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My mother, my grandmother Rachel and I packed whatever we thought we needed and went to the railway station. There were trains all over the tracks. As soon as a train was full of passengers, it departed. We managed to somehow squeeze into a train before it departed. My father's sister Bertha, her daughter Fruma and Grandmother Hane-Rokhe Stumer caught the next train. We didn't even know where we were going. What mattered was that we went as far away from the German army and the front line as possible. There were bombings on the way, but fortunately, our train wasn't damaged. This was a long trip. We arrived at Nizhniy Yar where Mama obtained a letter of assignment to Dolmatov, Kurgan region in Russia [about 1600 km north-east of Moscow]. This was where we spent our years in the evacuation. We lived in a house on Sovietskaya Street.
We rented a room. Initially there were six of us sharing this room: my father's sister Bertha, her daughter and Grandmother Hane-Rokhe joined us there. Mama and Bertha went to work. They had to work to be provided food cards [14]. My cousin, my grandmothers and I received dependants' cards for 200 g bread ration per day each. The bread was heavy and under-baked. It also contained bran and straw. Our daily rate was one slice per day, while Mama and Bertha's rate was larger. They shared their bread with their children.
Our life in town was more difficult than in villages where they could grow vegetables on the land plots that were provided to them. Those, who lived in town, could only buy vegetables at a market or trade food for whatever valuables, but we still had insufficient food products. My cousin and I picked nettle in spring and summer, and my grandmother made soup with it. We were very poor and starved. It was a good thing that we managed to survive. Our landlords and even strangers were giving us assistance. This was a terrible time, but people were kinder trying to support the needy ones.
We rented a room. Initially there were six of us sharing this room: my father's sister Bertha, her daughter and Grandmother Hane-Rokhe joined us there. Mama and Bertha went to work. They had to work to be provided food cards [14]. My cousin, my grandmothers and I received dependants' cards for 200 g bread ration per day each. The bread was heavy and under-baked. It also contained bran and straw. Our daily rate was one slice per day, while Mama and Bertha's rate was larger. They shared their bread with their children.
Our life in town was more difficult than in villages where they could grow vegetables on the land plots that were provided to them. Those, who lived in town, could only buy vegetables at a market or trade food for whatever valuables, but we still had insufficient food products. My cousin and I picked nettle in spring and summer, and my grandmother made soup with it. We were very poor and starved. It was a good thing that we managed to survive. Our landlords and even strangers were giving us assistance. This was a terrible time, but people were kinder trying to support the needy ones.
Period
Year
1941
Location
Estonia
Interview
masha zakh