Tag #132761 - Interview #78135 (esfir dener)

We didn't have passports, but a piece of paper with name, first name and patronymic, year of birth and nationality on it. Every ten days our mothers went to the commandant's office to sign for us that we were there, since we were under age. In November 1941 my mother and I were called to the office. They told us that my father had died on 1st November 1941. I was standing by my mother and said in Yiddish, ‘a dank dem got' [Yiddish for Thank God]. The officer pricked up his ears: ‘What did she say?' My mother turned to stone; she just shook her head. ‘No, what did she say? What did she say?', the officer insisted. He thought it might have been something about ‘the father of the people' [Stalin]. ‘Nothing, it was Thank God that she said', my mother replied. But isn't she his own daughter?' the officer was wondering. My mother said, ‘Yes, she is'. He turned to me saying, ‘Why did you say this? And I replied, ‘Because he is no longer suffering'.