Tag #116708 - Interview #99625 (Dora Feiman)

In 1948 the campaign against ‘cosmopolitans’[23] began in the USSR. Every day newspapers published articles blaming the rootless cosmopolites: scientists, writers and artists. They were full of Jewish surnames. If an artist or a writer had a pseudonym, they were sure to mention his or her original Jewish name. Those convicted of cosmopolitism lost their jobs and were sent to the Gulag [24]. Many of them were sentenced to death and executed. The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee [25] that made a great contribution into the victory over fascism during the war was eliminated. Solomon Mikhoels [26], a famous Jewish actor, perished. The official version stated that he died in a truck accident, but people were saying that it wasn’t an accidental death. These progressions were feeding anti-Semitism. In Estonia, anti-Semitism came about in 1940 after it was annexed to the USSR. In the beginning it existed on a common everyday level and was initiated by newcomers from the USSR, while in 1948 it acquired the state level ascendancy. I didn’t believe that those articles were published with the official authorities being unaware. I didn’t face any anti-Semitism at work. Most of my co-workers were Jewish and Estonian, and they had no friendly feelings toward the Soviet power. However, at the enterprises with Russian management employees faced anti-Semitism and were afraid of losing their jobs.