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In the fall of 1945 Father was dismissed from military service and we left Zaporozhye. Father was offered a position in the army, but he was a civilian by nature. We moved to Leningrad via Moscow.
We returned to our old room in Smolninsky district. It was plundered, but unoccupied. The neighbor who wanted to get our room kept it for herself all through the blockade. She believed we were killed or died in evacuation. She took part in the robbery. We saw our dishes at her place. There was a rich collection of records and a gramophone – these we found in the yard-keeper’s room. Some things were found in the communal services office. A few things remained intact: wine glasses and mother’s embroidery patterns. The key broke when the thieves attempted to unlock the old pre-war buffet. The robbers might have been too weak to pull it out. That buffet survived along with an old wardrobe, a sofa and a few chairs. The rest was either burned or stolen.
We returned to our old room in Smolninsky district. It was plundered, but unoccupied. The neighbor who wanted to get our room kept it for herself all through the blockade. She believed we were killed or died in evacuation. She took part in the robbery. We saw our dishes at her place. There was a rich collection of records and a gramophone – these we found in the yard-keeper’s room. Some things were found in the communal services office. A few things remained intact: wine glasses and mother’s embroidery patterns. The key broke when the thieves attempted to unlock the old pre-war buffet. The robbers might have been too weak to pull it out. That buffet survived along with an old wardrobe, a sofa and a few chairs. The rest was either burned or stolen.
Period
Year
1945
Location
St. Petersburg
Russia
Interview
Irina Khokhlova