Tag #116769 - Interview #83161 (Etta Ferdmann)

We reached the town of Irbit, Sverdlovsk oblast [about 1600 km east of Moscow]. We were sent to Kirillovo, which was 14 kilometers away from Irbit. We were housed with peasants. All of us were very tired and hungry, willing to get to bed and to take a rest. We were taken to the hut. Samuel went into the room, which was provided by the hosts. He came out and said that the room was large enough for all of us. There were icons on the walls. [Christian families traditionally had icons in their homes, unless some of their members were convinced communists. Most older people in villages remained religious.] Grandmother did not enter the room and did not let anybody in until the hosts had taken off the icons. Then, she allowed them to enter the room.

All of us but Grandmother started working. There was a kolkhoz [9] in Kirillovo. Women started working in the field. The kolkhoz paid for work with trudodni [10]. There were trudodni for each working day and after harvesting a certain amount of flour, groat and vegetables were given for them. It was the only food we could get. Sometimes we exchanged products for some things.