Me, Polina Levina, photographed for my passport in Uzhhorod in 1966.
I was going to join the Party after Stalin died in 1953. I had two letters of recommendation: one from a school inspector – this woman is still a party member, the Communist Party of Ukraine, and so am I. Another letter was from the director of the children’s home who was a member of our school party unit. The director of our school was supposed to issue a third letter of recommendation, but she refused. She didn’t explain the reason to me. So, I didn’t join the Party then. I decided that it was sufficient that I lived like a communist.
In 1970 Lenin’s 100th birthday anniversary was celebrated. I went to the town party committee to obtain an application form to join the Party. They told me there that I was soon to retire and why was it that I wanted to become a communist. I didn’t get a form and even cried a little when I left there. Then I thought to myself, ‘Do if I really have to beg them?’ and decided that no, I didn’t.
I was always involved in public activities. I was chairwoman of our trade union committee and at one time I was secretary of the town trade union committee. I had very little free time. When I came home from work I had to check schoolchildren’s homework and prepare for my classes on the next day. Often in the evening my schoolchildren came to have a class with me at home. I was a class tutor and my pupils often visited me.
