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The majority of population in Novosokolniki was Russian. Jews constituted about one third of the population. Jewish houses were neighboring with Russian houses and looked similar. There was a small synagogue and a Jewish school in Novosokolniki. There was a cheder before the revolution, but during the Soviet regime it was closed. In late 1920s the Jewish school was closed, too. There were not enough pupils at school. Jewish parents preferred to send their children to Russian school to avoid any language problems in future studies. Novosokolniki was a small town with wooden houses and some stone houses in the center of the town. There was no anti-Semitism before the war. I didn’t even hear about any conflicts, though I presume there may have been instances. People respected each other’s traditions and faith. My father was well respected in the town for his hard working nature. In general, Soviet people were living with the conviction that there were no nationalities, but a big family of the Soviet people. The synagogue was closed in early 1930s when the struggle against religion [7] began. The Orthodox and Catholic churches were also closed down.
We were poor. My father was the only breadwinner. My mother was a housewife. My father earned little money of which he had to pay off his debts to the relatives. My father also worked home in the evening to earn some additional money. He was a roofer and tinsmith. He made tin sheets for stoves. My father had his desk in the kitchen and we always heard him hammering on these sheets at night. My father was valued at his work; he was an udarnik [initiative and exemplary employees in Soviet enterprises]. He once received an award for hard work. There was a meeting and award ceremony that I attended. Another time he received a raincoat for his work. It was hard to buy things in stores and employees received warm clothes, shoes or something for home. The third award of my father’s was a fence around the house. My father was a responsible employee.
I remember our small wooden house. There was a plot of land near the house. There was a cellar and a shed in the backyard where we kept a cow, geese and chickens. My mother took care of the animals. We had geese slaughtered for Pesach. There was a shochet living nearby. My mother melted geese fat and kept it in jars in the cellar. There were no refrigerators then. There was a big vegetable garden near the house. I helped my mother work in it. We grew potatoes, tomatoes and cabbage. It was a big support for the family. We bought hay for the cow from farmers. There was a market near our house. Those farmers used to bring us a cart full of hay. They stayed in our house when they came to sell their products at the market. We stored hay at the hayloft in the shed. We fetched water from the well in the street. In summer we had to fetch more water to water the garden.
We were poor. My father was the only breadwinner. My mother was a housewife. My father earned little money of which he had to pay off his debts to the relatives. My father also worked home in the evening to earn some additional money. He was a roofer and tinsmith. He made tin sheets for stoves. My father had his desk in the kitchen and we always heard him hammering on these sheets at night. My father was valued at his work; he was an udarnik [initiative and exemplary employees in Soviet enterprises]. He once received an award for hard work. There was a meeting and award ceremony that I attended. Another time he received a raincoat for his work. It was hard to buy things in stores and employees received warm clothes, shoes or something for home. The third award of my father’s was a fence around the house. My father was a responsible employee.
I remember our small wooden house. There was a plot of land near the house. There was a cellar and a shed in the backyard where we kept a cow, geese and chickens. My mother took care of the animals. We had geese slaughtered for Pesach. There was a shochet living nearby. My mother melted geese fat and kept it in jars in the cellar. There were no refrigerators then. There was a big vegetable garden near the house. I helped my mother work in it. We grew potatoes, tomatoes and cabbage. It was a big support for the family. We bought hay for the cow from farmers. There was a market near our house. Those farmers used to bring us a cart full of hay. They stayed in our house when they came to sell their products at the market. We stored hay at the hayloft in the shed. We fetched water from the well in the street. In summer we had to fetch more water to water the garden.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Evgenia Gendler