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It is difficult for me to speak of my maternal and paternal grandparents because I have no information about them. However, I can tell interesting facts of my father Yosif Fridman’s life story, who was a Russian Jew as well as the story of my mother Blanche Fridman (nee Baruh) who was a Bulgarian Jew.
My father Yosif Fridman was born in the village of Luninets, Minsk Region [Luninets is in Brest region, Belarus] in 1897. Unfortunately, I know nothing of other possible children in my father’s parents; neither can I say if he had any siblings. As far as I know, my father was a soldier in the Russian army and took part in the October Revolution in 1917 [1]. He fled from Russia most probably in the period between 1920 and 1922. I can’t remember anything else about that. When he moved to Bulgaria, he received the so-called Nansen’s citizenship, which means he had an emigrant status in Bulgaria but did not have a citizenship [he was a Russian subject, but received certain civil rights in Bulgaria]. His Nansen’s citizenship, however, expired after 9th September 1944 [2] and he was forced to move to Israel [Palestine], where he died in Yagur in 1961.
I should mention that this Nansen’s citizenship was helpful but at the same time, it was a handicap. Because my father was a cobbler, but he couldn’t practise his profession here, as he was not allowed to. That’s why my family led the poor life of nomads. Dad worked everything he could do – he used to make bars of soap and sell them. Furthermore, he was always on the go and we, a family with many members, travelled together with him. We helped each other. For example, the bars of soap were made at home. We mixed the ingredients, boiled them and then we cut them in bars. I remember all of us, including my mother, taking part in this important activity. These days I was a second-grade student. Before that, when I was just born, my father had been a worker in the construction, he had carried stones and sand with horse and cart. But precisely on my birthday he fell over and broke his leg. He was also a trade intermediary in co-operation with my maternal uncle Israel Baruh. I remember that he loved going to a famous in its time café – ‘Phoenix’; it was in Dondoukov Blvd. He also worked there, but he never had any problems in his work because of his origin.
My father Yosif Fridman was born in the village of Luninets, Minsk Region [Luninets is in Brest region, Belarus] in 1897. Unfortunately, I know nothing of other possible children in my father’s parents; neither can I say if he had any siblings. As far as I know, my father was a soldier in the Russian army and took part in the October Revolution in 1917 [1]. He fled from Russia most probably in the period between 1920 and 1922. I can’t remember anything else about that. When he moved to Bulgaria, he received the so-called Nansen’s citizenship, which means he had an emigrant status in Bulgaria but did not have a citizenship [he was a Russian subject, but received certain civil rights in Bulgaria]. His Nansen’s citizenship, however, expired after 9th September 1944 [2] and he was forced to move to Israel [Palestine], where he died in Yagur in 1961.
I should mention that this Nansen’s citizenship was helpful but at the same time, it was a handicap. Because my father was a cobbler, but he couldn’t practise his profession here, as he was not allowed to. That’s why my family led the poor life of nomads. Dad worked everything he could do – he used to make bars of soap and sell them. Furthermore, he was always on the go and we, a family with many members, travelled together with him. We helped each other. For example, the bars of soap were made at home. We mixed the ingredients, boiled them and then we cut them in bars. I remember all of us, including my mother, taking part in this important activity. These days I was a second-grade student. Before that, when I was just born, my father had been a worker in the construction, he had carried stones and sand with horse and cart. But precisely on my birthday he fell over and broke his leg. He was also a trade intermediary in co-operation with my maternal uncle Israel Baruh. I remember that he loved going to a famous in its time café – ‘Phoenix’; it was in Dondoukov Blvd. He also worked there, but he never had any problems in his work because of his origin.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Juliet Saltiel