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I was a Komsomol member and we were all extremely patriotic. I went to the hospital to care for the severely wounded. In 1943 I became a member of the Communist Party.
My husband was part of the front-line forces. He was wounded in a battle around Rostov and sent to the hospital in Oufa. I needed a special permit to visit him, and I managed to get it because he was severely wounded. His leg was damaged and he became an invalid.
I returned to Ulianovsk and after some time my husband joined me there. He got a job with a local trade organization and our life got a little better. Later, I changed jobs and joined the State Trade Inspection. I was the Ulianovsk Region's State Trade Inspector for the Ministry of Trade of the USSR. I was responsible for inspecting public catering establishments, canteens, and stores. I received more food through ration cards as my provisions now came under category A, a category reserved for managerial staff. We received meat and oil. In general, we managed all right.
I remember one store inspection that happened before the holidays. Remizov, Head of the Department for the Struggle Against Theft of Socialist Property, accompanied me during this inspection. We entered a store and he told the shop assistants, “Put your bags on the counter and stay where you are.” This was to prevent them from hiding food in their bags. The store was found to have an excess of egg powder [at that time, people were given egg powder instead of meat]. The director of this store, Valia, was a widow. Her husband had perished on the front. She had two small children. She got so scared that we would find out about the excess, which would mean court and then prison for her. Remizov trusted me completely and never double-checked my findings. So I issued a deed of inspection indicating that everything was all right and entered the figures that should have been there. I was risking my own neck, but I felt sorry for Valia. That evening, Valia found me and came to our home. She brought a package of cookies, cried, and thanked me for saving her from jail. I didn’t take the cookies, of course, and I sent her home. I always tried to help people if I could, because this was a terrible time.
I felt awfully sorry for children. They never got enough food and they were always sick. My daughter Larissa died in Ulianovsk in 1944. She had diphtheria. My mother was in hospital with her, as I couldn’t leave my job. The doctors couldn’t help Larissa – they didn’t have the necessary medication. My husband was on a business trip in Ulan-Ude. By the time he returned, Larissa had died. We mourned our daughter deeply. Only work could distract us a little. At the end of 1944, my daughter Nelia was born.
My husband was part of the front-line forces. He was wounded in a battle around Rostov and sent to the hospital in Oufa. I needed a special permit to visit him, and I managed to get it because he was severely wounded. His leg was damaged and he became an invalid.
I returned to Ulianovsk and after some time my husband joined me there. He got a job with a local trade organization and our life got a little better. Later, I changed jobs and joined the State Trade Inspection. I was the Ulianovsk Region's State Trade Inspector for the Ministry of Trade of the USSR. I was responsible for inspecting public catering establishments, canteens, and stores. I received more food through ration cards as my provisions now came under category A, a category reserved for managerial staff. We received meat and oil. In general, we managed all right.
I remember one store inspection that happened before the holidays. Remizov, Head of the Department for the Struggle Against Theft of Socialist Property, accompanied me during this inspection. We entered a store and he told the shop assistants, “Put your bags on the counter and stay where you are.” This was to prevent them from hiding food in their bags. The store was found to have an excess of egg powder [at that time, people were given egg powder instead of meat]. The director of this store, Valia, was a widow. Her husband had perished on the front. She had two small children. She got so scared that we would find out about the excess, which would mean court and then prison for her. Remizov trusted me completely and never double-checked my findings. So I issued a deed of inspection indicating that everything was all right and entered the figures that should have been there. I was risking my own neck, but I felt sorry for Valia. That evening, Valia found me and came to our home. She brought a package of cookies, cried, and thanked me for saving her from jail. I didn’t take the cookies, of course, and I sent her home. I always tried to help people if I could, because this was a terrible time.
I felt awfully sorry for children. They never got enough food and they were always sick. My daughter Larissa died in Ulianovsk in 1944. She had diphtheria. My mother was in hospital with her, as I couldn’t leave my job. The doctors couldn’t help Larissa – they didn’t have the necessary medication. My husband was on a business trip in Ulan-Ude. By the time he returned, Larissa had died. We mourned our daughter deeply. Only work could distract us a little. At the end of 1944, my daughter Nelia was born.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Raissa Makarevich