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My maternal grandmother Tsylia Rahman, whose maiden name I don't know, was born in a town near Chernovtsy [in western Ukraine, considered to be a cultural center] in 1875. She graduated from a private Russian grammar school. My grandmother was a beautiful girl and dressed with good taste. She was married very young to a man she didn't love. She divorced him shortly afterwards and never wanted to talk about him. She then married Isaac Rahman for love. I don't know where she and my grandfather met. The newlyweds settled down in the town of Konstantinovka in the Poltava province where my mother and her brother were born. Then they lived in Yelisavetgrad [today Kirovograd].
I knew my grandmother very well. She was the one who raised me, since my mother and father were at work from morning until night. She took me for walks in the park and to my music classes. My grandmother told me stories. When I grew up, I recognized the Biblical themes in them. My grandmother was a housewife. She was a great cook; I remember she often made Jewish cookies, kichelah [crispy honey cakes] and gefilte fish [balls or a loaf made of ground fish]. My grandmother was also good at sewing. She made me lovely suits and dresses. My grandmother was well- read too: she knew Yiddish and read Jewish books. Her favorite writers were Sholem Aleichem [2] and Bialik [3]. Grandmother Tsylia was not religious: she didn't go to the synagogue, but she knew all the Jewish traditions and fasted on Yom Kippur.
My maternal grandfather, Isaac Rahman, was born in the early 1870s. I don't know where he was born. He was the manager of some land near Yelisavetgrad. Shortly before the October revolution [4] the family moved to Odessa. In the Soviet period my grandfather worked at the 'Krasny profintern' plant in Odessa. I remember that my grandfather looked like a typical Soviet clerk. He didn't have a beard. He wasn't religious. Sometimes he spoke Yiddish with my grandmother. My grandfather was a very industrious and dedicated professional.
During the Great Patriotic War [5] he refused to evacuate with his family. He only wanted to evacuate with his plant, but it was a small enterprise that failed to evacuate and my grandfather Isaac stayed in occupation in Odessa [6]. To avoid Romanian captivity, my grandfather committed suicide. We didn't have any information about him during the war. When Odessa was liberated we received a letter from our neighbor who wrote that my grandfather had poisoned himself. My grandmother and grandfather had two children: my mother and her brother.
I knew my grandmother very well. She was the one who raised me, since my mother and father were at work from morning until night. She took me for walks in the park and to my music classes. My grandmother told me stories. When I grew up, I recognized the Biblical themes in them. My grandmother was a housewife. She was a great cook; I remember she often made Jewish cookies, kichelah [crispy honey cakes] and gefilte fish [balls or a loaf made of ground fish]. My grandmother was also good at sewing. She made me lovely suits and dresses. My grandmother was well- read too: she knew Yiddish and read Jewish books. Her favorite writers were Sholem Aleichem [2] and Bialik [3]. Grandmother Tsylia was not religious: she didn't go to the synagogue, but she knew all the Jewish traditions and fasted on Yom Kippur.
My maternal grandfather, Isaac Rahman, was born in the early 1870s. I don't know where he was born. He was the manager of some land near Yelisavetgrad. Shortly before the October revolution [4] the family moved to Odessa. In the Soviet period my grandfather worked at the 'Krasny profintern' plant in Odessa. I remember that my grandfather looked like a typical Soviet clerk. He didn't have a beard. He wasn't religious. Sometimes he spoke Yiddish with my grandmother. My grandfather was a very industrious and dedicated professional.
During the Great Patriotic War [5] he refused to evacuate with his family. He only wanted to evacuate with his plant, but it was a small enterprise that failed to evacuate and my grandfather Isaac stayed in occupation in Odessa [6]. To avoid Romanian captivity, my grandfather committed suicide. We didn't have any information about him during the war. When Odessa was liberated we received a letter from our neighbor who wrote that my grandfather had poisoned himself. My grandmother and grandfather had two children: my mother and her brother.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
rimma rozenberg