Selected text
I must have been started speaking German as I spent a lot of time with my baby-sitter. I spoke only German before we left for evacuation. Of course, my parents were fluent in German, but they often spoke Yiddish. In general, many languages were spoken at home.
I would like to make a digression and talk about Estonia before the 1940s. Even at the time, when Estonia was a part of the Russian empire, there was no anti-Semitism here. There was no pale of settlement and admission quota at the universities [6]. That is why there was Jewish intelligentsia in Estonia, not just a few representatives like on the rest of the Russian territory. Most Estonian doctors, musicians, lawyers, engineers were Jews. It was not like that in other Baltic countries. It was distributed as follows: Lithuanian Jews - craftsmen and dealers, Latvian - traders, but Estonian - Jewish intelligentsia.
In Estonia there was not such a notion as townlet, which was mentioned by Sholem Aleichem [7]. Jews lived everywhere, in all Estonian cities. They were not clustered in some areas which were meant solely for them, but settled mostly downtown. They stuck together. It is noteworthy to mention that after 1918, when Estonia gained independence [8], there was no state anti-Semitism. Even in everyday life it was very weak. There was a café in Tallinn where even in Estonian time Jews were not permitted to enter. At the same time there were Jewish clubs, which were closed for Estonians.
In 1926 the Estonian Jewish community got cultural autonomy [9], granted by the Estonian government. Cultural autonomy streamlined the development of the Jewish community of Estonia. Estonian Jews had self government, which was headed by outstanding Jews: the director of the Tallinn Jewish lyceum Samuel Gourin, Tamarkin, Eisenstadt and other worthy people. Those people revived Jewish life. There were all kinds of Jewish organizations, 32 in total. There were student Jewish organizations in Tartu as well as a mutual aid fund, wherefrom poor students were provided money for tuition donated by rich Jewish families. Thus, Jewish life in Estonia was fully-fledged.
Of course, religion was an essential part of life for Estonian Jews. The synagogue united all Estonian Jews. I think there was not a single Jewish family, where Jewish traditions were not observed and where children were not raised in a religious spirit. There was a wonderful synagogue in Tallinn [10]. It was crowded on holidays. It goes without saying that there were Estonian, Russian, German and Jewish schools. Everybody could choose what school to attend and what language should be spoken, but all Estonian Jews spoke Estonian. Of course, I know all those things not from my own recollections, but I just wanted to speak about it for people to have an understanding what type of childhood I had. I think it will help people understand what Estonian Jews were like.
I would like to make a digression and talk about Estonia before the 1940s. Even at the time, when Estonia was a part of the Russian empire, there was no anti-Semitism here. There was no pale of settlement and admission quota at the universities [6]. That is why there was Jewish intelligentsia in Estonia, not just a few representatives like on the rest of the Russian territory. Most Estonian doctors, musicians, lawyers, engineers were Jews. It was not like that in other Baltic countries. It was distributed as follows: Lithuanian Jews - craftsmen and dealers, Latvian - traders, but Estonian - Jewish intelligentsia.
In Estonia there was not such a notion as townlet, which was mentioned by Sholem Aleichem [7]. Jews lived everywhere, in all Estonian cities. They were not clustered in some areas which were meant solely for them, but settled mostly downtown. They stuck together. It is noteworthy to mention that after 1918, when Estonia gained independence [8], there was no state anti-Semitism. Even in everyday life it was very weak. There was a café in Tallinn where even in Estonian time Jews were not permitted to enter. At the same time there were Jewish clubs, which were closed for Estonians.
In 1926 the Estonian Jewish community got cultural autonomy [9], granted by the Estonian government. Cultural autonomy streamlined the development of the Jewish community of Estonia. Estonian Jews had self government, which was headed by outstanding Jews: the director of the Tallinn Jewish lyceum Samuel Gourin, Tamarkin, Eisenstadt and other worthy people. Those people revived Jewish life. There were all kinds of Jewish organizations, 32 in total. There were student Jewish organizations in Tartu as well as a mutual aid fund, wherefrom poor students were provided money for tuition donated by rich Jewish families. Thus, Jewish life in Estonia was fully-fledged.
Of course, religion was an essential part of life for Estonian Jews. The synagogue united all Estonian Jews. I think there was not a single Jewish family, where Jewish traditions were not observed and where children were not raised in a religious spirit. There was a wonderful synagogue in Tallinn [10]. It was crowded on holidays. It goes without saying that there were Estonian, Russian, German and Jewish schools. Everybody could choose what school to attend and what language should be spoken, but all Estonian Jews spoke Estonian. Of course, I know all those things not from my own recollections, but I just wanted to speak about it for people to have an understanding what type of childhood I had. I think it will help people understand what Estonian Jews were like.
Period
Location
Talinn
Estonia
Interview
Cilja Laud