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Even though our family stayed in Kharkov only until 1930, I remember our house very well. It was a U-shaped five-storied brick house with a front yard. It seemed huge to me at that time. The house is still there. There was the Kharkov Opera Theater next to our house. We could hear the opera performances as if we were in the hall. Then, the opera theatre was moved to another building, and was taken over by the Russian drama theater. We lived on the fifth floor of the communal apartment [13]. There was a common kitchen, toilet and bathroom. There was centralized gas, sewage and running water. We had two rooms. There were five more families in our apartment. I don't remember all of them. I recall a woman, who lived next door. Her name was Marusya, she was Russian. Her daughter was my coeval. There was also a Jew, Hanna, who worked with the NKVD.
One room was taken by my parents, the other room was mine. I don't remember how the rooms were furnished. I can only recall my father's oaken desk, which has been kept until now, and the bookshelves with the books. There weren't a lot of books.
One room was taken by my parents, the other room was mine. I don't remember how the rooms were furnished. I can only recall my father's oaken desk, which has been kept until now, and the bookshelves with the books. There weren't a lot of books.
Period
Location
Kharkov
Ukraine
Interview
Jacob Mikhailov