice and she could point out the best solution for any problem. There were special courses which were very popular at that time, they were called 'rabfak' [workers’ academy] and they were professional courses taught at high school. My husband graduated from one of those courses and that was how he received a high school certificate. After that he went on studying electrical engineering at the Institute of Machine Electrical Engineering. At first, it was difficult for him to study because he didn't have a good basic knowledge from the high school. Therefore, he had to catch up a lot. He had a small scholarship from the Jewish community. It was 200 Bulgarian levs and it was granted only to Jewish students. He also received a special bag and a pair of Richter compasses, because he studied a technical science. I didn't have a job because I was still at the university. The only person from the family to work was my father-in-law, who was a barber. My mother-in-law had had a job before 9th September [1944], when she was a tailor.
When I got my degree from the university I had already given birth to my son. It was hard time at home because my husband hadn't finished his studies yet and all of us were dependent on the money that my father-in-law could earn. Every month my mother sent me a small allowance from Israel.
My husband graduated from the Institute of Machine Electrical Engineering. Right after that, he received an invitation to work in the country's Air Forces. He was an engineer there until he retired. He had a successful career. He was promoted to colonel. He had the reputation of a man who initiated many changes and reforms.
We had hard times while both of us were at the university. But soon after that we graduated and started working - then we could afford to go on holidays twice a year - in the summer and in the winter. We used to go on excursions with our friends. I may not have had the opportunity to travel wherever I wanted like today's young people, but still my husband and I had a beautiful and interesting life.
