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We started living together again in a small log house on the outskirts of Tallinn. There was one big room there, where all of us lived. We slept on the floor. Father was suffering that he could not provide normal living conditions for us. He was a very sociable person with a sense of humor. He had a lot of friends. Father walked around Tallinn, looking at houses. If he liked something, he would sigh and say, ‘I wish we lived here.’ One of Father’s friends helped. He got two rooms in a communal apartment [11] on one of Tallinn’s central streets, Tartu Mente.
The apartment was in an old, but very beautiful house with high ceilings and carved doors. It was posh for postwar times. Estonians were our neighbors. We were very friendly, having no conflicts. We lived there for 26 years. Only after Father’s death we decided to exchange it for a separate apartment. In 1971 my mother and I moved to a separate two-room apartment. I still live there, and I like my apartment. All my father’s relatives got apartments with time. All of them lived not far from each other and still were very close. Grandmother kept bossing around over our large family.
The apartment was in an old, but very beautiful house with high ceilings and carved doors. It was posh for postwar times. Estonians were our neighbors. We were very friendly, having no conflicts. We lived there for 26 years. Only after Father’s death we decided to exchange it for a separate apartment. In 1971 my mother and I moved to a separate two-room apartment. I still live there, and I like my apartment. All my father’s relatives got apartments with time. All of them lived not far from each other and still were very close. Grandmother kept bossing around over our large family.
Period
Location
Talinn
Estonia
Interview
Etta Ferdmann