Selected text
I remember when in 1933 my father came home and said that all communists were sent to villages to help collective farmers since they were having a hard time [The interviewee is referring to the time of the famine in Ukraine] [8]. He was explaining to my mother that it was necessary to take every effort to get good crops. He left and in some time my mother and I joined him in the village of Grossulovo, Odessa region. It was fall and we went by train - I remember this was my first trip by train.
My mother had potatoes and some other food with her. When we came to the house where my father was staying and my mother asked the mistress of the house whether she could cook dinner, the mistress of the house closed the door immediately so that her neighbors didn't notice that there was food cooked. My mother peeled some potatoes and the mistress of the house didn't allow her to throw away those peels. She explained that they could be utilized, too. I remember people swollen from starvation and I also remember that people were buried without coffins. That winter was full of hardships. People ate acacia flowers in spring. I was too small to know what position my father was holding, but I remember that people treated him with respect. In summer my mother fell ill and was taken to Odessa. I stayed with my father. I remember how we went to the slaughterhouse where my father asked for a piece of meat to cook for me. In the fall of 1934 after harvesting was over we returned to the town. I remember that my father's bosses were reluctant to let him go. He went back to work at the plant, but he got into an accident and injured a joint of his finger. He began to do some administrative work.
My mother had potatoes and some other food with her. When we came to the house where my father was staying and my mother asked the mistress of the house whether she could cook dinner, the mistress of the house closed the door immediately so that her neighbors didn't notice that there was food cooked. My mother peeled some potatoes and the mistress of the house didn't allow her to throw away those peels. She explained that they could be utilized, too. I remember people swollen from starvation and I also remember that people were buried without coffins. That winter was full of hardships. People ate acacia flowers in spring. I was too small to know what position my father was holding, but I remember that people treated him with respect. In summer my mother fell ill and was taken to Odessa. I stayed with my father. I remember how we went to the slaughterhouse where my father asked for a piece of meat to cook for me. In the fall of 1934 after harvesting was over we returned to the town. I remember that my father's bosses were reluctant to let him go. He went back to work at the plant, but he got into an accident and injured a joint of his finger. He began to do some administrative work.
Period
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Simon Gonopolskiy