Tag #128911 - Interview #99833 (Morris Schiff)

In 1946 mother got married. Her second husband Arthur Kartner was Estonian. I do not know how they met. All I know is that Arthur’s first wife was also a Jew,who perished during the war. He was a dictator, a very obstinate man, but faithful. He was really reliable and honest. Arthur never prevaricated. He was the officer in Estonian republic, lieutenant colonel of Estonian army. During the war for Estonian independence he fought against Bolsheviks [25], and was awarded with a Cross. When the Soviets came to power, he got notification form the military enlistment office. He indicated his name and the fact that he fought against Russians. He was given the title of sergeant in the army. Arthur was perturbed and filed a report: if his previous rank- lieutenant colonel - was not confirmed, that he was ready to be rank and file soldier rather than having the rank of his sergeant. Finally the commanders decided that he almost beyond draftees’ age and decide to that it was easier to decommission him from the army than solve the issue with the ranks. During the war Arthur was appointed representative of Estonia [26] in some city,where Estonians were evacuated. I saw how Genz, the representative of Estonia, lived in Tashkent – as if there was no war. His family had everything they need. The representatives of Estonia distributed humanitarian aids, which came from other countries and lived pretty comfortably. Arthur was an honest man. He could have died by hunger having the bags of food next to him. This is how maximalistic he was! He was so famished in evacuation and after war he had to be treated from dystrophy. He was very decent man, but there were very few women who could live with him. He even washed dishes himself as it seemed to him that mother did it worse. He liked to put things in order in mother’s purse.

After war Arthur worked as a joiner. He was obviously very hard-working. He could not make money though. While most people worked to live, Arthur lived to work. He was a very interesting man with his positive and negative traits. When mother’s got married, we moved to Arthur. When I became independent having started working in the clock workshop, I decided to return in our apartment. Arthur treated me very well, but he wanted me to be his copy. It was very hard for me. When I moved, we still were keeping in touch. Arthur took care of me, helped me with all he could. I know he treated me like his own son, though Arthur had never talked about it. In general, he did not like rant. He even did not say the words of love to mother. When mother got sick, there was nobody who would take better care than Arthur. He was a very kind man. He liked and understood animals, and they treated him likewise. Though, he did not get along with very well.