Tag #149409 - Interview #103660 (Sholom Rondin Biography)

I turned 16 and understood that I had to go ahead when I met a man that changed my life. His last name was Rozin. He was a very nice and decent man. He had a wife and a daughter. He was a Jew, but he was not religious. He was a painter and worked in “al fresco” (Editor’s note: water color painting on damp plaster). He made paintings on the walls and ceilings. He was the best professional in Gomel. I went to work with him. It was interesting work. My stepfather felt hurt, but I talked with him openly and he understood me. I needed to do more than I could working with my stepfather. In 1936 I worked in the crew of Rozin. We made paintings in restaurants, cultural centers and movie theaters. We had much work in Gomel and got assignments in other towns.

Many industrial enterprises were built in Gomel: machine building plant, Kirov plant that manufactured agricultural equipmentEvery enterprise built cultural centers, canteens and recreation centers and we got new and new scopes of work to do. There were almost all Jews in our crew; there were only two Russian men. We worked on Saturday, too, and in the evening we went out.